Tag Archives: wfuv

A MEMORIAL CONCERT FOR PETE AND TOSHI SEEGER / NEW SONGS OF JUSTICE: AN EVENING HONORING PETE SEEGER

A pair of concerts will honor folksinger and activist Pete Seeger and his wife, filmmaker and activist Toshi

A pair of free concerts will honor folksinger and activist Pete Seeger and his wife, filmmaker and activist Toshi Aline Seeger

A MEMORIAL CONCERT FOR PETE AND TOSHI SEEGER
Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Damrosch Park Bandshell
Sunday, July 20, free, 4:00
www.lcoutofdoors.org

NEW SONGS OF JUSTICE: AN EVENING HONORING PETE SEEGER
SummerStage, Rumsey Playfield, Central Park
Monday, July 21, free, 6:00
www.summerstage.donyc.com

Five years ago, more than fifty musicians paid tribute to Pete Seeger on the occasion of his ninetieth birthday at an all-star concert at Madison Square Garden, highlighted by several appearances by Pete along with some of his family members; the setlist featured such classic folk songs as “If I Had a Hammer,” “Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” “There’s a Hole in My Bucket,” “Goodnight Irene,” “Bring ’em Home,” and “This Land Is Your Land.” Last July, his wife of nearly seventy years, filmmaker and activist Toshi Seeger, passed away at the age of ninety-one. Six months later, Pete died at ninety-four. Over the next few days, their legacies will be celebrated in a pair of free concerts in Manhattan. On Sunday, July 20, Lincoln Center Out of Doors is presenting “A Memorial Concert for Pete and Toshi Seeger,” beginning at 4:00 at the Damrosch Park Bandshell. The impressive lineup that will be singing the praises of the longtime couple includes Judy Collins, Peter Yarrow, Holly Near, the Paul Winter Consort, Martha Redbone, Dar Williams & Dan Zanes, Guy Davis, Tom Chapin & the Chapin Sisters, David Amram with Adira & Alana Amram, Mike + Ruthy with Penny Bossom-Seeger, Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion, the Hudson River Sloop Singers, and others, along with such speakers as Harry Belafonte, George Wein, and Michael Moore; the show will be hosted by Pete and Toshi’s grandson Kitama Cahill-Jackson. (If you can’t make it to the show, you can watch the live stream here.) On Monday, July 21, SummerStage and WFUV are honoring the legendary folksinger and activist with “New Songs of Justice: An Evening Honoring Pete Seeger” at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park at 6:00, hosted by Gina Belafonte and Cahill-Jackson. Scheduled to perform are Steve Earle, Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion, James Maddock, Anti-Flag, Toni Blackman, the Chapin Sisters, Rebel Diaz, Elizabeth Mitchell & Dan Zanes, Mike + Ruthy, Nyraine, the Tony Lee Thomas Band, and Amanda Palmer, with DJ sets by Kool Herc. Pete loved sing-alongs, so be sure to come with your best voice for these two very special programs.

VIDEO OF THE DAY — AMY RAY: “FROM HAITI”

Since 1985, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers have been making records as the Indigo Girls, the popular, politically active indie folk duo from Decatur, Georgia, that has had such hits as “Closer to Fine,” “Shed Your Skin,” and “Peace Tonight.” But for much of that time, Ray has been carving out quite a side career, having founded Daemon Records in 1990 and releasing a string of solo records over the last decade. Her latest, Lung of Love (Daemon, February 2012), is a lively collection of well-crafted songs that aren’t afraid to rock out. The follow-up to such discs as Stag (2001), Prom (2004), and Didn’t It Feel Kinder (2008), Lung of Love opens with the country-tinged “When You’re Gone, You’re Gone,” in which Ray sings, “I stood up at your wedding / I couldn’t hold my peace / I had a feeling you wanted me to / But you couldn’t let me see.” Ray then kicks into higher gear with “Glow,” an infectious blast of indie pop. “It felt good to be bad / It’s the best day I ever had,” she declares. The record also includes such tracks as the bluegrass “The Rock Is My Foundation,” the rave-up “Give It a Go,” and the harder-edged “From Haiti.” Ray and her band — Kaia Wilson on guitar, Melissa York on drums, Julie Wolf on keyboards, and Benjamin Williams on bass — will be at the Bell House on April 14 with Wilson opening up and at City Winery on April 15 at a special WFUV live broadcast for WFUV Marquee & City Winery VinoFile Members only.

ROCK ‘N’ ROLL NEVER FORGETS: DENNIS ELSAS

Dennis Elsas will take audience on audiovisual ride through his life and career in radio at 92YTribeca

A MULTIMEDIA JOURNEY THROUGH THE PERSONAL ARCHIVES OF DENNIS ELSAS
92YTribeca
200 Hudson St. at Canal St.
Tuesday, October 4, $18, 7:00
212-415-5500
www.denniselsas.com
www.92y.org

Back in the 1970s and ’80s, WNEW-FM had one of the all-time-great DJ lineups, with such musical stalwarts and wily veterans as Scott Muni, Dave Herman, Vin Scelsa, Pat St. John, Carol Miller, Pete Fornatale, and Dennis Elsas playing a mix of progressive and classic rock, pop, and folk. Elsas, who can currently be heard on SiriusXM Classic Vinyl and WFUV (along with Scelsa’s “Idiot’s Delight” and Fornatale’s “Mixed Bag”) and teaches the Rock Revolution in Music and Media graduate course at Fordham, will be giving a multimedia lecture on October 4 at 92YTribeca, talking about his musical history, from growing up listening to top-40 radio to being part of the progressive FM movement to interviewing living legends. Even if you don’t know him by name, you’ll recognize that soothing voice as soon as you hear it.

FUV LIVE AT ZANKEL

Rita Houston is back for the sixth season of FUV Live at Zankel (photo by Lynda Shenkman Curtis)

Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall
Fifty-seventh St. at Seventh Ave.
Indigo Girls: Saturday, October 23, $42-$48, 10:00
Series continues through April 8
www.carnegiehall.org
www.wfuv.org/event/zankel

True New York City institutions Carnegie Hall, WFUV, and Rita Houston are teaming up again for their sixth season of FUV Live at Zankel, which in the past has featured such performers as the Cowboy Junkies, Shelby Lynne, Suzanne Vega, Rosanne Cash, Richie Havens, and Jorma Kaukonen playing intimate gigs at Zankel Hall. The series is curated by longtime radio host and FUV music director Houston, who selects the acts by thinking, “Who’s going to sound really good in this room?” Making its first appearance ever at Carnegie Hall, the Indigo Girls will play the downstairs listening room on October 23, followed by Martin Sexton’s Solo Holiday Show on December 11, the indefatigable Richard Thompson on March 19, and Edie Brickell introducing her new band, the Gaddabouts (with Steve Gadd on drums, Pino Palladino on bass, and Andy Fairweather Low on guitar), on April 8. The diverse group offers a good idea of the range of artists who can be heard on Fordham’s sixty-year-old station, home to such programs as “Woody’s Children” with Bob Sherman, “The Grateful Dead Hour,” “Sunday Breakfast” with John Platt, “Mixed Bag” with Pete Fornatale, “Vin Scelsa’s Idiot’s Delight,” and “The Whole Wide World with Rita Houston.” Get your tickets now to these Zankel Hall shows, because they will sell out.

ROCKIN’ THE RIVER CRUISES

Circle-Line 42
Pier 83, West 42nd St. & the Hudson River
July 8 – September 16
Tickets: $25-$50
www.rtrcruises.com

Formerly known as the New York City Blues Cruise, the New York City Rockin’ the River cruises, aboard the double-decker Circle Line, is celebrating its fifteenth anniversary with another diverse lineup of live music and dance parties. The Smithereens get things going on July 8, with other highlights including Canadian singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards on July 22, Grammy winner Raul Malo taking the wheel July 29-30, the Radiators letting loose August 5, Buckwheat Zydeco rolling on the river August 12, pianist Marcia Ball on August 26, and folk rockers Donna the Buffalo on August 27. We can’t wait for August 19, when Howlin’ for Hubert pays tribute to the great Hubert Sumlin with David Johansen, Jimmy Vivino, and other special guests. And the next night one of our faves, DJ Rekha, brings her Basement Bhangra Party to the Hudson. The season concludes as it started, on June 25, with a Floating Dance Party benefiting WFUV.

HOLIDAY CHEER FOR ’FUV 2009

Rosanne Cash will be checking her list at annual FUV holiday fundraiser

The Concert Hall at the New York Society for Ethical Culture
2 West 64th St. at Central Park West
Tuesday, December 8, $45-$500, 8:00
800-745-3000
www.wfuv.org/events/holiday/2009

One of the last of the great radio stations, WFUV, broadcasting out of Fordham University, is hosting its fifth annual benefit concert on December 8 at the Society for Ethical Culture, raising much-needed funds to be able to continue such programming as Echoes with John Dilberto, the Grateful Dead Hour, American Routes with Nick Spitzer, Beale Street Caravan with Daren Dortin and Pat Mitchell, the World Cafe with David Dye, Mountain Stage with Larry Groce, a Thousand Welcomes with Kathleen Biggins, Woody’s Children with Bob Sherman, the Whole Wide World with Rita Houston, Mixed Bag with Pete Fornatale, and Idiot’s Delight with the legendary Vin Scelsa. This year’s concert is headlined by Rosanne Cash, who is touring behind her latest album, THE LIST, a collection of essential country songs her father gave her when she turned eighteen. Also on the bill are Providence’s the Low Anthem and former Soul Coughing leader Mike Doughty. Tickets are $45-$75, with $250 and $500 VIP seats that include admission to the preconcert cocktail party.