Pete Seeger at FDU,
11/07

Pete Seeger continues to amaze. At age 89, he continues to set examples and shatter stereotypes of what defines a “senior citizen”. Of all the accolades bestowed upon him in recent years (many recognitions long overdue!), pehaps the title of the recent documentary on his life and work gives us some insight onto his secret – “The Power of Song“.

After many years of limited concert appearances, Pete appears to have embarked on a new phase of his concert “career”. Having recently performed a series of shows in Canada with grandson Tao Rodriguez-Seeger (on a break from his duties with The Mammals as the group has taken a hiatus) and bluesman Guy Davis, the trio have scheduled a number of concerts over the next month – including three appearances in New Jersey!

On Tuesday(August 4), Pete, Tao & Guy will give a free concert in Hillsdale, NJ. The concert will begin at 8:00pm in Beechwood Park located on Hillsdale Avenue. (If it rains, the concert will move to the auditorium of Pascack Valley High School at 200 Piermont Ave., Hillsdale.)

You can catch Pete in Paramus on Tuesday August 26th at 6:o0pm at the Paramus Bandshell, located behind the Main Library at 116 East Century Road, Paramus, NJ. (For further information or in case of rain, call 201-599-ARTS (2787).)

Also, Pete will be in Ramsey, NJ on Saturday September 6th as part of the Borough’s centennial celebration.

In addition to the Garden State appearances, Pete & crew have a sold-out concert planned for Wednesday night (August 5) at the Sellersville Theater in Pennsylvania, an 11am concert on August 24th at Lincoln Center’s Roots of American Music Festival (also free), and two benefit New England Farm Relief Concerts are scheduled for Vermont and New Hampshire in September to raise money a new micro-loan program.

Also of note, the Beacon Sloop Club will be hosting their annual Corn Fest next Sunday, August 10th on the Beacon Waterfront in downtown Beacon, NY. There will be free sails on the sloop Woody Guthrie, and of course there will lots of tasty corn! I would not be surprised to see Pete there stirring up the boiling water for the corn and perhaps singing a song or two!

Pete will likely be doing a few more shows this fall, and he will join Arlo Guthrie onstage at Carnegie Hall on November 29th for the annual Thanksgiving Concert.

Pete is also in the media spotlight with the announcement that Appleseed Records will be releasing Pete’s first new album of studio recordings in five years. “At 89” is the title of this 32 track recording in which Pete re-visits some old songs, shares some vintage songs that have not been recorded before, and there will be a few instrumental pieces on guitar, banjo and recorder.

Jim Brown’s moving documentary “Pete Seeger: The Power of Song” will be released on DVD on Tuesday. The DVD will feature extras including five home movies shot by the Seeger family, three deleted scenes, and there is a deluxe edition that contains a CD of music from the film. The DVD will be available at most DVD outlets, and you can also purchase from the Clearwater – www.clearwater.org – a great way to support an organization that developed from an idea of Pete’s.

Pete is also putting finishing touches on an updated songbook, and we can only guess what projects are in store for the future. I can’t wait to see what surprises he has for us! More than anything, Pete continues to teach us by setting an example. We can make our own music, tell our own stories and make this planet a better place for future generations – all lessons we learn for ourselves from the amazing Pete Seeger.