Folk singer John McCutcheon returns to Grass Valley for his annual KVMR fundraising concert at the Arts Center.
McCutcheon has been at the forefront of American folk music since the late ’70s, covering a wide variety of traditions including Appalachian fiddle and dulcimer music, topical protest songs, and children’s albums for respected folk labels such as June Appal , Red House and Rounder Records. . Establishing himself as a master of the hammered dulcimer with the groundbreaking 1977 release The Wind That Shakes the Barley, the Wisconsin native transitioned into making children’s music in the early ’80s with albums like Howjadoo and Mail Myself to You.
Like thousands of people in the ’60s, McCutcheon taught himself to play a mail-order guitar and joined his local community’s folk scene. However, his interest became more serious when he sought the roots of this music. McCutcheon headed to Appalachia and learned from some of the legendary greats of traditional folk music. Along the way, he became proficient on a multitude of instruments, including the fiddle, banjo, guitar, autoharp, jaw harp, and especially the hammered dulcimer. McCutcheon is considered one of the undisputed masters of the hammered dulcimer and adapts much of his music to the instrument.
As a new father, McCutcheon found most children’s music “unmusical and condescending.” In 1983 he attempted to remedy the situation with his first release for Rounder, Howjadoo. McCutcheon thought Howjadoo would be the only children’s record he would make. But the critical acclaim for Howjadoo was such that several other children’s albums followed. McCutcheon’s 1988 release, Mail Myself to You, featured several songs by classic folk songwriters such as Woody Guthrie and Malvina Reynolds. In McCutcheon’s hands, these old songs took on a new luster. Family Garden followed in 1993, with several original tunes, including the haunting “Baseball on the Block.”
McCutcheon began a new series of children’s albums in 1995 with the release of Summersongs. Later that same year, Rounder released the second album in the series, Wintersongs. Wintersongs was nominated for a Grammy in 1996. Storied Ground followed three years later. The time between albums revitalized the singer-songwriter, and in 2001 he followed up with Supper’s on the Table…. Filled with more socially conscious lyrics, the album had the feel of an old-time folk record.
WHO: Strings Concerts Presents John McCutcheon – KVMR Annual Fundraiser
WHEN: Friday, January 17 at 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: The Arts Center, 314 W. Main Street, Grass Valley
COST: Reserved seats: $35 and $50
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