The Pasadena Folk Music Society presents John McCutcheon in 9 days, on Saturday, April 2 at 8:00 PM in Beckman Institute Auditorium (Little Beckman) on the Caltech campus. Presenting John is always among our proudest moments, as he is a one-man folk festival in his diverse instrumental abilities, his great songwriting and song gathering talents, his fine voice, and his commitment to humane values. There is something for everyone. John plays guitar, hammered dulcimer, banjo, piano, autoharp, fiddle, and more. He is funny, insightful, and totally committed to bringing people together. When we think of John, Pete Seeger comes to mind in the way both use music and singing to bring people together in a very positive way. You can hear John talk about Pete in his introduction to the singing of Woody Guthrie’s This Land is Your Land, and you will get a good idea of John’s spirit. Listen to his beautiful original tune on hammered dulcimer, Leviathan,inspired by a whale watch trip, to experience his talent on that instrument. Listen to his song, Forgotten, about Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani woman who won a Nobel Prize for her advocacy for human rights and education, including standing up to the Taliban. John’s voice is very welcome in a time of harsh political bluster and fear. And finally, there is his great song, Christmas in the Trenches, about an amazing few hours amidst World War I. Don’t miss this show!

Tickets for this show are $25 for adults and $5 for Caltech students and children. You can order them by calling (626) 395-4652. Click here to buy tickets online (till 3PM Friday) . We will be updating our web site for information about other great shows coming up. The Ticket Office is located at Winnett Student Center on campus, and you can buy tickets there in person without a fee. They are open 9AM-4PM Monday through Friday. John’s shows at Caltech generally either sell out the night of the show or come very close, so you might want to consider buying tickets in advance. We have already sold a quarter of the seats, but we’ll give you an update on the situation next week.

We just got confirmation that Andrea Beaton and Dick Hensold have been rescheduled for Saturday, May 21 in Beckman Institute Auditorium. We haven’t had time to update the web page but you can see our original information from the January show here.

Another reminder of upcoming festivals, including one we haven’t mentioned yet, the Huck Finn Jubilee Bluegrass Festival June 10-12, with a great line-up. The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books will be at USC on April 9 & 10. The amazing Topanga Banjo Fiddle Contest and Folk Festival, a delightful day in the country (Paramount Ranch) with music and dance is coming up on Sunday May 15 and the Claremont Folk Festival is the following week, now on a Sunday, May 22.