In just two days, the Pasadena Folk Music Society will present Katy Moffatt with her marvelous vocals, fine guitar work, and varied songs, both original and borrowed. Katy will perform in Beckman Institute Auditorium (Little Beckman) this Saturday, March 28 at 8:00 p.m. She might have been a country music star, with strings, a full band, and stardom (Listen to one of her fine early singles, I Can Almost See Houston From Here), but life took some different turns and she came to be a much more grounded songwriter/performer who travels a great deal and plays smaller, intimate settings. She hasn’t put out a recording for over five years, so hearing her live show is the only way to hear the great music she’s doing today. Listen to one of our favorites, This Train Stops for Railroad Crosses, and you will hear what is special about her—the expressive vocal, perfect guitar backing, and evocative original song.
Half of Saturday’s show will feature her Midnight Radio one-woman show, which traces back to the impact that songs she heard on the radio—while doing homework in her room after everyone else had gone to bed—had on her development as a songwriter and musician. The genesis of this show is the song Midnight Radio which she recorded back in 1996. The other songs she has chosen for this set include both her own stories and songs about the lives of people like Frida Khalo, Marina Oswald (Lee Harvey Oswald’s wife), and “ordinary” housewives, the stories of women young and old, known and unknown, dreaming their own paths into being while blazing a trail for others. The other half of Saturday’s show will feature some of her familiar favorites, along with a few that have been recently added to her repertoire. Katy’s music can be soft and reflective, as well as uppity and blues tinged, as you’ll hear in a 6-minute montage of songs, including If You Can’t Stand the Heat, co-written with Tom Russell.
Katy spends much of her time touring outside of California, cross country, Europe, and elsewhere around the world, so you’ve got to take advantage of the few chances to see her locally. Hear her sing her song Rosa’s Favorite Son from a show in Spain. See her web page at http://www.katymoffatt.com. Tickets for the show are $15 for adults and $5 for Caltech students and children. Order them at the Caltech Ticket Office from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday at (626) 395-4652 or in person (no service charge) at Winnett Student Center on campus. You can also buy them online until 4:00 p.m. today, Thursday, March 26. Tickets are almost sure to be available at the door for cash as well.
Unfortunately, we just got word that Old Blind Dogs has had to cancel their 2015 U.S. Tour, including their May 9 show in Pasadena! Due to considerable delays by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the members of Old Blind Dogs were unable to get their immigration permits cleared in time for the tour, which was to begin August 23. The hope now is that clearance will soon come and that they can be pre-approved for a tour in 2016. We will keep you posted on this.
Meanwhile, we have been able to book the Celtic music group RUNA for a return show on the May 9 date, so we will still have a fine concert to offer! More about that show coming up! If you have already purchased tickets for Old Blind Dogs, contact the Ticket Office at (626) 395-4652 to either exchange OBD tickets for RUNA tickets or to get a refund. Obviously, we are all upset and disappointed after much anticipation of the return of Old Blind Dogs, and we apologize for not being able to present them as planned.