Mainstay Hosts Two Concerts in Tribute to Pete Seeger This Weekend

Folk legend Tom Paxton pays tribute to another legend, Pete Seeger, Sunday June 3 at the Mainstay in Rockj Hall.

The Mainstay in Rock Hall, MD pays tribute to the music and activism of Pete Seeger with a concert with Betty and the Baby Boomers on Friday June 1 at 8:00 p.m. and a concert with legendary songwriter Tom Paxton on Saturday June 2 at 8:00 p.m.

There will also be a discussion on Saturday afternoon June 1 led by Mainstay founder and director Tom McHugh and a sing-around on Sunday June 3 at the new pavilion in Rock Hall Village at the corner of Main Street and Route 20 in Rock Hall. Admission is $15 for Betty and the Baby Boomers and $20 for Tom Paxton. The discussion and the sing-around are free. The weekend is sponsored by Judy Kohl. For information and reservations call 410-639-9133. Information is also available at the Mainstay?s website http://www.mainstayrockhall.org.

On Friday June 1, Betty and the Baby Boomers return to the Mainstay from their home in the Hudson River Valley to help pay tribute to their long-time associate and collaborator Pete Seeger. The folk music magazine Sing-Out called them ?a refreshing reminder of the halcyon days of American folk music.? Betty Boomer, Steve Stanne, Jean Valla McAvoy and Paul Rubeo met as singers on the sloop Clearwater in 1985. Bassist Robert Bard joined the group in 2009. The Clearwater organization was founded by Pete Seeger. It built the 106 foot Hudson River sloop Clearwater and is dedicated to environmental causes.

With a sound inspired by the enthusiastic harmonies of folk groups like Peter, Paul & Mary and the Weavers, the Boomers draw material from traditional folk music, from contemporary songwriters and classic folk writers like Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Phil Ochs. Their distinctive arrangements feature rich three and four part harmonies, strong instrumentals and occasional a capella voices. David Malachowski in the Kingston (NY) Daily Freeman said they ?sing and play old-school folk like it was brand spanking new.? Admission to Betty and the Baby Boomers is $15.

Folk/rockers Betty and the Baby Boomers will perform at the Mainstay in Rock Hall on Friday, June 1.

Betty Boomer is a former English teacher turned naturalist, working on the Hudson and in the Valley?s other precious open spaces. Jean Valla McAvoy is the education coordinator for the Hudson River Research Reserve, protecting wetlands along the river. Paul Rubeo, a longtime social studies teacher, today trains teachers to use computer and video technology to bring the river into their classrooms. Steve Stanne directed Clearwater?s teaching programs for nearly twenty years and now coordinates the education projects of New York State?s Hudson River Estuary Program.

On Saturday afternoon June 2 at 1:00 p.m., there will be an informal discussion about Pete Seeger?s music and activism with Tom McHugh and some of Pete?s colleagues and associates. Steve Stanne is a founding member of Betty & the Baby Boomers who directed Clearwater?s teaching programs for nearly twenty years and now coordinates the education projects of New York State?s Hudson River Estuary Program. Judy Kohl was a Hudson River Valley resident for 40 years, a Clearwater member, co-founder of Hedgelawn Foundation and sponsor of this weekend tribute to Pete Seeger. John Mylod is a former Director of the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater and a Hudson River shad fisherman. Tom McHugh, is a former VP of the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater and is founder and director of The Mainstay. The discussion will take place at the Mainstay and admission is free.

Saturday June 3 at 8:00 p.m., Tom Paxton, one of America?s great folk songwriters returns to the Mainstay stage to continue the tribute to Seeger. Included in Paxton?s body of work are such timeless standards as ?The Last Thing On My Mind?, ?Ramblin? Boy?, ?Bottle Of Wine?, ?Whose Garden Was This??, ?Goin? To The Zoo? and ?The Marvelous Toy?.

Tom Paxton has been writing witty and incisive topical songs since the 60s. His songs are at once timeless and contemporary. He has become a voice of multiple generations, addressing issues of injustice and inhumanity, laying bare the absurdities of modern culture, and celebrating the most tender bonds of family, friends, and community.

In describing Tom Paxton?s influence on his fellow musicians, Pete Seeger has said: ?Tom?s songs have a way of sneaking up on you. You find yourself humming them, whistling them, and singing a verse to a friend. Like the songs of Woody Guthrie, they?re becoming part of America.?

Paxton received a 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy during the 51st Annual Grammy Awards. He was nominated for a Grammy for ?Comedians and Angels? in 2007, and ?Live in the U.K.? in 2006. He was also nominated for Grammys in 2003 for his Appleseed Records CD, ?Looking For The Moon?, and in 2002 for his children?s CD, ?Your Shoes, My Shoes?. He has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from ASCAP, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the BBC in London. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music from Washington College in 2009.

His place in folk music is secured not just by hit records and awards, but by the admiration of three generations of fellow musicians. An internationally recognized and loved cultural figure, he has always chosen goodwill over commercial success. He not only wrote but also lives the words, ?Peace will come, and let it begin with me.?

Judy Collins, another legend whose body of work goes back to the 60s, said ?Tom Paxton?s songs are so powerful and lyrical, written from the heart and the conscience, and they reach their mark, our most inner being. He writes stirring songs of social protest and gentle songs of love, each woven together with his personal gift for language. His melodies haunt, his lyrics reverberate. I have sung Tom?s songs for three decades and will go on doing so in the new century, for they are beautiful and timeless, and meant for every age.?
Upon graduating from the University of Oklahoma in 1959 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, Paxton acted in summer stock theatre and briefly tried graduate school before joining the Army. Brought to the New York vicinity courtesy of the Army, Paxton remained there following his discharge. His early success in Greenwich Village coffeehouses, such as The Gaslight and The Bitter End, led to an ever-increasing circle of work. Pete Seeger started singing his songs including ?Ramblin? Boy? in the early 60s.

In his book ?Mayor of MacDougal Street? Dave Van Ronk said, ?Dylan is usually cited as the founder of the new song movement, and he certainly became its most visible standard-bearer, but the person who started the whole thing was Tom Paxton ? he tested his songs in the crucible of live performance, he found that his own stuff was getting more attention than when he was singing traditional songs or stuff by other people? he set himself a training regimen of deliberately writing one song every day. Dylan had not yet showed up when this was happening, and by the time Bobby came on the set, with at most two or three songs he had written, Tom was already singing at least 50 percent his own material.?

Over the years, Paxton?s songs have been recorded by Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, the Kingston Trio, Peter, Paul & Mary, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Simon & Garfunkel, Harry Belefonte, Neil Diamond, Glen Campbell, John Denver and Placido Domingo among hundreds of others.

Admission to the Tom Paxton concert is $20 and reservations are a must.

On Sunday June 3 at 1:00 p.m., the Mainstay concludes its tribute to the music of Pete Seeger with a sing-around at the new pavilion at the corner of Rte. 20 and Main Street in Rock Hall. Everyone is invited to bring their voice, guitar or other instrument. Attendees can bring a Pete Seeger song to share with the group or just join in on the choruses of Seeger songs like ?Where Have all the Flowers Gone,? ?If I Had a Hammer? ?Turn, Turn Turn? and ?We Shall Overcome? and songs associated with Seeger like ?This Land is Your Land, ?Michael Row the Boat Ashore? and ?Goodnight Irene.? Admission is free. In the event of severe weather, the sing-around will move indoors to the Mainstay.

The Mainstay (Home of Musical Magic) is the friendly informal storefront performing arts center on Rock Hall?s old time Main Street. It is a 501(c)(3), non profit dedicated to the arts, serving Rock Hall, MD and the surrounding region. It is committed to presenting local, regional and national level talent, at a reasonable price, in an almost perfect acoustic setting. Wine, beer, sodas and snacks are available at the bar.

The Mainstay is supported by ticket sales, fundraising including donations from friends and audience members and an operating grant from the Maryland State Arts Council.

For information and reservations call the Mainstay at 410-639-9133. More information is also available at the Mainstay?s website http://www.mainstayrockhall.org.

Betty and Baby Boomers Video

Upcoming Mainstay performances include:
June 9 Guy Davis
June 16 Red Mountain (free outdoor concert)
Wed. June 20 Bob Seeley & Daryl Davis
June 23 Red June
June 29 Byron Stripling with the Chuck Redd Quartet

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