Return of the troubadour: John McCutcheon in concert
“It’s far more than just a gig,” says folk artist John McCutcheon of his annual Sebastiani Theatre show, on June 6. “There are many places I frequent as often as Sonoma, but none I love better.”
The concert had been postponed twice because of Covid.
The Virginia-born troubadour conveys a social consciousness in the great folk tradition through wry, poignant and humorous stories put to music while playing every instrument in the genre’s arsenal, including guitar, banjo, dulcimer, fiddle and Jew’s harp.
In an era of social unrest and economic disparity, the protest element of folk music seems as relevant as ever. McCutcheon said he has leaned much from folk icon Woody Guthrie, a champion of the oppressed and disenfranchised.
“I accidentally had Woody as a guitar teacher: picked up a songbook of his in the local library, thought it was a guitar instruction book,” McCutcheon recalls. “The first 50 songs or so I learned were Guthrie songs. He not only taught me guitar chords, he taught me about writing. And his cardinal rules were two: pay attention and tell the truth.”
“That’s what I try to do, as honestly and as skillfully as possible,” he says. “And if I can make folks laugh and think at the same time, well, that’s golden.”
7:30 p.m. $25. 476 First St. E. 996.9756. Sebastianitheatre.com.
