Ramblin' Jack Elliott Joins Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews & More to Honor Pete Seeger
Ramblin' Jack Elliott Joins Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews & More to Honor Pete Seeger's 90th, Headlines Select Shows on Both Coasts
A Stranger Here - Elliott's Interpretation of Depression-Era Blues, "His Masterpiece" (Amazon) - out April 7
Ramblin' Jack Elliott is among dozens of musicians - including Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Vedder, John Mellencamp and more - who will gather at Madison Square Garden on May 3rd to celebrate American folk legend Pete Seeger's 90th birthday. Labelmates Billy Bragg and Michael Franti are also scheduled to appear.
Later that month, Ramblin' Jack will revisit neighborhoods he used to frequent with the likes of Jack Kerouac and Bob Dylan in the 1950s and '60s when he plays a special show at the Highline Ballroom in New York City on May 13th. Other east and west coast dates listed below.
The 77 year old Elliott is making a number of select appearances in support of his upcoming release A Stranger Here, available April 7th on ANTI- Records. Produced by Joe Henry (Bettye LaVette, Solomon Burke, Elvis Costello/Allen Toussaint), A Stranger Here is a collection of carefully chosen pre-WWII blues songs, re-crafted with backing by legendary Los Angeles session musicians such as Van Dyke Parks and David Hidalgo and re-imagined with Elliott's world-scarred voice. The resulting effort is receiving absolute acclaim from critics:
- "Both beautiful and brave in its purity" -Filter
- "Elliott has made his masterpiece, an album at once elegiac and defiant, that can stand beside great late career recordings by master singers like Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra." -Amazon.com
- "Elliott's singing is scruffy, weathered and wry... it feels different, but it also feels right" -Performing Songwriter
- "The songs contained on A Stranger Here average over seventy years old, but given the current state of the American economy, they still resonate today. The album is a welcome addition to his catalogue and legacy." -Blogcritics.org
The first song from A Stranger Here - "Richland Women Blues" recorded by Mississippi John Hurt in the 1920s - can be heard here.
April 16 - Acoustic Music, San Diego CA April 17 - McCabe's, Los Angeles CA May 2 - Kent Stages, Kent OH May 3 - Madison Square Garden, New York City NY May 7 - Regatta Bar, Cambridge MA May 13 - Highline Ballroom, New York City, NY May 15 - The Turning Point, Piermont NY