Richie Havens transcends time with music at MCPA http://www.macombdaily.com/articles/2009/04/11/entertainment/srv0000005080169.txt
Published: Saturday, April 11, 2009 Flash back to Woodstock with Richie Havens when he appears at 8 p.m. Friday at the Macomb Center for the Performing Arts. With one of the most recognizable voices in popular music, Havens has inspired audiences from the Woodstock Music & Arts Fair in 1969, to the Clinton Presidential Inauguration in 1993, coming full circle with the 30th Woodstock Anniversary celebration, "A Day in the Garden," in 1999. Special guest Harry Manx joins Havens at the MCPA. Havens' soulful singing style remains as ageless as when he first emerged from the Greenwich Village folk scene in the early 1960s. For more than three decades, Havens has used his music to convey messages of brotherhood and personal freedom. With more than 25 albums released and a hectic touring schedule, he continues to view his calling as a higher one. "I really sing songs that move me," he said. "I'm not in show business; I'm in the communications business. That's what it's about for me." As a live performer, Havens first earned notice with his Woodstock appearance, and that proved to be a major turning point in his career. As the festival's first performer, he held the crowd spellbound for nearly three hours, called back for encore after encore. Having run out of tunes, he improvised a song based on the old spiritual "Motherless Child" that became "Freedom," a song often now considered to be the anthem of a generation. For Havens, making music is a continuous journey; one that advances a step further with each album. "My albums are meant to be a chronological view of the times we've come through, what we've thought about, and what we've done to grow and change," he said. No where is this more apparent than with his latest release "Nobody Left to Crown" (July 2008/Verve Records). His songs still apply as the situation in America is not dissimilar to that of the '60s. "Songs that I wrote at the time are more pertinent today than ever, with the connection that links Vietnam and Iraq," said Havens. His fiery cover of The Who classic "Won't Get Fooled Again" is anything but innocent and connects the rebellion of two generations, with Havens playing the role of ferryman. "We are at the dawn of major change," he said. Harry Manx, who Billboard Magazine proclaims as "Canada's most versatile and expressive blues player," joins Havens with his own musical short stories that wed the tradition of the blues with the depth of classical Indian ragas. A successful touring performer, Manx has brought his solo shows across Canada and into the United States, Australia, and Europe. Playing the mohan veena, lap steel, harmonica, stomp box, and banjo, Manx envelops the audience into what has been dubbed "the Harry Zone" with his warm vocals and the haunting melodies of his original songs. Blend Indian folk melodies with slide guitar blues, add a sprinkle of gospel and some compelling grooves and you'll get Manx's "mysticssippi" flavor. Tickets for the Havens/Manx show, $30 to $50, are available from 10 a.m.to 2 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday and noon to 6 p.m. Friday at the MCPA box office at Garfield and Hall roads in Clinton Township. Discounts are available for students, senior citizens, military personnel (both active and retired with a valid military I.D.), and groups of 20 or more. For more information, visit www.MacombCenter.com or call (586) 286-2222. The Macomb Daily is a premier sponsor of the MCPA season. . --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sixties-L" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sixties-l?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
