Acclaimed multi-instrumentalist and Grammy nominated artist John McCutcheon will be gracing us with his stellar musicianship at the Market Square Presbyterian Church in Harrisburg, PA on Sunday, November 6th at 7:30 p.m. More information and official SFMS Covid Safety Policies can be found on the Susquehanna Folk Music Society website. Tickets for the concert are $24 General Admission, $10 Students, and $20 for Susquehanna Folk Members. Tickets for this concert can be purchased on the Susquehanna Folk website. Prior to the concert, John will be hosting a workshop: Culture & Community – the Arts and Social Movement. Tickets are $15 for General Admission, $10 for Students, and $13 for Susquehanna Folk Members. Tickets for the workshop can also be purchased on the Susquehanna Folk Website. Workshop begins at 4:00 p.m.
Photo by Irene Young
John McCutcheon is one of our country’s most honored and loved folk musicians, delighting our audiences every time he’s come to our stage. For 50 years, John has been touring and creating records. Earlier this year, he released his 43rd album Leap! He’s a multi-instrumental master, a powerful songwriter and singer, and a prolific recording artist with seven Grammy nominations. He’s a respected record producer, a book writer and teacher, and as Pete Seeger observed, a champion of social justice and causes that matter.
SFMS Staff Writer Mary-Grace Autumn Lee had the chance to chat with John McCutcheon about his music career and life on the road.
You recently released your 43rd record, “Leap!” That’s an impressive catalog of music. How has your approach to recording and arranging songs and tunes changed throughout your music career?
I’ve always loved time in the studio. As a soloist, it’s great fun to play with other musicians, especially the ones as good as I’m fortunate enough to record with. Plus, it’s exciting to hear the songs I compose on my own take on a life as others bring them to life. I’ve done so many different kinds of projects (children’s albums, songs that lean more into rock than folk, purely traditional stuff, hammer dulcimer music, etc.) that I’ve tried on lots of different hats. Keeps me creative and interested in the process of arranging in new and different ways. I feel as though, in the past ten years or so, that I’ve settled into what feels like “my sound.” It’s rooted in acoustic music, has room to rock if it needs to, and the fiddle is a melodic and emotional thread through it all. And, last but not least, after a hiatus of 5-6 years after I moved to the Atlanta area and tried lots of different studio configurations, I’ve settled back “home” ay Bias Studios up in Springfield, VA with my trusty engineer and co-producer Bob Dawson. He’s the best.
You are a multi-instrumentalist and a master at the instruments you play. Your hammered dulcimer playing has really shaped what the hammered dulcimer is today in folk music. Can you explain how your approach to the hammered dulcimer has not only inspired many hammered dulcimer players but has also shaped how the instrument is approached in today’s folk music?
Oh, I don’t know that I shaped how it’s used today. I certainly used it in more different ways than others who started out back when I did (very early 70’s). For the first 5 years or so of my playing I didn’t, for the first time, have a traditional player that was guiding me in how to play a new instrument. So I experimented with lots of different music: fiddle tunes, of course, but also classical music, ragtime piano, Irish harp compositions, vocal accompaniment, etc. I was also invited into unexpected situations, as with Johnny Cash, Paul Simon, and others that simply heard the instrument as a sound to be utilized, whereas I treated it as a part of a tradition. So, I got dragged into playing country and rock and new age stuff. It stretched me and also fired up my imagination.
You are celebrating 50 years of music! I’m sure you have a lot of amazing stories from creating music to traveling on the road performing your music. Can you share one of your favorite memories on tour?
I was doing a tour in the USSR in 1991, just before everything changed over there (I don’t think I had anything to do with that, but…) and I had my two young sons, ages 7 and 9, with me. My first visit to Red Square, we emerged from the subway and you have to walk up a bit of a hill to get to the Square. I remember thinking, when I was young I was taught to fear and hate Soviets. We did hide-under-the-desk air raid drills. I may never be very famous, never have the type of careers that so many musicians do, but I’m introducing my sons to real, live human beings and they’re going to grow up with a very different world view than I was given, all thanks to this wacky work that I do. So, if that ain’t success, I don’t know what is.
You have had the honor of collaborating with many amazing artists. Who are some of the artists that have influenced you or played an impact on your life?
I was lucky enough to have Pete Seeger as a friend and mentor. He was invaluable in teaching how to be a performer without being a “star.” Jean Ritchie taught me the power of quiet focus and form. Utah Phillips showed us all how story and song amplify one another. Tom Paxton is a dear friend with whom I’m writing on a weekly basis. He’s an example of someone who rode a wave of tremendous popularity and, when that all calmed down, still retained the joy that is central to our work. Lots more folks and lots more lessons, but those are some high points.
Susquehanna Folk is honored to have you as a part of our concert series. Not only will you be performing a concert, but you will also be hosting a workshop before the concert called “Culture & Community – the Arts and Social Movements.” What can people expect from this workshop?
I was introduced to folk music at 11 years old watching the March on Washington on our little Zenith black and white television. It was part of a social movement greater than itself. It strove to unite, inspire, and motivate people. That mission has been central to how I approach music. This is part of a long history with many lessons and informative examples of using music in thoughtful, strategic ways. That’s the starting point…
John McCutcheon will be gracing us with his stellar musicianship, to the Market Square Presbyterian Church in Harrisburg, PA on Sunday, November 6th at 7:30 p.m. More information and official SFMS Covid Safety Policies can be found on the Susquehanna Folk Music Society website. Tickets for the concert are $24 General Admission, $10 Students, and $20 for Susquehanna Folk Members. This includes new members. Tickets for this concert can be purchased on the Susquehanna Folk website. Prior to the concert, John will be hosting a workshop: Culture & Community – the Arts and Social Movement. explore the connection between art and social movements. It is both an historical and a practical guide to the use of cultural tools in unleashing the potential for change in individuals and in communities. Tickets are $15 for General Admission, $10 for Students, and $13 for Susquehanna Folk Members. Tickets for the workshop can also be purchased on the Susquehanna Folk Website.
Mary-Grace Autumn Lee is a Harrisburg area musician. You can find her on instagram @thatdulcimergirl, her youtube channel, and her official site. Mary-Grace also plays with the Celtic/Americana band Seasons.
Folkmama's Blog 