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John McCutcheon
John McCutcheon wasn’t supposed to become
a folksinger. He was headed for a lucrative career as a social worker
in migrant labor camps. But Woody Guthrie got there first. He heard
the songs of the Dust Bowl refugees, the Grapes of Wrath stories that
crackled on the airwaves of early 1960s radio and knew something else
was going on.
While still a college student John heard recordings of Roscoe Holcomb and Clarence
Ashley, walked out to the end of the college road, stuck out his thumb and never
looked back. He ended up roaming the Appalachians, trading a university classroom
for the front porches, picket lines, union halls, churches, and square dance
barns of his adopted home. He quickly mastered seven different instruments, became
an insightful and powerful singer of traditional songs, and honed an ear for
a good story. Songwriting, storytelling, social activism all met and finally
made sense.
John McCutcheon’s mastery of American folk music, instruments, and storytelling
weave intimate, insightful and often hilarious canvasses on which McCutcheon
draws his vision of Americana. His songwriting, rich in detail and broad in scope,
have created a catalog of hundreds of songs covered by performers throughout
the world. His classic Christmas in the Trenches has been repeatedly cited as “the
greatest anti-war song ever written” and is the subject of an annual, coast-to-coast
special on CBC. Find out what all the fuss is about when John McCutcheon performs
on Dec. 2 with the Winfield Regional Symphony under the direction of Gary Gackstatter.
The concert is slated for 7:30 p.m. in the Robert Brown Theatre on the Cowley
College campus, Arkansas City.
Equally at home in the recording studio, John has produced over 25 albums in
as many years. He has garnered an amazing five consecutive Grammy nominations
and has been awarded every imaginable award in the independent record industry.
Additionally he has produced documentary and educational recordings, authored
children’s books, chaired literacy campaigns, championed grassroots organizations
throughout the world, and is even currently the president of the most innovative
and fastest growing local in the musicians union. The concert was sponsored by
The Arts at Cowley COllege and the Winfield Regional Symphony.
