John McCutcheon
Saturday December 1, 8pm
Sounding Board, West Hartford, CT
If you've listened at all to folk music radio over the past 20 years, it's unlikely you haven't heard the song that can be considered McCutcheon's "hit." Called, Christmas In the Trenches, it's the unlikely, but true, story of opposing soldiers in WWI's "no man's land," calling a Christmas truce, and nearly putting an end to fighting, until the generals rearranged the troops so they would continue to fight. It's an amazing holiday, anti-war song that works. I know more than one person who has told me that its moved them to tears. But McCutcheon is not a one-hit wonder. He's an amazing hammer dulcimer player, and guitarist, banjo-player, fiddler, etc. He writes songs of conscience and commitment, and he's recordered more than two dozen albums.
Bill Morrissey Saturday Dec. 1, 7:30 pm
Roaring Brook Nature Center Canton, CT
Bill Morrissey writes songs the way Richard Russo writes novels. They're stories of endurance in a life that is unfair, unreliable and filled with injustice. In that world, Morrissey finds reason to hope, reason to love, and reason to remember. Morrissey's ability to ferret out details of ordinary life, and elevate them to the plane of art are what give his songs their resonance. He sings in a pinched, craggy style which fits the subject of his songs. A true American treasure, Morrissey has been touring less of late, and it's great to see he'll be back in Connecticut this weekend.
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