On Friday, February 19 at 8:30 p.m., Richie Havens—the renowned singer and guitarist known for his intense rhythmic guitar style, rich melodies, and powerful lyrics—performs an evening of folk and soul classics in Zankel Hall. Since his initial rise to fame during the Greenwich Village folk music movement three decades ago, Havens has continued to use his music to convey messages of brotherhood and personal freedom. This performance is the final concert of the WFUV Live at Zankel series, presented by Carnegie Hall in partnership with WFUV, 90.7 FM, which celebrates the art of singer-songwriters and highlights the eclectic nature of their music. WFUV’s Music Director, Rita Houston, curates the annual series with Carnegie Hall and serves as host for the concerts. The 2009–2010 season also included performances by Dan Wilson & Cory Chisel with the Wandering Sons and Shelby Lynne.Richie Havens has been gifted with one of the most recognizable voices in popular music. His fiery, poignant, and soulful singing style has been universally hailed since he first emerged in the early 1960s and has inspired audiences from the 1969 Woodstock Music & Arts Fair to the 1993 Clinton Presidential Inauguration, and all points in between. Though he had been a fixture on the folk music scene years prior, it was his appearance at Woodstock—in which he held the crowd of thousands spellbound for nearly three hours of music and numerous encores—that helped him to reach worldwide audiences. His improvised song based on the spiritual “Motherless Child” and “Freedom” subsequently became an anthem for a generation of music lovers.
Havens describes his making music as a continuous journey, noting, "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 continues, “There’s a universal point to which we all respond, and where all songs apply to everyone." His latest album, entitled Nobody Left to Crown (Verve), was released in 2008.
Carnegie Hall’s WFUV Live at Zankel, now in its fifth year, is based on WFUV’s pioneering music format which blends adult rock, singer-songwriters, and roots music. Artists who have performed as part of the series include the bird and the bee, Rosanne Cash, Marc Cohn, Cowboy Junkies, Kathleen Edwards and John Doe, Alejandro Escovedo, Nick Lowe, Gary Louris and Mark Olson, Nellie McKay, Joan Osborne, Jane Siberry, and Suzanne Vega.
WFUV (90.7 FM, wfuv.org) is a non-commercial, listener-supported public radio station, licensed to Fordham University for over 60 years. Serving the New York area as well as an international audience on the web, and a leader in contemporary music radio, WFUV is Rock & Roots Radio, offering an eclectic mix of rock, singer-songwriters, blues, world and other music, plus headlines from National Public Radio and local news.
Program Information
Friday, February 19 at 8:30 p.m.
Zankel Hall
RICHIE HAVENS
Richie Havens, Vocals
Presented by Carnegie Hall in Partnership with WFUV, 90.7 FM.
Bank of America is the Proud Season Sponsor of Carnegie Hall.
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Ticket Information |