The news that Pete Seeger would be coming to Brattleboro, sent me scurrying in several directions at once.
For one, I went to brattleborotix.com to get my tickets for the Sept. 13 show at the Latchis, which also features his grandson, Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, and blues musician Guy Davis - and is a benefit for a micro-loan program for the region's farmers.
More meaningfully, the news sent me back in time to gather up some fond memories. During my childhood, we escaped the hot humid city by spending July and August in an old farmhouse in upstate New York. We had no TV there, so evenings were spent playing cards and games and listening to the handful of records we had on an old record player. The records we listened to most were three discs of American folk songs and ballads performed by Pete Seeger. At the time, they were just fun to listen to. Now, I regard all those summer evenings as my education in Americana ... important exposure to these songs which are part of our heritage, even if we never rode an old paint. I can't think of those songs without hearing Seeger's plain, pleasant voice, backed by his banjo.
That trip down memory lane sent me scurrying further to the depths of my basement, where I found those old Folkways records. With some trepidation, I brought them up, wondering if they still played. To my utter delight, they did. Once more, Pete Seeger's voice, singing "Wabash Cannonball" and "Mary Don't You Weep" and "Sweet Betsy from Pike" reached my ears, connecting me ever more powerfully with my childhood memories. Nobody sings those old folk songs with such heartfelt gusto and utter sincerity as Pete Seeger does.
Even if you don't know much about him - or think his time has come and gone - you shouldn't miss seeing him. I'll be bringing my wife and daughters with me on Sept. 13 - and my memories.