The Princeton Folk Music Society, celebrating its 60th anniversary, presents a double feature on folk music history, with an emphasis on New Jersey, on Friday, December 12 at 8 p.m. The event takes place at Christ Congregation Church, 50 Walnut Lane.
The program opens with a presentation by Michael Gabriele, the author of New Jersey Folk Revival Music: History & Tradition. New Jersey-based folk musician and Pete Seeger collaborator Spook Handy follows up with a concert in the second half.
Gabriele’s presentation focuses on the evolution, traditions, and history of folk revival music throughout New Jersey. He says that folk revival music is a “living history” that builds upon time-honored traditions, and mixes the cultural influences of Africa and Europe. Gabriele documents the Garden State’s vast contributions to this musical genre, and examines the effects of folk revival music on local history and culture.
Many of his sources recall how their lives were unexpectedly “enchanted” when they first heard the sound of a guitar, mandolin, fiddle or banjo. New Jersey’s geography and “sense of place” as a fertile corridor and crossroads has shaped its musical traditions. The history and contributions of community organizations, such as the Princeton Folk Music Society and The Folk Project, are part of the picture.
Gabriele has published five books on New Jersey history. He is a member of the executive boards of the New Jersey Folk Festival, Allied Artists of America, and the Nutley Historical Society.
Handy will be presenting his Remembering Pete Seeger concert. Originally from New Brunswick, Handy performed alongside Seeger more than 50 times in the last 10 years of Seeger’s life, learning many of his songs and the stories behind them. His goal in presenting the concert is to keep alive the tradition he learned from him of using songs as a tool to build and nurture community. Spook intends to show that the tradition of singing songs with social value is alive and well today.
“While the concert will have a nostalgic quality to it, it will also present a look at the world we live in today and the world we can create for tomorrow,” he said. “Everyone will learn something new about one of America’s most important and influential musicians of the past 100 years.”
Handy has released a CD, Pete, Woody & Me, Volume I – Keep the Flame Alive, a collection of 12 songs that influenced Seeger, that Seeger wrote himself, or that Handy wrote with Seeger’s influence.
Tickets are available online or at the door (if not sold out): $25 ($20 members, $10 students). Visit Princetonfolk.org.