Événement

John McCutcheon in concert

Singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist John McCutcheon has been at the forefront of American folk music since the late '70s, covering a wide variety of traditions including Appalachian dulcimer and fiddle music, topical protest songs, and children's albums for respected folk labels like June Appal, Red House, and Rounder Records. Establishing himself as a master of the hammered dulcimer on the groundbreaking 1977 release The Wind That Shakes the Barley, the Wisconsin native moved into making children's music in the early '80s with albums like Howjadoo and Mail Myself to You. Proficient on numerous instruments including the hammered and mountain dulcimer, fiddle, guitar, banjo, and jawharp, McCutcheon has also performed widely as a storyteller, written several books, worked as a social and labor activist, and produced albums for other artists such as Holly Near, making him somewhat of a renaissance man. He has remained prolific well into the 2010s, both on-stage and in the studio, releasing thoughtful, finely crafted albums like the 2006 literary project Mightier Than the Sword and 2013's diverse 22 Days, a collaboration with Bosnian cellist Vedran Smailovic.

Like thousands of others in the '60s, McCutcheon taught himself how to play a mail-order guitar and joined the folk scene in his local community. His interest became more serious, however, when he sought to find the roots of this music. McCutcheon headed for Appalachia and learned from some of the legendary greats of traditional folk music. Along the way, he became adept at a multitude of instruments, including fiddle, banjo, guitar, autoharp, jaw harp, and especially the hammered dulcimer. McCutcheon is considered one of the undisputed masters on the hammered dulcimer and adapts much of his music around the instrument.