Posted by: thepinetree on 12/04/2008 11:16 PM
Updated by: Kim_Hamilton on 01/08/2009 10:54 AM
Expires: 01/01/2013 12:00 AM
:
Mega Music Star Peter Rowan Heads to Angels Camp
Longtime acoustic music legend Peter Rowan, still making waves in the music world, will make a special stop in Angels Camp Sunday, January 11, for the Calaveras Arts Council’s Ovations Performing Arts Series. Starting at 3:00 pm at Bret Harte High School’s Dr. Elliott Smart Performing Arts Center, Rowan will show why he’s called a “chameleon of musical genres.” Not one to pigeonhole himself into any particular style, his original songwriting is the driving force of his musical diversity.....
As a musical experimenter, Rowan has blurred the boundaries between old-time country, folk, reggae, blues and rock styles. Mentored by the great bluegrass artist Bill Monroe, Rowan sings, yodels, plays numerous stringed instruments, plus the saxophone. He’s become a leading international performer and is considered one of the most influential singers and songwriters in contemporary bluegrass for over four decades.
For the January 11th concert in Angels Camp, Rowan will be backed up by banjo, bass, mandolin and additional vocals. The $25 per person tickets are available online at www.highsierratickets.com, or, if not sold out, at the door the theatre the day of the concert starting at 2:30 pm.
Born in Boston to musician parents, and always around music as a youngster, Rowan formed his own band while in high school. After college he decided to become a professional musician, joining a Cambridge-based band as mandolin player and singer. Then he became a rhythm guitarist and lead singer with Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys. When the two harmonized, they were said to have reached “heavenly heights”, and they co-wrote the bluegrass standard Walls of Time. Later Rowan teamed up with mandolinist David Grisman in the folk-rock band Earth Opera, which frequently opened for The Doors. It was during this time when Rowan began to write songs, but he continued working with an amazing number of varied groups throughout the ‘80s and ‘90’s, including Seatrain, Muleskinner, Wild Stallions, and The Free Mexican Airforce.
Currently, through his independent records and constant touring to all kinds of festivals, from Telluride to Strawberry, Rowan has developed a devoted, international fan base. A follower of Tibetan Buddhism, Rowan is well-traveled and well-schooled. He compares his late mentor Bill Monroe and his pioneering music to the nature poets and painters of the seventh-century Chinese Tang dynasty, who similarly evoked the 'high lonesomeness' which is at the heart of Monroe and bluegrass. Rowan always follows his muse; he does world music projects, old-timey music, and now he's back to bluegrass, where his roots are. Some say he's even starting to look like Bill Monroe.
For more information about this concert, contact the non-profit Calaveras Arts Council at (209)754-1774, or check out www.calaverasarts.org. The next concert in the Ovations series will be on Sunday, January 25, at 3:00 pm, featuring cabaret songstress Wesla Whitfield, formerly with San Francisco’s Plush
Mary Jane Genochio
Penny West
Executive Director(s)
Calaveras County Arts Council
PO Box 250 / 22 N. Main St.
San Andreas, CA 95249
209.754.1774
arts@goldrush.com
www.calaverasarts.org
|
