Supple Folk Music Series features John McCutcheon
SAN MARCOS — John McCutcheon, one of the most influential hammered dulcimer players in America today, brings his popular brand of folk music to Texas State University-San Marcos Friday, October 17, for a 7:30 p.m. performance in the Music Building Recital Hall.
| The show is part of the Jerry and Cathy Supple Folk Music Series, co-sponsored by Century Tel, with the proceeds to benefit the Reed Parr Music Endowment. Raised in Wisconsin, McCutcheon hitchhiked the Appalachians armed with a backpack, a banjo and a healthy measure of youthful curiosity. Learning from some of the great traditional masters he met there, McCutcheon mastered the banjo, guitar, fiddle, autoharp, mountain dulcimer and jaw harp. He became a knowledgeable and powerful singer of traditional music, with a wry wit and ear for a good story. His mastery of American folk music and instruments, complemented by “storytelling that has the richness of fine literature” (Washington Post) weave intimate, insightful and often hilarious canvasses on which McCutcheon draws his vision of Americana. His songwriting, rich in detail and broad in scope, has created a catalog of hundreds of songs covered by performers throughout the world. His classic Christmas in the Trenches has been repeatedly cited as “the greatest anti-war song ever written” and is the subject of an annual, coast-to-coast special on CBC. |  John McCutcheon |
McCutcheon has recorded 26 albums, all meeting with critical and popular acclaim, and his work with children’s music has earned him four consecutive Grammy Award nominations. Critics reserve their most lavish praise for McCutcheon’s hammered dulcimer work. He has pushed the bounds of the instrument, exposing it to country, rock and jazz audiences. His concerts are international sold-out hits from Russia to Dallas, with Pravda noting “McCutcheon…is the most versatile and compelling performer this reviewer has ever seen.”
Tickets prices are $10 for the general public and $5 for students, with limited seating. For further information, contact Cindy Dean in the Texas State School of Music at (512) 245-2651.