CD Release: Bucket List
“The multi-instrumentalist wonder, a master at leading into a song with a story” THE SUN
“This is…Steinbeck with a guitar” FLAGPOLE
“The multi-instrumentalist wonder, a master at leading into a song with a story” THE SUN
Seven-time Grammy nominee JOHN McCUTCHEON, master instrumentalist, powerful singer-songwriter and storyteller, returns to our GE Theatre, introducing his newest release Bucket List, live in person at 7:30 pm, Friday, November 19, 8th Step at Proctors! The songs on Bucket List were chosen from over 100 written he wrote during the quarantine.
For fifty years he toured the world, then: Covid. Without planes to catch, soundchecks, concert halls and clubs to fill, he headed to a small cabin and wrote – a lot. His last recording Cabin Fever was written in a mere three weeks, but he kept going. “When you’re in that zone, it’s exciting, fascinating, revealing, and you're not really in control," he says happily. Once McCutcheon hit one hundred new songs, he stepped back to figure out what, exactly, to do with this bounty. The answer: record.
The first of a series of planned releases with songs culled from the hundred, Bucket List was released nationally in mid-September. In 18 new songs McCutcheon explores a small town in France that has harbored refugees for centuries; the piano that first played “We Shall Overcome”; his own musical mentors; moonshine; kids’ crayon art; the atonement of a former white supremacist; and even the World Lacrosse Games. Rich with character and detail, each song is wrapped in his warm baritone and the loving attention that only a master songwriter brings to his craft.
Performing on guitar, banjo and piano, McCutcheon brings in longtime musical partners Jon Carroll on piano, JT Brown on bass, and Stuart Duncan on fiddle and mandolin; the album was recorded Covid appropriately without any two musicians in the same room, a feat in itself.
Bucket List is McCutcheon’s 42nd release. Next will come Leap! in mid-2022. “Too many songs is a nice problem to have,” he says. “I love these stories and want to share what I found therein."
Whether in print, on record, or on stage, few people communicate with the versatility, charm, wit or pure talent of John McCutcheon. The Smoke Rise, GA based musician - whom Johnny Cash once referred to as “the most impressive instrumentalist I’ve ever heard” - is greatly looking forward to sharing the new music, as well as beloved favorites, live - back in front of a live audience again at last. Here at The 8th Step, we're happy to accommodate.
Long one of America’s most respected and loved folksingers. McCutcheon is master of a dozen different traditional instruments, most uniquely the rare and beautiful hammered dulcimer. Hailed by critics and singers around the globe, his 42 recordings have garnered every imaginable honor. He has also produced over 20 albums of other artists, from traditional fiddlers to contemporary singer-songwriters to educational and documentary works; his books and instructional materials have introduced budding players to the joys of their own musicality. His commitment to union work and other grassroots political organizations has put him, like his friend and mentor Pete Seeger, on the front lines defending issues important to communities and workers.
His most recent 8th Step performances include a 2019 CD Release for To Everyone in All the World, his tribute album to Pete Seeger; he was a featured performer at The Step's 2019 Adirondack weekend SeegerSongs at Great Camp Sagamore. He most recently performed two virtual concerts for The Step during the Covid lockdown.
Tickets: Available through 8thstep.org or Proctors Box Office 518-346-6204
Tickets are also available at 8th Step Ticket/Info Line: 518-434-1703 ($10 Student tickets through this 8th Step phone line only).
**WE WELCOME TICKET HOLDERS WITH PROOF OF VACCINATION AT THE DOOR; MASKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING PROCTORS, INCLUDING THROUGHOUT THE PERFORMANCE. HELP US KEEP EVERYONE SAFE.**