John McCutcheon

John McCutcheon uses words and music to address world issues

By JAMES D. WATTS JR. World Scene Writer
4/13/2007

He's been called "the Bruce Springsteen of folk music," and Johnny Cash once described him as the "most impressive instrumentalist I've ever heard."

John McCutcheon has been addressing the issue of the world through music and lyrics for the better part of 30 years and more than 20 albums of original songs.

He will be in Tulsa Friday for an 8 p.m. concert at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center's Williams Theatre, Second Street and Cincinnati Avenue. Tickets are $20.

McCutcheon grew up in Wisconsin, and during his college years started traveling to places such as Kentucky to soak up Appalachian music first-hand. He also developed his talents on a variety of instruments -- guitar, banjo, autoharp, fiddle and hammered dulcimer.

McCutcheon conducted the first-ever joint tour by a Russian and an American folksinger in 1991 when he and fellow folksinger Gregory Gladkov of Russia toured each country.

Other overseas tours include headlining festivals in Australia and traveling through Nicaragua on behalf of a children's literacy program.

His albums include Grammy-nominated collections of children's songs and recordings that take a satiric look at politics, such as 2003's "Hail to the Chief (and Other Short Shelf-Life Classics)."

Of this last disc, McCutcheon writes on his Web site, "One of the first things I ever learned about music was how much fun it was. Shortly thereafter, I learned how potent it was. Almost immediately I found that combining the two was down right lethal."

McCutcheon's most recent release is "Mightier Than the Sword," in which he set poetry and lyrics by writers such as Woody Guthrie, Jose Marti and Pablo Neruda to music, and writes original songs inspired by the works of writers such as Barbara Kingsolver and Wendell Berry.

By JAMES D. WATTS JR. World Scene Writer