Folk singer Peter Yarrow to perform at Loeb Playhouse
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Peter Yarrow, of the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, will perform a concert of new and traditional folk music at Purdue's Loeb Playhouse at 3 p.m. Oct. 15.
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Yarrow's daughter, Bethany, and her musical partner, cellist Rufus Cappadocia, will join him in the performance presented by Purdue Convocations.
A successful artist and activist, Yarrow's songwriting has produced some of the most popular songs that Peter, Paul and Mary have recorded, including "Puff, the Magic Dragon," "Day is Done" and "Light One Candle."
Many issues have moved Yarrow to dedicate his time and talent during the years: hunger, homelessness, nuclear threat, education, equal rights and more. Among the many honors bestowed upon him, Yarrow received the Allard K. Lowenstein Award in 1982 for advancing the causes of human rights, peace and freedom.
Bethany & Rufus, a vocal and cello duo, has a sound that slides between groove, jazz and a gritty, unvarnished approach to traditional folk music, according to the group's Web site.
Their new CD, "900 Miles," is an intentionally spare production that blends Bethany Yarrow's voice with the genre-bending cello playing of Cappadocia.
Peter Yarrow has characterized himself as "an old dog, learning new tricks" from Bethany & Rufus.
"The message and spirit of their music is tuned to younger ears, so when I sing with them I am taken to a place that stretches me beyond my former limits," Yarrow said. "I just let them lead me to it. Afterward, the younger audience comes up to me and says, 'You rock!'"
The musical collaboration among Peter, Bethany and Rufus unites musical generations and genres in a way that none of them anticipated, Bethany Yarrow said.
"The folk music tradition from which my dad comes is alive and well among people of his generation, but there aren't too many younger people who hear these old folk songs as relevant to today's music," she said. "To go digging around in the songs of my childhood and reinterpret them has been incredible, but it has been equally incredible to share this exploration with my father and see him reach for what he says is a new musical language. It was the last thing I ever expected to happen."
"At this point in my life, there's nothing more rewarding than performing with Bethany and Rufus, who've taken folk music beyond the places I ever took it," Peter Yarrow said. "That's truly a great achievement."
Cappadocia is known for his collaborations with international artists who play instruments that many Americans have never heard, or are just beginning to identify, from the Balkans to the Caribbean, from West Africa to North America.
After years of experimentation and creative revision, Cappadocia plays a self-designed five-string electric cello that extends its bass range.
Tickets for Peter Yarrow and Bethany & Rufus are available at the Elliott Hall and Stewart Center box offices at (765) 494-3933 or (800) 914-SHOW. Tickets also are available through Ticketmaster outlets. Tickets are $30 for adults and $20 for children 18 years and younger, Purdue students and Ivy Tech Lafayette students.
Source: Kerry Schutt Nason, Purdue Convocations interim director of marketing, (765) 494-9071, knason@purdue.edu
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