Fabled folkie Greg Brown comes to Whitefish, Helena and Missoula
Published: September 12, 2011
Greg Brown, the well-traveled troubadour, visits Montana again Sept. 23-25, with album no. 24, Freak Flag, in hand and accompanied by long-time sidekick, guitarist Bo Ramsey.
The Utne Reader calls his new release, “another stunning set of dispatches from the heartland.”
One of American folk music's most prolific and profound singer/songwriters of the past three decades, Brown has earned respect from his peers and a far-flung, passionately-devoted fan-base for a burnished, intimate baritone and unvarnished poetic grace.
He grew up steeped in music and the Gospel: Brown's mother played electric guitar, his grandfather played banjo, and his father was a Holy Roller preacher in the Hacklebarney section of Iowa.
Brown's first professional singing job came at age 18 in New York City, running hootenannies at the legendary Gerdes Folk City. He was a ghostwriter for Buck Ram, founder of the Platters, and traveled with a band for a few year before he moved back to Iowa and began writing songs and playing in clubs and coffeehouses.
At a still-youthful 61, Brown has little left to conquer in the music world, what with multiple Grammy nominations and an astonishingly deep songbook that's been covered by dozens of artists (including Willie Nelson, Carlos Santana, Ani DiFranco, Gillian Welch, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Joan Baez, Robert Earl Keen, Shawn Colvin, Richie Havens and many more).
The founder of indie folk label Red House Records (with more than 200 titles to date), he's also been a tireless champion for numerous humanitarian causes.
"I wasn't sure for a while that I would do any more recording," says Brown of his latest effort. "I had done a fair amount, and the business is in a shambles. But I thought well, hey – maybe it would be good to put another one out – tender songs for these harsh times."
On Stage
Whitefish: 7:30 p.m. Sept. 23 at the O’Shaughnessy Center in (862-5371 or www.whitefishtheatreco.org)
Helena: 8 p.m. Sept. 24 at the Myrna Loy Center (443-0287 or www.myrnaloycenter.com)
Missoula: 8 p.m. Sept. 25 at the University Theatre (888-MONTANA, 243-4051 or www.griztix.com)
