Folk music veteran John McCutcheon hosts online concerts

SMOKE RISE, Ga. – Folk music veteran John McCutcheon has been a fixture on the scene for nearly 50 years.

In that time, he’s built a unique bond with both a wide-ranging audience and one of the most diverse groups of presenters of any touring musician. On his annual tour of California each January, which is euphemistically dubbed his “Left Coast Tour,” for instance, he is regularly presented by proper concert promoters, community radio stations, peace and justice groups, folk music societies, regional environmental groups, churches and even the Sierra Nevada Brewery.

When his 2021 tour was canceled, he knew his pocketbook was not the only one taking a hit.

“A lot of these presenters have become old friends by now,” McCutcheon said. “I want and need them to survive so that can continue our work together on the other side of all this.”

So McCutcheon and his longtime agent, Mike Green, came up with a plan. They are staging two online concerts and have gathered a consortium of five or six presenters to co-sponsor each one.

“Each presenter gets a unique ticketing URL and sells tickets to ‘their’ audience,” he said. “They get a cut of the sales that they sold, just as if I were there live. In fact, it’s a better percentage and they don’t even have to turn the lights on.”

The concerts are being broadcast on Mandolin, a new presenting platform known for higher quality audio and video production.

“We’ve done a couple concerts using this model and they’ve been really successful,” McCutcheon said. “I can’t wait to gather my audiences from California and get them all sitting together for the first time.”

There are tiered ticketing options, including a $5 “unemployed/laid off” ticket.

“Everyone needs music these days, so we want to keep it affordable,” he said. “The bottom line is that the places that have brought us together all these years are taking a terrible hit, not just the musicians. We’re in this together and we need to look out for one another. It’s the only way, in the music business or in ‘real life,’ that we’re going to make it.”

The two concerts are scheduled for early- to mid-January.

The first is Jan. 9, co-sponsored by The Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, KVMR-FM 89.5 in Nevada City-Grass Valley, the Sebastiani Theater in Sonoma, Modesto Peace & Life and KZFR-FM 90.1 in Chico at https://www.folkmusic.com/jan-9-2021.html.

The second is Jan. 16, co-sponsored by Montalvo Center for the Arts in Saratoga, St. James Episcopal Church in Fremont, Devil Mountain Coffeehouse in Walnut Creek, The Palms in Winters, World Records in Bakersfield, Foothill Conservancy in Sutter Creek and Fresno Folklore Society at https://www.folkmusic.com/jan-16-2021.html.

Submitted by John McCutcheon.