Free NYC Shows Honor Pete Seeger

A variety of performers will celebrate the long life and career of folk-music legend Pete Seeger in a pair of free upcoming NYC shows. These events are part of the five-day "Seeger Fest," which has so far featured performances in the Bronx and in the neighborhood of the Seegers' Beacon, New York home.

Free Pete Seeger Memorial Concert at Lincoln Center Today

This afternoon, Lincoln Center Out of Doors presents a memorial concert for Seeger and his wife Toshi at 4 p.m. that will include a bevvy of musical heavy hitters. Judy Collins, Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul & Mary), Holly Near, Tom Chapin and the Chapin Sisters, Dar Williams, Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion, and many more will be performing at the Damrosch Bandshell concert. Speakers will include Harry Belafonte, Fred Hellerman of The Weavers, and George Wein, founder of the Newport Folk Festival.

Can't make it to Lincoln Center? The event will be streamed live at watch.LincolnCenter.org.

Monday: "New Songs of Justice: An Evening Honoring Pete Seeger"

On Monday SummerStage hosts its own celebration of Pete Seeger, but with a much more diverse cast of performers. Reflecting Seeger's impact on a variety of musical genres, and on the world of activism, "New Songs of Justice: An Evening Honoring Pete Seeger" features acoustic performances by Amanda Palmer (solo) and Anti-Flag, as well as Steve Earle, Elizabeth Mitchell, Aurora Barnes, and some of the artists who appeared at Lincoln Center, including Guthrie and Irion and the Chapin Sisters. And there will be DJ sets by hip-hop pioneer Kool Herc.

"New Songs of Justice" is free and takes place Monday night at 7 p.m. at the main SummerStage location in Central Park.

The weather should be great both days, so if you're interested in folk history get out there for these two unique, multigenerational celebrations of this legend in music and activism.

New York Area Concerts: Bamboozle, Pete Seeger Tribute, Dark Was the Night

It's a busy concert weekend in the New York area, and three multi-artist events look to be very promising.

The Bamboozle festival continues Saturday and Sunday at the New Jersey Meadowlands in East Rutherford. On Saturday Fall Out Boy is the headliner, with Third Eye Blind, the Get Up Kids, Asher Roth, and many more acts on the bill. Sunday boasts headliners No Doubt; also slated for the final day are acts including Taking Back Sunday, Rise Against the Used, Face to Face, and Sum 41.

For set times, tickets, and more visit the Bamboozle Web site above or check them out on Twitter: @thebamboozle.

Sunday features two benefit shows. Over at Radio City Music Hall is Dark Was the Night, the latest show to benefit the Red Hot organization (and the live companion to the recent CD of the same name). On the bill are David Byrne, Dirty Projectors, Feist, Dave Sitek, Bon Iver, My Brightest Diamond, The National, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, and more. Get more info and Dark Was the Night Concert tickets at the Radio City box office Web site.

Madison Square Garden is probably the only venue big enough to hold all the stars, big and small, who'll be performing at the Pete Seeger 90th birthday celebration on Sunday. The music legend has influenced countless performers over the decades, and many of them will be singing and playing at Sunday's show: Bruce Springsteen, Arlo Guthrie, Bela Fleck, Joan Baez, Emmylou Harris, Kris Kristofferson, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Tom Morello (of Rage Against the Machine), Richie Havens, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

Get Pete Seeger birthday celebration tickets here at the MSG box office. Proceeds benefit Clearwater, the environmental organization Seeger founded 40 years ago.

Springsteen, Dave Matthews, Eddie Vedder, Many More to Play Pete Seeger Birthday Concert

Pete Seeger has been a legend and inspiration in American music for decades, and musicians of all genres have cited his influence. So it's no surprise that an all-star tribute concert in May to celebrate Seeger's 90th birthday is going to have top-notch musicians from a wide range of musical styles.

The concert, at New York's Madison Square Garden, will take place Sunday, May 3rd and will also feature rockers Dave Matthews, Eddie Vedder (of Pearl Jam), and Tom Morrello (Rage Against the Machine); country and rock singer-songwriter Emmylou Harris; Joan Baez; John Mellencamp, Taj Mahal, Dar Williams, and Steve Earle, among others. Colombia rocker Juanes will also be there, and Seeger himself will perform, though it's not clear how much he'll actually be singing and playing and with whom. (You can see the full lineup for the Seeger tribute concert at www.seeger90.com.)

The concert is a benefit for theHudson River Sloop Clearwater, the environmental group Seeger founded in the 1960s to protect the Hudson River. Tickets go on sale to the general public March 30th, and you can find more information and tickets to the Seeger tribute concert here.

Bruce Springsteen is the biggest name in the show, and his love for Seeger and his music is clear. A few years ago The Boss recorded the album "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions," which covered more than a dozen of Seeger's classic tunes. And the two acoustic albums from earlier in Springsteen's career owe more than a little to Seeger and his musical colleague from decades ago, the folk legend Woody Guthrie.

John Mellencamp and Emmylou Harris are among the dozens of musicians who will celebrate American folk music legend Pete Seeger's 90th birthday with a gala concert at Madison Square Garden on May 3.

The event, called "The Clearwater Concert: Creating the Next Generation of Environmental Leaders," will raise funds and awareness for Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, the environmental organization founded by Seeger in the 1960s to preserve and protect the Hudson River.

The organization sponsors boat trips on the sloop and also presents the Clearwater Festival in Croton, New York (on the Hudson River) each June.

Pete Seeger Profiled on PBS

Pete Seeger was the subject of an "American Masters" special on PBS, which aired tonight on New York's Channel 13. I missed it, but the TV listings show it will be aired again on March 6th, I think. (Learn more about the program and when to see it here.)

Pete Seeger has been a powerful force not only in folk and popular music but in the movement for social justice, human rights, and conservation. Despite advancing age, he is still known to attend the annual Clearwater Hudson River Revival. You can find out a lot more about Pete Seeger at the Pete Seeger Appreciation Page.

Rolling Stone did a recent article on Pete Seeger in which he comments on everything from the PBS special to Barack Obama and the current political scene.

Although Seeger became well known in the 1960s protest movement and even before, what's always been impressive to me is that he has reached not just fans but musicians from that time to the present, from Woody Guthrie to Bob Dylan to today's folk, pop, and country artists. His influence is seen, heard, felt, and acknowledged by musicians ranging from the Dixie Chicks to Dar Williams to Billy Bragg.

I hope to catch this Pete Seeger "American Masters" program the next time it's broadcast.