By Margit Resch
John McCutcheon
Encore, encore, encore! Seven years ago, the audience here on Fripp Island would not let John McCutcheon quit singing and playing one of the dozen instruments he has mastered. With his folk music and his incredible talent as an entertainer he had dazzled everyone. So, in a way, McCutcheon’s concert this coming April 19 on Fripp is an encore. We just had to have him back. And if you heard him here in 2019, you will be back, too, I am sure.
John’s talents? Where do I start? How about in Wisconsin, where, as a youngster, he fought a lopsided battle between being a mediocre pianist, so John confessed, and an all-star catcher until he “found his voice” thanks to a cheap guitar and a used book of chords. And he never looked back, not even after graduating summa-cum-laude from Minnesota’s St. John’s University. From there, he proceeded on his path to becoming “one of the best musicians in the USA,” as Pete Seeger claimed, and according to Johnny Cash, “the most impressive instrumentalist I’ve ever heard.”
I did not exaggerate when I said John plays a dozen different instruments. He is the master of the rare hammered dulcimer. Have you ever heard a hammered dulcimer, that weird percussion instrument with strings stretched over a trapezoidal sound board? Or the lovely autoharp, a hand-held, chorded kin to the zither? Or the jaw harp, often called a Jew’s harp? Yet another weird instrument consisting of a flexible reed attached to a frame. The performer places the frame between his teeth while plucking the reed with the forefinger. And John plays the guitar, banjo, mountain dulcimer, and fiddle. You have to come to Fripp to find out what else.
John might play some of these instruments for us. He will definitely sing material by Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie, from whom, by the way, he professed to have received the best advice ever: “Take it easy, but take it.” And, of course, John will sing songs of his own making. He has created hundreds, most of them recorded on forty-five albums published since the 70s (seven of them for children) and yielding eight Grammy nominations. All reveal a profound love of place, family, community, and strength; qualities he adopted during his apprenticeship in the hills of Appalachia, when, around age twenty, he was developing his musical skill sets—qualities that inform his story-telling style, not unlike that of Will Rogers and Garrison Keillor. Be prepared to listen to John tackle even current affairs with humor, bite and wisdom. Wisdom like he demonstrated when answering questions such as: “What is the most overrated virtue?” “Obedience…the blind kind.” Or: “Whom do you admire?” “People who never give up.”
John McCutcheon is a whirlwind of energy, and he never gives up. In the past few years alone he headlined over a dozen different festivals in North America, recorded an original composition for Virginia Public Television involving over 500 musicians, gave a special concert in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, toured Australia six times, performed in Chile in support of a women’s health initiative… on and on. Look up his résumé, you’ll be impressed. Oh, did I mention that he is also an intriguing story teller and has written three children’s books, maybe inspired by novelists and poets Barbara Kingsolver and Rita Dove, with whom he is working on a project called “written-work-put-to-music.”
John McCutcheon will entertain us on Sunday, April 19, 5:00 pm in the Fripp Island Community Centre, 205 Tarpon Boulevard. But come and join us at 4:30, when a duo of talented little musicians from Beaufort will play their hearts out for us. Both shows are sponsored by Fripp Island Friends of Music and supported by the South Carolina Arts Commission. Tickets at the door: adults $30 (credit cards accepted), students free thanks to the Peg Gorham Memorial Fund. Stay after the performance for a complimentary reception, catered deliciously by Harold’s Chef Services, and meet John personally. For more information, go to www.frippfriendsofmusic.com. For a FIFOM membership, concert reservations, or questions, contact Rebecca Climer, rebecca.climer@gmail.com, (615) 594-1552.
