NEWS FLASH: Throughout 2012 Work o’ the Weavers will offer a new program to celebrate Woody Guthrie’s Centennial, highlighting many of his beloved songs as well as some not-so-well-known, interwoven with an edifying narrative to tell his story. Ideal for Concerts, Festivals, Schools & Colleges, etc. BOOK NOW!

29 November 2009

2009 has provided both opportunities and challenges. When, at the top of the year, we were challenged with serious health issues, the group was faced with having to fulfill several of its obligations with a sandwich or two short of a picnic. Nonetheless, with creativity and help from friends, we managed to keep the show on the road. I confess to having been overly optimistic about time required to recover fully from the treatment (radiation/chemo) for my base-of-the-tongue carcinoma diagnosed in January and completed in mid-April. The all-out assault of 70,000 rads (I don’t really understand what that means, either) daily for 2 months took its toll on vocal facility, but I’m happy to report that slowly (glacially) but surely, function continues to improve. Somehow, we made our way through our first West Coast tour in June, with memorable performances at the Kate Wolf Memorial Festival in Laytonville CA, full house of singalong longtime Weavers fans at the Ojai Center for the Arts in Ojai CA, and crowning the trip at the new Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. A guest appearance by young actor/singer Rob Tepper as Woody Guthrie highlighted the performance.

Looking ahead to 2010, we’re developing an idea that has waited patiently in the wings since we first formed in 2003: a visual component consisting of archival photos, posters, etc. projected on a screen behind us. It’ll take the program a step or two closer to the theatrical presentation we’ve envisioned since the beginning. Stay tuned.

–James