Larry Long

Lanesboro Arts presents Larry Long’s American Roots Revue with Tonia Hughes, Daryl Boudreaux, George Parrish, Yohannes Tona, JD Steele & Billy Steele at the historic St. Mane Theatre in downtown Lanesboro on Friday, May 17th at 7:30 p.m. The American Roots Revue will bring together several of Minnesota’s most gifted performers and arts educators for an extraordinary evening of artists sharing the stage and each other’s songs!

The American Roots Revue reinvents itself with a different line up and a unique performance at each stop it makes along the road. In Lanesboro, Larry Long will be joined by JD Steele (JD and his dynamic vocal siblings, “The Steeles,” have garnered nearly every major music award and accolade that Minnesota has to offer), Tonia Hughes (Tonia’s powerhouse vocal style is colored with melodic acrobats and elements of Gospel, Blues, Jazz, R&B, Rock and Worship), Billy Steele (keyboard player and vocalist who is also another member of the dynamic Steele family and the producer of the Grammy Award-winning act Sounds of Blackness), Yohannes Tona (bass player, composer, session musician from Ethiopia with roots in Afro, Latin, Funk, Reggae and Jazz), Daryl Boudreaux (percussionist for Sounds of Blackness, Sara Renner & T. Mychael Rambo) and George Parrish (guitarist for Alexander O’Neal, Eumir Deodato, Cherrell, Seals & Crofts, Robert Robinson and the Twin Cities Gospel Choir.)

As part of the Performing Artist Engagement Program, Larry Long will visit Lanesboro prior to this concert for a series of community engagement events utilizing his songwriting curriculum to assist community members in the process of sharing local stories and turning that collective narrative into a song that celebrates commonalities across various groups. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund. Please click here for more details on the community song events with Larry Long.

This concert is presented by Lanesboro Arts and sponsored by the Wisconsin Public Radio, Commonweal Theatre, Inspire(d) Magazine, High Court Pub and Granny’s Liquors.

May 3rd, 2019  Pete Seeger would have turned 100 years old. In commemoration of his centennial year, long time friend, Larry Long has created a one-hour radio broadcast: “For Pete’s Sake,” with production assistance from Ursula Ruedenberg, the Pacifica Affiliate Network manager.

“Pacifica had a long-standing friendship with Pete Seeger so it was a special opportunity to find one of his friends to help honor him,” says Ruedenberg.

The Motivation Behind “For Pete’s Sake”

After Pete passed away in 2014, Long felt a spiritual calling to organize a tribute concert in his honor, also named ‘For Pete’s Sake.’ Later that year after zealous planning and reaching out to fellow activists, civic leaders and artists, the concert was held at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, MN.

Long wanted to plan another grand celebration for what would have been Pete’s 100th birthday on May 3rd, 2019. Hence the creation of ‘For Pete’s Sake,’ a moving collection of his songs, life, legacy and spoken word. Many of the recordings heard on the broadcast are from the 2014 tribute concert.

The broadcast begins with a skillfully pieced together layover track from Long’s Smithsonian Folkways recording: “Well May The Word Go,” while a recording of Pete’s voice can be heard sharing a story from his childhood.

Pete Seeger was an activist, songwriter, performer, story-teller, husband, father, and a dear friend to many. Certainly to Long. The two were introduced to one-another by Elmer Benson, former governor of Appleton, MN, who upon hearing Long’s music told him he sounded “just like Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie.”

“I think the world’s gonna be saved by a million small things.”

Benson knew Pete and told him he could reach Larry by calling the American Agriculture Strike Office. When they met through that initial phone call, the two hit it off instantly. They were both of the same grassroots mindset that performances weren’t for the money, but to spread the word of what’s really happening in the world. One of Larry’s favorite quotes of Pete’s is: “I think the world’s gonna be saved by a million small things.”

To add to those million small things, listen to “For Pete’s Sake,” part one of two of a celebration for Seeger’s centennial year.