After all these years
I wouldn’t change a thing
Always one more road to travel
One more song sing

Larry Long & Fiddlin’ Pete Watercott have been playing music together for over 40 years. In the early 1970’s they traveled and played music extensively throughout the United States – hitchhiking, hopping freights, and in the mid seventies traveled in the Lone Prairie Schooner and the Red Caboose down the back roads of America.

Since those early days, they’ve both established their own separate remarkable musical careers. From singing with Kris Kristofferson at the Hollywood Bowl, Joan Baez at Pete Seeger’s 90th Birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden, on the California Zephr, to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington DC, and the Elko Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Nevada. Their journey is a true American journey!

Though Fiddlin’ Pete and Larry now live thousands of miles apart (Pete in Bishop, California and Larry in the Longfellow Neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota), they continue to get together to play music and celebrate with family and friends.

Larry Long & Fiddlin’ Pete Watercott played at the first ever Barn Dance back in 1977 and they are going to be performing at this years Barnyard Jamboree!

Full Schedule of Campbell Homestead Barnyard Jamboree on August 25th & 26th listed below.

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Larry Long will be performing in Fredrikstad, Norway at a gathering with Rigoberta Menchú. Rigoberta Menchu received the Nobel Peace Prize for dedicating her life to publicizing the rights of Guatemala’s indigenous feminists during and after the Guatemalan Civil War (1960–1996), and to promoting indigenous rights in the country. Other performances between September 3- 11 will include a concert at the International Meeting Point and a cultural-diversity workshop with students at Haugeåsen Middle School. Larry will be singing My Rainbow Race in honor of Pete Seeger at each event. My Rainbow Race by Pete Seeger was sung by over forty-thousand people in Norway at a “rose rally” in response to the murder of seventy-seven innocent people by a far-right extremist in Norway on July 22, 2011.  These performances coincide with the 450th Anniversary of the founding of Fredrikstad in 1567.

My Rainbow Race

One blue sky above us
One ocean lapping all our shore
One earth so green and round
Who could ask for more
And because I love you
I’ll give it one more try
To show my rainbow race
It’s too soon to die.

Some folks want to be like an ostrich,
Bury their heads in the sand.
Some hope that plastic dreams
Can unclench all those greedy hands.
Some hope to take the easy way:
Poisons, bombs. They think we need ’em.
Don’t you know you can’t kill all the unbelievers?
There’s no shortcut to freedom.

One blue sky above us
One ocean lapping all our shore
One earth so green and round
Who could ask for more
And because I love you
I’ll give it one more try
To show my rainbow race
It’s too soon to die.

Go tell, go tell all the little children.
Tell all the mothers and fathers too.
Now’s our last chance to learn to share
What’s been given to me and you.

One blue sky above us
One ocean lapping all our shore
One earth so green and round
Who could ask for more
And because I love you
I’ll give it one more try
To show my rainbow race
It’s too soon to die.

WORDS & MUSIC: PETE SEEGER

American Roots Revue: Larry Long, Robert Robinson, JD Steele, Tonia Hughes reunite at the Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Friday, November 18th for two shows.

American Roots Revue works from the core of America’s richest musical traditions of First Nation, gospel, blues, folk, rock and R&B. This November the revue returns to its roots with its original line up that includes acclaimed gospel vocalist and community leader JD Steele! JD joins musicians that will also include the show’s producer and community builder Larry Long, with powerhouse gospel and soul singer Tonia Hughes, and the American Roots anchor artist — the “Pavarotti of Gospel” — Robert Robinson.

Larry Long’s American Roots Revue boasts the artistic range to salute iconic America music heroes like Pete Seeger on what would have been his 95th birthday with a cavalcade of talent. And the poetic license to present artists in unique combinations with each other, like this must-see bill! It’s not unusual to see internationally known blues singer and writer Guy Davis with best-selling rockers like Dave Pirner from Soul Asylum, and rising pop star Chastity Brown with Minnesota’s favorite chanteuse, Prudence Johnson, all backed by a superlative band and vocalists who will make you feel like you’re going to a revival inside the intimate nightclub that is the Dakota.

Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant • 1010 Nicollet Avenue • Minneapolis, MN 55403 • 612-332-1010

 

 

 

Mni Ki Wakan: Indigenous Peoples’ Decade of Water Pre-Summit Fundraiser

When: Saturday, June 24, 2017,

Time: 6 PM to 9 PM
Where: First Universalist Church 3400 Dupont Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55408

Hau Mitakuyapi, dear friends, relatives, and allies, you are cordially invited to the Mni Ki Wakan: Indigenous Peoples’ Decade of Water Pre-Summit Fundraiser. It will feature indigenous rights defenders, artists, traditional foods by an indigenous chef, presentations, and a short documentary related to the upcoming Mni Ki Wakan: Indigenous Peoples’ Decade of Water Summit.

Contributions and donations will support the first annual Mni Ki Wakan: Indigenous Peoples’ Decade of Water Summit that will convene diverse indigenous peoples and youth from the world community in the spirit of Mni Ki Wakan: Water is Sacred on August 1st and 2nd, 2017. Your presence will help support the historical inauguration of the Mni Ki Wakan: Indigenous Peoples’ Decade of Water Summit.

To Donate online, contact: mnikiwakan@gmail.com

POETS AND WRITERS AND MUSICIANS AGAINST THE WAR ON THE EARTH

Join us to honor all of creation in spoken word and song
Summer Solstice, June 21st, 7 PM, FREE!

Saint Joan Of Arc Church
4537 3rd Avenue South
Minneapolis, Minnesota

To embrace the world with open arms of curiosity. To listen without judgment to the subtle magical rhythms and musicality of an ancient language spoken, as it rolls off the tongue of hard working people. To embrace each breathe, each step, and each new day with joy and laughter. To see one’s own reflection within the sparkle of the eyes of another. To fall in love with the wonderment of it all. To be alive.

-Larry Long

“To honor the life of another is to honor oneself…The word “honor” simply means to listen.” Songwriter Larry Long, this season’s final TED Talk-PV-Style presenter, on Tuesday, April 18 from 10:00 a.m. to noon at Boutique Theater, will share inspirational examples of how he has embraced that philosophy in his work as a modern-day troubadour, committed to celebrating the lives and struggles of ordinary people in narrative and song. His message, in short, is to be kind to all.

A social advocate, Larry has had the unique experience of living inside the lives of communities at important moments in history and utilizing these experiences as the focal point of his music. As a Midwestern young man he rode with farmers on their tractorcade to Washington DC. On the East Coast he came to know Pete Seeger, who shared his efforts to clean up the Hudson River. This led Larry to go back home to Minnesota and create the Mississippi River Revival to celebrate and help restore that great river. Along the way, he was adopted by the American Indian Movement and traveled with their caravans to affirm their sovereign rights. His great respect for Woody Guthrie led him to Woody’s hometown of Okemah, where after many years of silence, Larry was able to help create their first tribute for Woody.

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Martin Luther King Weekend, Saturday, January 14, 2017 at the Dakota Jazz Club American Roots Revue will celebrate America’s richest musical traditions of gospel, blues, folk, rock and R&B.

This January, the revue returns to its roots with its original line up that includes acclaimed gospel vocalist and community leader JD Steele! JD joins musicians that will also include the show’s producer, award-winning singer-songwriter, Smithsonian Records recording artist and community builder Larry Long, with powerhouse gospel and soul singer Tonia Hughes, and the American Roots anchor artist — the “Pavarotti of Gospel” — Robert Robinson.

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Join Larry Long, Raldo Schneider, Clay Riness & Eddie Allen at Leo and Leona’s, December 2, 2016

These four amazing songwriters have not graced the same stage since the final episode of M*A*S*H* was aired on broadcast television and compact discs were about to replace the vinyl record. In that brief season they combined forces to regale audiences along the Mississippi River with their clarion call for celebration. No one who was there has forgotten those performances.

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“The late Johnny Cash coined the phrase “a dove with claws” to describe the fierce pacifism that grew from his first-hand look at America’s endless wars while entertaining soldiers in Vietnam. Cash’s words are a perfect description of the life and work of Larry Long.

“Larry has joined forces with his cousin, the legendary Melvin James, in his continuing musical battle for peace, justice, and dignity for all people. The claws of Melvin’s guitar sharpen the urgency of Larry’s message in a way that will surprise you. And delight you. And take your breath away.”

—Eddie Allen, Writer & Recording Artist

Join Larry Long in celebration of his 65th orbit around the sun and the release of his new album, Dove with Claws, as he returns to his musical roots at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis on Armistice-Veterans Day.  Opening: Annie Humphrey

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Join an all-star cast, including Larry Long, Prudence Johnson, Kevin Kling, Dan Chouinard and the Blue Canvas Orchestra,  as they honor one of the world’s most influential folksingers, Pete Seeger, celebrating the many phases of his life in song, spoken word, and multi-media.

WHEN: Sunday, July 24, 2016 at 7:30 PM

WHERE: Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua
32525 Ski Hill Rd
Bayfield,WI 54814
www.bigtop.org

TICKETS: $22 for adults
Half price for children 17 & under / 3 and under free on laps or lawn

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An all day event of musical healing and honoring Veterans will be held at the Eagles Healing Nest in Sauk Centre, Minnesota this Friday, July 15, 2016 from 3 PM to Dark. All Ages. Free & Open To The Public.

Musicians performing include: Larry Long, Billy Peterson, Rodney Allen Volker, Greg Inhofer, Tim Sparks, Glenn Swanson, Marcus Wise, Willy Williams, T.C. Whol, Rick Sanders, Miles hendrickson, Kevin Hendrickson, Mick Butenhoff, Tim West, Fred Nicks.

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“Larry Long, ‘Living in a Rich Man’s World’ video. The good-hearted, liberal-minded Minneapolis singer-songwriter has rearranged his 37-year-old folk song as a Don Henley-like rocker, with Melvin James’ guitar punctuating the potent words and poignant visuals.”

—Jon Bream
Star Tribune: Pick Six
Sunday, July 10, 2016

*Pick Six is a half-dozen cool things in music, from two points of view.

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The death of Philando Castile is personal, as I’m sure it is for many of you. Mr. Castile went to High School with my oldest daughter. I didn’t know Philando, but what I do know is that he was a good man with a bright future. The senseless killings we have witnessed in the last few weeks alone in St.Paul, Orlando and Dallas is beyond the pale. The time has come to recommit ourselves to the daily practice of nonviolence, as we continue to work towards a world where no child is born to lose.

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I met Clark McGuiness on the Nebraska plains, while working on a combine crew for three months from Burkburnett, Texas to Scranton, North Dakota. We called ourselves wheat whackers and what we did is cut wheat, cut wheat, cut wheat, and then cut more wheat.

The wheat in the fields stood ten feet high. The tassels waved golden in streams of currents from the prairie winds. After the combines came through there was nothing left of them, but barren stubbles cut close to the ground.

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This photograph of mother and child was taken in the heart of the Amazon region near the confluence of the Solimoes and Negro Rivers, which joins to form the Amazon River.  After performing in Manaus, Brazil I traveled by boat with her family downriver, where fresh water dolphins swim freely.  The shoreline an endless sea of green filled with choral beds of music.  Everything alive and breathing.  As we walked from the boat through the rainforest I was told that Jaguars might be hiding in the shadows.  After we drank water from vines cut with a machete and swam in waters filled with piranhas I took this photo.  The kindness of the indigenous people of Brazil is beyond measure.

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