News

A song for the times by Larry Long

In 1939, Billie Holiday had the courage to record the song Strange Fruit, which protested American racism, particularly the lynching of African Americans. Through the encouragement of many I have recorded and released my new song White Sheets in The White House. May it inspire others to do the same. Learn More

Thank you for taking the time to read this important message.

For 4 years I have donated my time as Executive Director of the award-winning indie film Dodging Bullets. This film affirms most everything I have learned through bringing Elders’ Wisdom, Children’s Song to communities large and small throughout this nation. The film documents Historical Trauma which is prominent in Native American communities. Historical Trauma is a term used by social workers and psychologists, it refers to the cumulative emotional and psychological wounding of a group of people caused by traumatic experiences. This trauma is epigenetically passed down from one generation to another and causes health care problems in today’s generation.

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On Friday, November 30th Larry Long will be sharing the evening at Leo & Leona’s with Servant Leader and storyteller, Tom Thibodeau; Mississippi River balladeer Eddie Allen: singer-songwriter from the farm fields of Iowa, Raldo Schneider; master bass player, Larry Dalton; and the  musical soul of the Wisconsin Driftless Region Dan Sebranek on guitar and vocals.

Recent woes and disasters visited upon the Wisconsin Driftless region in the past season have, at times, left folks feeling helpless and insignificant. But we are neither of those things. In this magnificent corner of the world and anywhere else you will find people working hard to help those in need and strengthening their communities.

Join us in a celebration of those efforts and of the inimitable human spirit that makes our community the greatest of our many treasures.   This will be a night to measure time from.

When: Friday, November 30th, 7:30 PM
Where: Leo & Leona’s Dance Hall 
W1436 WI-33 Bangor WI 54614

 

“A Night Celebrating Water Protectors” in A Benefit for Honor the Earth

LEGENDARY SINGER-SONGWRITER LARRY LONG & FRIENDS TO PLAY AT THE HISTORIC HOLMES THEATER DECEMBER 12 IN DETROIT LAKES WITH ANISHINAABE LEADER WINONA LADUKE AS A SPECIAL GUEST IN A NIGHT HERITAGE FOODS, LIVELY MUSIC AND STORIES

Mark your calendars on December 12, 2018, for a special evening of music and storytelling with legendary singer-songwriter Larry Long and Friends, along with special guest Winona LaDuke, Anishinabe leader and co-founder of Honor the Earth.  “A Night Celebrating Water Protectors” will also feature a fine meal of heritage foods from Winona’s Hemp and Heritage Farm on the White Earth reservation – and a select short films and slides — as part of a benefit for the indigenous environmental justice non-profit, Honor the Earth. Artisan gifts and products will also be available for purchase at the event.

Long and company will perform at the Historic Holmes Theater (806 Summit Ave, Detroit Lakes, MN 56501 /218 844-7469)with percussionist Daryl Boudreaux (Sounds of Blackness), bassist Sid Gasner, pedal & lap steel virtuoso Joe Savage (Prairie Home Companion). Doors open at 5:00 p.m. The concert and dinner start at 6:00 p.m.

Tickets are $25 the day of the concert and $20 in advance; $20 is the suggested free will donation for dinner. Seating is limited. Tickets are on sale now at www.honorearth.org/larrylongconcert.

For the Historic Holmes Theater, call (218) 844-7469or visit the theater’s website at  www.dlccc.org/holmes.html

“The best singers and players anywhere in the country are in the Twin Cities. I tell people that all the time, whether I’m in Los Angeles or New York, ‘cuz it’s true!” – Jevetta Steele

There’s a Soul Train coming and you better get on it! The ever-changing American Roots Revue** will feature an extraordinary line-up of Soul Power when singer and playwright Jeveeta Steele of the legendary Steele Family joins the core members of the Revue, singer and actress Tonia Hughes, gospel master, Robert Robinson, and songsmith, community builder and American Roots Revue producer, Larry Long, * for two shows at the Dakota November 10, 2018, at 7:00 and 9:00 p.m.

The scintillating foursome will be backed by a superlative band led by rising star, guitarist, songwriter, and producer Cory Wong (international touring artist & guitarist for Vulfpeck), with Joe Savage (pedal steel), Yohannes Tona (bass), Billy Steele (piano) and Petar Janjic (drums).

The evening will mark the six-song CD release by Larry Long, Slow Night*, in what might be his most musically rich and exciting work yet.

It’s going to be a night to remember as the group offers up hand-picked material by Jevetta Steele, Tonia Hughes, Robert Robinson, selections from Long’s new release, and tasty cuts from Wong’s latest recording.

It’s a truly special night whenever American roots Revue is onstage that has produced some exceptional performances that will never be seen again! Learn More

Larry Long with be joined by Daryl Boudreaux (Percussion), Joe Savage (Pedal Steel), Sid Gasner (Bass) and special guest poet Larry Schug on Friday, November 16th, for an intimate main series concert at Bo Diddley’s in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

Where: 129 25th Avenue South,  St. Cloud, Minnesota 56301

When: Friday, November 16^th    Showtime:  7:30 PM   For tickets call: 320-252-9475

Larry Long is a chip off the old block of American hardwoods, a spoken word poet, a singer-songwriter, rouser, seeker, storyteller and conservationist. Well traveled across the world, wherever he goes, he celebrates people and places in song. Long’s sense of place and time is eloquently captured in his recorded music and in the powerful community building he’s done with elders and children all over the country and abroad. Never far from his gaze are the struggles and poetry that bring people together, whether through headline historical events or the quiet celebrations of everyday lives.

“Larry Long is doing what more singers and songwriters should be doing: using music to help people learn to work together, and bring a world of peace.” —Pete Seeger

 

Flipping the Script for a Legacy Folkie to Find theModern Gems on

Slow Night – 3 New Larry Long Tunes and 3 Re-Imagined Classics!

Larry Long’s new release, Slow Night, transports the venerable singer-songwriter with folkie roots into the contemporary realm inhabited by musician-producer CoryWongand Antwaun Stanley(lead vocalist for Vulfpeck), plus members of Prince’s brass section, The Hornheadsand Cory Wong’s Green Screen Band.

Slow Night mixes 3 of Larry’s older songs that were hand-picked by Wong and deliciously re-imagined: the trademark “Blue Highway,”an unforgettable ear worm, “Chicky-Chicky Boom,”and the ever-tender,“I Love You.”

“These 3 old tracks are some of my favorite Larry Long songs from his recording legacy. We gave them a modern edge,” Wong says. “We flipped Larry’s folk-roots script, especially on ‘Blue Highway,’ which now has a more Delta blues edge, and we messed a bit with vocals on that wonderful spoken word poem at the end of the tune, written by the late Bill Holm, a well- known Minnesota poet and writer. To me it now sounds like a Native American rap piece by the late wordsmith and First Nations’ artist, John Trudell.”

As for the new three new tunes, Wong and band provide a rich, polyphonic edge to the title track: “We really played with the song’s cool vibes, ‘cuz it’s the best modern pop tune he’s ever written – and it’s very tasty!” Long’s new song to his daughter, “My Love For You,”and the picturesque postcard from “Puerto Vallarta”round out a satisfying set created by Long, Wong and the rest of musicians on this sweet, funky – AND YES, “very tasty” six-song CD.

 

Slow Night by Larry Long was produced by Cory Wong and mixed by John Fields (Miley Cyrus, Switchfoot, Jonas Brothers, Pink, and Demi Lovato).

 

Listen now:  www.larrylong.bandcamp.com

Slow Night available on iTunes, Spotify, AmazonMP3, Rhapsody, and other e-tailers

Milan is the featured community for a multi-artist collaboration highlighting story and song on Saturday, October 13th, from 3:00 pm to 6:30 pm. The Milan Community Festival of Story and Song features traditional Micronesian and Dakota music, the culmination of memoirist and sailor Glenda Reed’s storytelling workshops, original ballads by Smithsonian Folkways artist Larry Long with American Roots Revue featuring the soulful Tonia Hughes, Adam Levy of the Honeydogs, JD & Billy Steele from Grammy Award-winning Sounds of Blackness and the dynamic Steele family. GoodSpace Mural’s will also announce the project design for their upcoming public art piece in Milan. Free and open to the public.

Milan Community Festival of Story and Song
Saturday, October 13th
Burns Park, Milan, Minnesota

Rain and/or Cold weather:
Milan School Gym, 408 S 4th Street

3:00 – 4:30 pm Hometown Revival
Community storytellers and music
Free refreshments served

4:30 pm GoodSpace Murals
Public Art Design Presentation

5:00 – 6:30 pm Larry Long Presents American Roots Revue with Tonia Hughes, Adam Levy, Billy & JD Steele.

Burger Feed Fundraiser at the American Legion from 4:30-7:30 or until gone, plate includes a burger, beans, and chips for $7.

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.

 

 

 

 

American Roots Revue Legacy Tour in five rural Minnesota communities will bring together several of Minnesota’s most gifted performers and arts educators: JD Steele (Mr. Steele and his dynamic vocal siblings, “The Steeles”, have garnered nearly every major music award and accolade that Minnesota has to offer), Billy Peterson (Bass player, songwriter, composer, session musician, producer, and oldest musical son of the renowned Peterson family), Tonia Hughes (Tonia’s vocal style is colored with melodic acrobats and elements of Gospel, Blues, Jazz, R&B, Rock and Worship), Cory Wong (Besides being the guitarist for Ben Rector, American Roots Revue and Vulfpeck among others, Cory tours internationally as a featured artist), Petar Janjic (Petar Janjic may be young, but he has already proven himself to be a standout drummer in the Twin Cities), Larry Long (Smithsonian Folkways Recording artist who has made his life work the celebration of everyday heroes), Adam Levy (Producer, guitarist & lead singer-songwriter for The Honeydogs), Robert Robinson (Pavarotti of gospel), Yohannes Tona (Ethiopian born Minneapolis bassist rooted in Afro-beat to Latin-Jazz, to Neo-soul, Funk and Reggae), Joe Savage (Pedal steel multifaceted perennial musician), and Billy Steele (piano, vocal, another member of the dynamic Steele family and producer of the Grammy Award winning Sounds of Blackness).

 

MTN – Channel 17 is airing American Roots Revue live performance on January 13, 2018 from the Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant with Larry Long, Cory Wong, Haley, Antwaun Stanley, Kevin Gastonguay, Petar Janjic, Kevin MacIntire, Joe Savage and members of The Hornheads.

This incarnation of American Roots Revue featured Internationally renowned singer and songwriter Haley, national-international touring artist with Ben Rector and Vulfpeck, Cory Wong, and Vulfpeck singer, gospel and R&B artist  Antwaun Stanley are joining singer-songwriter and community builder Larry Long, with select members of The Hornheads (Prince, Mavis Staple, Jimmy Jam, Phil Upchurch, et al) and Kevin Gastonguay (Keyboards), Petar Janjic (Drums), Kevin MacIntire (Bass), Joe Savage (Pedal Steel) the following members of Wong’s Green Screen Band included

 

 

Dodging Bullets: — Stories from Survivors of Historical Trauma won the “Minnesota Made Documentary Competition” and has been named as a “Best of the Fest” films at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival. MSPIFF Jurors describe it as “Compelling in its visual and narrative approach, it is ultimately a story of resilience and hope as the filmmakers bring a nuanced perspective to a difficult topic, demonstrating the dignity of their subjects and offering the possibility of freedom from generations of inherited traumatic stress.”

“Stories of Survival from Historical Trauma will help us to heal. However, it is our connections to our culture, traditions, and family that has allowed us to not only to survive but will allow us to thrive now…and forever,” said Kathy Broere (Blackfeet) who directed the Browning Segment of the film.

Keith Secola was the composer for Dodging Bullets. Other First Nation Musicians include: Tall Paul, Dorene Day Waubanewquay, Mitch Walking Elk.

Featuring:  Melissa L Walls, Dr. Anton Treuer, Emmy May, Chy, Dirk Whitebreast, Bree Waabinesiik Green, Dr. Michelle Johnson-Jennings, Melvin Lee Houston, Mike Her Many Horses, Leonard Thompson Jr., Rick McArthur, Leonard Thompson, Linda Eagle Speaker, Dennis Banks, Clyde Bellecourt, Joseph Marshall III, Venessa Goodthunder, Rachel Yehuda, Don Coyhis, Richie Plass, Lester Johnson III, Tara Houska, Larry Leventhal, Bill Means.

Directors:  Bob Trench, Jonathan Thunder, Kathy Broere, Sarah Edstrom    Executive Producer: Larry Long   Producer: Tom Trench  Cinematography:  Matthew Myers, Julie Verano, Graham Nolte