Greetings:

Pete Seeger made an unscheduled appearance at the Dissident Folk Festival at the Howland Cultural Center in Beacon, New York, last night, October 14, 2006. I say "unscheduled" rather than "unannounced" because earlier in the day the MC announced that Pete Seeger would be there that evening as part of a tribute to Woody Guthrie. Pete's name, however, was not in the printed program, nor was it in any of the pre-festival publicity. Beacon, as you may know, is Pete's hometown, and the festival organizer apparently knew there was a good chance Pete would show up but couldn't say anything until his appearance was definite.

After Anna Canoni, Woody's granddaughter, gave a short presentation and showed a 15-minute video on behalf of the Woody Guthrie Foundation, Pete got up and sang three songs, Union Maid, Reuben James, and We Are Climbing Jacob's Ladder, all with lots of audience participation. Then came what I consider the highlight of the evening. All the remaining festival performers got up onto the stage with Pete and did a 90-minute round robin jam session of Guthrie songs. I got a chance to lead 66 Highway Blues, a song that Woody and Pete wrote together, with its surviving co-author backing me up on the banjo, along with about a dozen other musicians joining in.

The Dissident Folk Festival continues today, Sunday, beginning at 12 noon and includes a tribute to Paul Robeson. I don't know if Pete will be there again, although I believe there is a very good chance he will be. However, I have another commitment, so I won't be there.

The Howland Cultural Center is located at 477 Main Street near the corner of Tioronda Avenue in Beacon. There is a free municipal parking lot on a parallel street directly behind the center.

-- Steve