John McCutcheon Gearing Up for January 2024 California Tour

John McCutcheon has been delighting audiences with live performances and recordings for decades. The late Johnny Cash referred to him as “the most impressive multi-instrumentalist I ever heard.” In a McCutcheon show, along with storytelling and fun, listeners will hear this master musician play hammered dulcimer, banjo, piano, harmonica, guitar and more. He has performed annually for many years in the Golden State.

The musician is a part of the generation of folksingers that grew up singing Tom Paxton songs. His own impressive catalogue of songs spans forty-four albums, six Grammy nominations, numerous awards and accolades, and the citing of his song “Christmas in the Trenches” as “one of the 100 essential folk songs” by Folk Alley.

John and Tom Paxton have been pals for decades, but it was COVID and Zoom that turned them into a songwriting team. Every Monday at 2 PM, they’d tell jokes, reminisce about old friends, and, of course, talk lots of sports. Eventually, one would say, “Well, guess we better write a song, huh?” And off they’d go, two old warhorses pulling the plow. After a hundred songs, they gathered fourteen for their first joint recording, the aptly titled Together. The stunning result provides songs about history, the news, baseball, cowboys, America, love, the remembered, the forgotten.

Gathering John’s familiar crew of supporting musicians (fiddle wizard Stuart Duncan, keyboardist Jon Carroll, bass player JT Brown, as well as special guest Country Music Hall of Famer Charlie McCoy), the arrangements are compelling, the production pristine, and the performances stunning. From the stirring “Ukrainian Now” to the hilarious “Same Old Crap,” the immigrant story of “In America” to the heartstopping finale, “Together,” each song shines as would be expected of this partnership.

John McCutcheon January 2024 Tour Dates:

1/05/24 – Sofia Center for The Arts – Sacramento, CA
1/06/24 – Center for The Arts — Grass Valley, CA
1/08/24 – Sebastiani Theatre – Sonoma, CA
1/09/24 – Modesto Church of the Bretheren – Modesto, CA
1/11/24 – Unitarian Universalist Church of Fresno – Fresno, CA
1/12/24 — World Records – Bakersfield, CA
1/13/24 – Devil Mountain Coffeehouse – Walnut Creek, CA
1/14/24 – Freight and Salvage – Berkeley, CA
1/15/24 – St. James Episcopal Church – Fremont, CA