10 p.m. to Midnight Host: Steve Winters
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This bittersweet “Profiles in Folk” show comes in two distinct parts:
1.There is joy and gladness because of the approach of the annual celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, which, beyond the imbibing, etc., offers a prime holiday to advance Irish folk music, especially of the traditional bent. In a twist this year, I decided to offer a cursory hearing of the music of Andy Irvine, the Irish multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. Irvine began playing in 1962 with Luke Kelly and Ronnie Drew of the Dubliners before forming his group, Sweeney’s Men. From there he went on to help found and play with Planxty, Patrick Street and Mozaik. His career shadows, in a sense, the development of Irish music from purely traditional to a world music in the past 50 years. 2.There is great sadness to learn of the passing this morning at age 63 of Jack Hardy, one of America’s premier song crafters and a good acquaintance and former guest on Profiles in Folk. Jack was the guiding force and spiritual leader of the Greenwich Village songwriting scene since the mid-1970s, exerting a strong influence on more well-known performers such as Suzanne Vega, John Gorka, David Massengill, Christine Lavin, Lucy Kaplansky, Shawn Colvin and Richard Shindell. With his raspy voice, wry humor, exactness of lyric and direct honesty, Jack will be sorely missed. There is comfort, however, knowing that his songs and music will outlive us all. Give ’em hell in heaven, Jack. RIP. This is the first of two shows paying tribute to Jack. This week is mainly covers of his wonderful work, with two of my favorite Jack Hardy classics mixed in. Next week, I’ll program all Jack Hardy sets.
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