We had a great time but, to quote the lyrics from ‘The Minstrel Show’ “This old show has played its run, and run the curtain down”  You can listen Lissa Schneckenberger sing it here; http://www.myspace.com/music/player?sid=78218693&ac=now

The Minstrel Show

By Bob Coltman

A poster’s peeling underneath last summer’s morning glory vines
An old white hat, a stubbed cigar, an empty bottle of wine

(Ch)
Lay me down, Carolina lay me down
Don’t want to wake up in the morning no more
Sing me one slow sad song
For this one last old time before they close the Minstrel Show

The money and the crowd ran out before we hit the last town
This old show has played its run, and run the curtain down

(Ch)

My banjo’s got a broken string, don’t expect I’ll get to fix it now
There won’t be no more time to sing I’m rusty anyhow

(Ch)

I don’t know where we go from here, come to that I just don’t care
We probably go to a better place, the minstrel show’ll be there

About Don White

If you laugh and cry within the same ten minutes, you either need a vacation or you are sitting in the audience at a Don White show. This working class family man from Lynn, Massachusetts has emerged as the thoughtful songwriter of the decade whose relevance to our lives is evidenced by the powerful reaction he evokes at every concert. Radio audiences, too, are not safe from the Don White experience. Valerie Adams of WNCS Radio, Vermont said, “I’ve never seen anything like it. Every time I play I Know What Love Is the phones light up like a Christmas tree.” Stereo Review Magazine called it “… A candidate for song of the year.”

In 1974 Don started hitch-hiking around America. “I went to Alaska and Newfoundland. That first trip I was gone eleven months and I only spent $1,100,” he says gleefully. His wife–then girlfriend–Theresa joined him on the road. They backpacked around the country for three years with a guitar and their dog–a female whose first ‘heat’ inspired the breathtakingly funny The Shameful Ballad of Lijah The Orchard Queen–finding occasional work as itinerant farm hands and laborers. “The freedom was addictive,” he says.

Since settling down in Lynn, Massachusetts, Don has worked on a craft of songwriting and performing. He learned his art in the trenches: often doing nine shows a week at Catch A Rising Star over two and a half years. Studying the masters who passed though that fabled club, he developed his own infectious brand of humor and pathos that rivets the crowd wherever he plays.

Don conducts a performance skills workshop at Club Passim, Cambridge’s legendary folk club, where he passes along his experience to aspiring performers. Guest instructors are veteran comics, performance poets, actors, and folksingers. “I see little difference between the skills of various performance artists,” says Don. “I most admire someone like Utah Phillips who weaves a seamless stream of song, story-telling, poetry, and comedy.”

Don White illuminates the human experience though his writing and performing. His motivation for doing so is eloquently expressed in the spoken word piece he performs after singing “Heartbeat of Heaven.” Whether he is singing, speaking, or setting up the sneakiest punch line of the night, Don has the hearts of his audience. They know they have his.

Download our poster to help us advertise this event by clicking on the poster image to the left.

* For more information about Don White visit www.donwhite.net/
* For more information about the Downeast Concert Collective visit downeastmusic.org/
* For more information about the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ellsworth visit uuellsworth.org/
* For more information about Community Radio WERU 89.9 FM visit weru.org/

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About Geoff Kaufman

For the past twenty-eight years, Geoff Kaufman has been leading audiences to find truth, humor, and beauty in folk music. Whether singing sailor songs with his quartet, Forebitter; or environmental songs on board the Sloop Clearwater in the Hudson River; or in solo performances at coffeehouses throughout the Northeast United States and festivals in Europe, Geoff has entertained and touched audiences near and far.

Songs of the sea, songs of the earth, songs of the heart and the spirit—all of these are in Geoff Kaufman’s ditty bag. Ancient ballads, work songs, and songs of love; poignant songs of people in struggle, humorous glimpses of human foibles, and insights into history—all of these are likely to be woven into one of Geoff’s concerts.

Above all, at the core of Geoff’s performance is his rich tenor voice and an exuberant love of singing. And part of that love is to entice audiences to sing along, to share in the exhilaration of full-throated vocalization if they wish. In this age of electronic overload and passive media pabulum, Geoff likes to stress the “live” in live performance, promoting participation, be it by voice or heart or mind.

“…we are stunned by the beauty of your music.” – a fan in Corpus Christi, TX

Download our poster to help us advertise this event by clicking on the poster image to the left.

* For more information about Geoff Kaufman visit www.geoffkaufman.com/
* For more information about the Downeast Concert Collective visit downeastmusic.org/
* For more information about the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ellsworth visit uuellsworth.org/
* For more information about Community Radio WERU 89.9 FM visit weru.org/
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Hear WERU FM’s Denis Howard interview with Geoff from Friday 5/28 at 8:30 AM http://downeastmusic.org/audio/WERU-2010-05-28-Geoff-Kaufman-Interview.mp3