**Take advantage of advance ticket prices, as they go up the day of the show!** ADV: $26/$23 MEM; D/S: $29/$26 MEM
SPECIAL GRAMMY AWARD TO TOM PAXTON
Tom was honored with a 2009 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD from the Recording Academy during the 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards on February 8th. "This year's recipients are a prestigious group of legendary performers, creative architects and technical visionaries who have made lasting contributions to the music and global communities," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy. "Their outstanding accomplishments, legendary passion and artistry have positively affected our culture and will continue to influence and inspire generations to come."
In describing Tom Paxton’s influence on his fellow musicians, Pete Seeger has aid: “Tom’s songs have a way of sneaking up on you. You find yourself humming them, whistling them, and singing a verse to a friend. Like the songs of Woody Guthrie, they’re becoming part of America.” Tom Paxton’s songs are reaching around the world more than he, or any of us, could have realized.
He has become a voice of his generation, an integral part of the songwriting and folk music community since the early 1960s Greenwich Village scene, and he continues to be a primary influence on today’s "New Folk" performers. His early success in Greenwich Village coffeehouses, such as The Gaslight and The Bitter End, led to an ever-increasing circle of work. In 1965, he went on his first tour of the United Kingdom, marking the beginning of a career that has included at least one such tour in each of the succeeding years.
His 45-year career runs the gamut of creativity, from song books to critically acclaimed children's books and award-winning children's recordings, alongside a catalog of hundreds of songs that have been recorded by myriad artists, from Willie Nelson to Placido Domingo. Paxton's place in folk music is secured not just by hit records and awards, but by the admiration of three generations of fellow musicians.
An internationally recognized and loved cultural figure, Paxton has always chosen goodwill over commercial success. His generosity has taken shape through gestures like performing a benefit concert performance for a little girl fighting leukemia and writing a personal note of encouragement to an up-and-coming songwriter. This is the man who wrote and lives the words, "Peace will come, and let it begin with me." He is one of the great songwriters of the last century and will be reckoned as one of the greats in this century, as well.
Joining him for this two-night engagement are longtime beloved Swallow Hill community members Harry Tuft and Jack Stanesco.
