Fiery, soulful singer Richie Havens returns to the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College March 14

 

Fiery, poignant and soulful singer Richie Havens returns to Durango and the stage at the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College on Sunday, March 14, 2010, for a 7 p.m. show.

Havens, one of the most recognizable voices in popular music, has remained unique and ageless since he first emerged from the Greenwich Village folk scene in the early 1960s and electrified audiences at Woodstock. As the festival’s first performer, Havens held the crowd spellbound for nearly three hours, called back for repeated encores. Having run out of tunes, he improvised a song based on the spiritual “Motherless Child,” which became “Freedom,” a song now considered the anthem of a generation.

Born in Brooklyn, Havens is the eldest of nine children who, at an early age began organizing his neighborhood friends into street corner doo-wop groups. By 16 he was performing with The McCrea Gospel Singers, and by 20 he’d immersed himself in the artistic stimulus of Greenwich Village, where his reputation subsequently spread beyond the Village folk circles.

          Memorable television appearances include performances on two now-legendary programs, “The Ed Sullivan Show” and “The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson.” On the latter, the audience reacted with such enthusiasm – even into the commercial break – Carson asked Havens to return the following night. In the show’s long history, Barbra Streisand was the only other guest booked on back-to-back nights based on overwhelming audience response.

          Havens uses his music to convey messages of brotherhood and personal freedom, once having told The Denver Post, “I really sing songs that move me. I’m not in show business, I’m in the communications business.” He continues to view his calling as a higher one.

 

          With his latest solo release “Nobody Left to Crown” (Verve 2008), Havens unleashed a sense of timelessness, as though the passing years have only strengthened the meaning of his soul-filled folk rock. As with much of his work, the album – his 30^th release – and the supporting tour put the spotlight on recovery with hope for a better world.

          Most recently, Havens appeared with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band on “Preservation” Volumes 1 and 2 (2009 and 2010), participating in support of the renown New Orleans’ Preservation Hall and its music outreach program.

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Tickets for Richie Havens – $20 for Balcony and $30 for Orchestra and Plaza – are available on line at www.durangoconcerts.com or by calling 970.247.7657 or toll free 877.282.9992. Or visit the Ticketing Services Office in Downtown Durango at 7^th and Main Ave. All sales final.

Showtime is 7 p.m., with doors to the Concert Hall and concessions, serving beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages and snacks, opening at 6 p.m.

The Community Concert Hall is located in the growing arts complex of Fort Lewis College.  It operates through a partnership with the college, a state-supported, independent institution of higher education, as well as the city of Durango, and with financial and in-kind contributions from generous members of the community.