“We all know the music of Peter, Paul and Mary—folk classics that remain the soundtrack for generations. No American folk group lasted longer or amassed a more loyal following than Peter, Paul and Mary. During their legendary career, the trio won five Grammy's, produced 13 top 40 hits of which six ascended into the top 10, and earned eight gold and five platinum albums. Peter Yarrow carries on the tradition of the renowned folk music group Peter, Paul and Mary--a union that lasted 50 years.
The group's message is that their music belongs to everyone. "People can overcome their differences, and when united, move toward a world of greater fairness and justice," says Yarrow. Peter Yarrow, Noel (Paul) Stookey and Mary Travers came together to reclaim folk's potency as a social, cultural and political force. The Trio lived their songs. They sang at the 1963 March on Washington where Dr. Martin Luther King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech, they participated in the Selma to Montgomery March. These individual and collective efforts addressed a wide range of issues from women's rights, to farm-worker rights to the environment and education.
You will be thrilled to experience the relevancy of that music, and how it resonates through today’s headlines, when Peter Yarrow brings his solo show to Milford Performance Center. It will be so much more than a nostalgia show. Peter encourages sing-alongs and audience participation.
“Yes, it will be nostalgic for many. But on another level, it will bring a sense of what is still possible. Yes, he will sing ‘Leaving on a Jet Plane, Puff the Magic Dragon, Blowing in the wind, If I had a hammer and so much more!
“I will give the audience a sense of the current history, of what this music is doing, and why it’s important. So it will be a history lesson, it will be a singalong that inspires, but it will also assert the importance of the continuation of this kind of music in people’s lives today. And where we’re going from here in those terms. It’s not necessarily a big lecture — it’s inherent in the music. They’ll get it. I know it, ’cause that’s what I do.”
– Peter Yarrow
