A world-traveled folksinger and multi-instrumentalist is looking forward to a free concert he’ll soon perform for Cherry Log’s Craddock Center.
John McCutcheon will appear at the center’s Songs and Stories afternoon Saturday, Feb. 5, at 3 p.m. The Craddock Center is located just off Highway 515 at 186 Fred Craddock Drive.
The continuing pandemic has meant little to no live concerts for McCutcheon the past two years.
“This will be the first of a series, (which will be) my first live gigs of 2022,” said McCutcheon from his home studio in Smoke Rise, near Stone Mountain.
“Musicians have learned how to do online concerts and that, with the generosity of our fans, is really what’s kept us alive during this last period of time. Nobody survives as an independent musician without being resilient, patient and creative, so we just got more creative,” he added.
McCutcheon, who lives in Gilmer County part time and has performed at several past Songs & Stories, said he spent much of 2020 and ‘21 writing and recording new songs. Most of them were written at his Cherry Log residence.
“I was in Australia when everything sort of started to fall apart in March of 2020. I came back home, camped out at our cabin and just started writing,” he said. “I wrote an entire album called Cabin Fever while I was up there, then I just kept writing. I released another album last September called Bucket List, and now I’m finishing up a third album. These are all songs that were written during the pandemic, mostly up there at our cabin.”
One of those songs, “The Night John Prine Died,” was written shortly after acclaimed singer/songwriter Prine passed away in April 2020 after contracting COVID-19.
“I knew John and performed with him a number of times. We had some real adventures,” said McCutcheon. “He was a songwriter’s songwriter, and he was able to say complicated things in a simple way.”
McCutcheon is proficient at playing several stringed instruments including guitar, fiddle, banjo and hammered dulcimer. He plans on featuring each of those at the Craddock Center concert.
“’I’ll be bringing my usual arsenal,” he said.
McCutcheon first met the Craddock Center’s founder, Dr. Fred Craddock, several years ago at another function presented by the center. He later accepted Craddock’s invitation to perform for the first time at Songs & Stories.
McCutcheon said he supports the center’s mission of providing early childhood literacy and cultural enrichment programs to a region that spans seven north Georgia counties, and one each in North Carolina and Tennessee. He last performed for the center at its 2019 Songs & Stories.
“Rev. Craddock was a friend, and I admired him a great deal. I’m happy to support the Craddock Center and also shine a spotlight on the important work they’re doing,” McCutcheon said. “I’ve gotten to be friends with a lot of people in the community, so it’s sort of like a hometown concert. It feels like a perfect fit for me.”
Craddock Center Director Kirk Cameron said people of every generation and background seem to feel at home in a concert hall when McCutcheon takes the stage with what critics have described as “little feats of magic.”
“It is in live performance, like our Songs & Stories event, that John feels most at home. It is what has brought his music into the lives and homes of one of the broadest audiences any folk musician has ever enjoyed,” he added.
Songs and Stories turns 20
This year marks Songs and Stories’ 20th anniversary, confirmed Cameron. The concert is free to attend, but donations will be accepted. Any money raised will go toward the purchase of new books for children in the center’s service area.
“It was started by Dr. Craddock, who wanted something in the winter that people could get out and enjoy,” Cameron said. “He was insistent that it be offered at no charge for the community (as) an event that brought people together to have a fun winter afternoon highlighting the old Appalachian traditions of storytelling and folk music.”
Craddock Center storyteller Natalie Jones will also appear at the event. Cameron said.
Jones has performed across the southeast as a professional storyteller for more than 20 years. Originally from Kentucky, she previously worked as a park ranger, teacher and librarian.
Jones has appeared at the Jimmy Carter Library, the National Storytelling Conference in Gatlinburg, Tenn., and at schools and libraries all over Georgia, Cameron noted.
“In 2016, she was crowned Georgia’s Biggest Fibber and was the People’s Choice Bold Faced Liar at the Festival of Carolina, both of which are actually compliments,” he added.
Masks and proof of COVID-19 vaccination will be required of those attending the event. Ways that can be provided include showing one’s vaccination card or a doctor’s printout that shows the vaccination, Cameron noted.
“They can bring the card or a picture of their card, something thats shows their name on it. If they bring a picture of the card, it needs to show their name,” he added.