TAO RODRIGUEZ-SEEGER TO HEADLINE WATERFRONT CONCERT IN HUDSON
PRESS RELEASE
07-16-09 -
Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, grandson of legendary folksinger Pete Seeger, will headline a Saturday night concert at the Namesake Celebration on the Hudson waterfront July 25 at 8 p.m. The concert is offered free to the public as part of the City of Hudson's Quadricentennial celebration.
Rodriguez-Seeger's music has been described as "a blend of time, fusing the Folk styles of his family heritage with modern day Rock 'n' Roll." He plays guitar, banjo, mandolin, and harmonica and sings in both Spanish and English. His "contemporary traditional music" may use banjo duets and fiddle tunes but takes his band through a variety of musical styles.
Rodriguez-Seeger was born in Poughkeepsie, to Mika Seeger, the eldest child of Pete and Toshi Seeger, and his Puerto Rican father, Emilio Rodriguez-Vazquez. In the early 80s, Rodriguez-Seeger moved to Nicaragua where his father was a war correspondent making documentary films about the Sandinista revolution. After nine years in Nicaragua, he returned to the United States and moved into the home of his maternal grandparents. There he acquired a first-hand wealth of knowledge and tradition and began performing side-by-side with his grandfather, Pete Seeger.
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In 1986, a teenage Tao joined his grandfather in Japan at a Hiroshima Day rally in front of an audience of more than half a million people for their first concert together. The musical partnership has endured and he has performed on the world stage with the elder Seeger as a full-fledged partner ever since.
Recently Rodriguez-Seeger performed at the Presidential Inauguration with Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen, and to a sold out crowd at Madison Square Garden for The Clearwater Concert, an event celebrating his grandfather's 90th birthday.
In 1998, Rodriguez-Seeger co-founded a band called RIG (Rodriguez/Irion/Guthrie) with Sarah Lee Guthrie (daughter of Arlo Guthrie) and Johnny Irion. He was also instrumental in forming a group called The Mammals with Ruth Ungar (daughter of fiddler Jay Ungar) and Mike Merenda. The Mammals, calling themselves "subversive acoustic traditionalists," toured the world, playing an average of 150 shows a year and recording six albums.
Rodriguez-Seeger's current band includes Laura Cortese on fiddle and vocals, Jake Silver on bass, and Robin MacMillan on drums.
Opening for Rodriguez-Seeger will be an a capella group from New York City called the Johnson Girls, who specialize in singing traditional sea chanties in four-part harmony.
Concert attendees are encouraged to bring blankets or folding lawn chairs for a seat in a specially-designated area of the park.
The Namesake Celebration—with a nod to the fact that the City of Hudson is the only municipality on the river named for Henry Hudson—is built around a visit from the replica ship Half Moon, which will be docked at the city dock. Tours of the ship will be available on a first come-first served basis beginning at 10 a.m. on both Saturday, July 25, and Sunday, July 26. Tickets for the Half Moon tour, at a fee of $5 for adults and $3 for students and seniors, will be available at the festival. Children under 12 will be admitted free of charge if accompanied by an adult.
For more information about City of Hudson Quadricentennial activities, the Namesake Celebration, or directions to the Hudson waterfront, go to www.henryandhudson.org or call 518-828-3378.
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