Grammy Award winners Peter Yarrow and Noel Paul Stookey carry on the proud tradition of the 1960s iconic folk-singing trio Peter, Paul & Mary at The Ridgefield Playhouse on July 16
Having just celebrated their 50th anniversary together, Grammy-winners Peter Yarrow and Noel Paul Stookey carry on the proud tradition of the 1960s iconic folk-singing trio Peter, Paul & Mary. Without their beloved Mary, Peter and Noel Paul continue to perform as a duo, and will bring a night of their classic hits, including "If I Had a Hammer," "Blowin' in the Wind," "Puff (The Magic Dragon)," "I Dig Rock & Roll Music," and "Leaving on a Jet Plane”, to The Ridgefield Playhouse on Sunday, July 16 at 8 p.m. as part of the Doyle Coffin Architecture Singer Songwriter Series.
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® Awards, produced 13 top 40 hits of which six ascended into the top 10, and earned eight gold and five platinum albums. When Peter and Noel perform together, audiences comment that in many ways it feels as if Mary were still on the stage with them. The energy and enthusiasm for the music has not diminished, in fact it seems ever more impassioned, and frequently the audience steps in to sing Mary’s part–their voices strong, their hearts full. This is community at its best and what folk music is all about–carrying it on, just as Mary would have wanted.Make it a great night out with dinner and a show! Visit Bailey’s Backyard (23 Bailey Avenue, Ridgefield) and receive 10% off when you show your ticket!
For the majority of America, folk was viewed merely as a sidebar to pop music. The nation was still recovering from the McCarthy era and the Cold War was heating up. 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, they sang at countless anti-Vietnam War rallies and they launched decades of musical activism. These individual and collective efforts addressed a wide range of issues from women’s rights, to farm-worker rights, to gay rights, to the environment and education. The group’s message is that their music belongs to everyone.