Purdue News

March 5, 1999 Arlo Guthrie to perform April 8 at Purdue WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Folk legend Arlo Guthrie will perform at 8 p.m. Thursday, April 8, at Purdue University. The newly announced concert in Loeb Playhouse in Stewart Center is presented by Purdue Convocations. As a storyteller and accomplished musician, Arlo Guthrie will offer a selection of the old and new, original and traditional. His music is as varied as his cross-generational audiences, and whether playing keyboards, harmonica, six-string or 12-string guitar, Guthrie can truly be called an icon of American music. Son of Woodie Guthrie, Arlo first performed in public at the age of 13. After developing his talents for several years, his career took off when, at age 20, his signature song "Alice's Restaurant Massacre" was introduced at the 1967 Newport Folk Festival. Two years later, Guthrie starred in "Alice's Restaurant," the first full-length motion picture based on a song. The song about his arrest for littering and subsequent problems with the draft board became the anthem of a generation. The wry delivery and flawless timing evident in "Alice's Restaurant" would come to typify Guthrie's unique style. Additional hits included "Coming to Los Angeles" (performed at Woodstock) and "City of New Orleans," written by friend Steve Goodman. In 1986, Guthrie formed Rising Son Records and released a new recording "Someday." He also began to re-release his extensive Warner/Reprise catalog on his new label. In 1992 he purchased the Old Trinity Church in Housatonic, Mass., where he wrote "Alice's Restaurant" and where the movie was filmed. The church is now the home of the Guthrie Center, a nonprofit interfaith church foundation that serves the local community with programs for children recovering from abuse, support for HIV/AIDS patients, and community services of all types. In 1995, on the 30th anniversary of the massacre, Arlo released "Alice's Restaurant: The Massacre Revisited," which bolsters his famous tale with a few more details and state-of-the-art production, recorded live in the same church where the incidents actually took place. Guthrie's latest recording effort, released in 1996, is "Mystic Journey," his first recording of original songs since "Someday" came out a decade ago. "Mystic Journey" is co-produced by Guthrie and his son Abe. Audiences will hear some of these new songs in the April 8 concert. Tickets are $20 for the public, $15 for Purdue students, and they go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, March 12, at campus box offices, (765) 494-3933 or (800) 914-SHOW. Friends of Convocations can purchase tickets in advance of the general public on March 9 and 10. CONTACT: Sue Stevens, Convocations publicist, (765) 494-9712; snstevens@convos.purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page