Bill Davis laid down the law early on Wednesday to a packed house of folkies in Lake Miona Recreation Center.
“This ain’t a hootenanny until you make it one, so start singing,” Davis said. The people joined in with gusto at the “Give A Hoot Hootenanny” to raise money for Tutors For Kids.
The night was filled with songs by Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Peter Paul and Mary, and The Kingston Trio. Fourteen singers were on the bill, along with the nationally-known folk trio, Playnfoke.
Watch video of the performances here:
The event seems part of a folk music revival in The Villages. Last week, the Kingston Trio quickly sold out two shows at Savannah Center. On Wednesday, the overflow crowd at Lake Miona raised nearly $3,500 for Tutors For Kids.
“Something’s going on because people in The Villages want to hear this music,” said Davis, leader of The Villages Pops Chorus. “We’re going to do more of these folk music shows.”
The concert opened in rousing style with Davis, Jack Strite and Woody High singing “Comin’ From the Mountain.” The trio followed that number with a Kingston Trio version of “Where Have All The Flowers Gone.”
Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize last year but he made his musical reputation in the early ‘60s with the classic song, “Blowin’ In the Wind.” Jan Lavin brought a tender edge to the powerful song.
Playnfoke has been together over a half-century and played all over the world. Villager Jack Strite along with Tom LeFevre and Bill McGaughey still have the passion and skill to sing a song and move an audience.
That was obvious when they sang the spiritual “Jordan River,” and nearly turned the night into a revival meeting. Playnfoke had some calypso fun on “Shame and Scandal in the Family.”
“We’ve been doing this for 51 years,” Strite said. “At times, our musical history seems surreal, when I think of the songs we sang and the places we’ve been. We still love singing together.”
Over a dozen singers joined on stage for a real folk chorus on “Green Green…” and then brought to life one of the great train songs, “City Of New Orleans.” That was written by Steve Goodman and turned into a hit by Arlo Guthrie.
“Arlo is Woody’s (legendary folk singer Woody Guthrie) little boy,” Davis said. “So we’re going to sing Arlo’s ‘Alice’s Restaurant.’ Not the whole thing, just a chorus.”
That was enough to bring a smile to anyone who remembers the ‘60s.
“We’re recreating the ‘60s here and we’ve got some drugs backstage — Ibuprofen and NoDoz,” Strite cracked.
Seven male members took the stage and the men sang the theme song from John Wayne’s movie, “The Alamo.” It’s called “The Green Leaves of Summer,” and was originally done by the Brothers Four. The local guys captured the somber and wistful mood of the song.
Seven women came on for a sweet and moving version of Tom Paxton’s “The Last Thing On My Mind.”
BJ Odendahl was appropriately melancholy on “500 Miles” and Billie Thatcher paid homage to Mary Travers – of Peter Paul and Mary – singing “Leaving On a Jet Plane,” written by John Denver.
Donna Francis was equally impressive on “All My Trials.”
Two songs by the Villagers truly captured the spirit, meaning and power of folk music. They are: Pete Seeger’s “If I Had A Hammer” and Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land.”
Those songs were about justice, unity and making the world a better place. That was true when they came out so long ago and remains just as vibrant today.