Delve into the genre at the heart of December's benefit.
On December 7th, 2019, Caramoor’s annual Music Room benefit concert features American Roots artist, John Hiatt. This event raises funds to support all of Caramoor’s musical performances and tickets are selling fast, so come join us for an evening full of great music!
For those of you who may not know, American Roots Music is the all-encompassing term for American folk-music styles. Before the early 20th century, 'folk music' in the United States was a term largely used to describe the unwritten traditional music shared by people of European ancestry. This music served as a method of oral history that ensured stories were passed from one generation to the next. This definition of music evolved as other groups of Americans — indigenous people, Mexican-Americans, southern blacks, and Cajuns — created distinct music impacted by their global origins, culture, and difficult histories. Their music continued to evolve as these rural areas were impacted by industrialization, globalization, the Civil Rights Movement, and WWII. The evolved folk music began to encompass a much wider variety of music, and scholars and fans began to look for a new term to define this genre. They landed on 'American Roots Music,' an umbrella term that includes folk, gospel, country, bluegrass, string band, and Cajun music.
In 2011, Caramoor began experimenting and offering concerts that featured roots music. Since then, the American Roots Music Program has flourished. 2020 marks Caramoor’s 10th-annual American Roots Music Festival, featuring over ten artists during the day with a headliner performance at night. Other than the festival, there are about five additional American Roots Music concerts — including December 7's benefit concert — held in various venues throughout Caramoor.
In past years, Caramoor's December benefit concert has featured roots artists such as Richard Thompson and I’m With Her (a band including Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz, and Aoife Donovan), performing in The Rosen House’s Music Room, our intimate concert venue.
This year, Caramoor warmly welcomes John Hiatt, a legendary singer-songwriter who has transformed American music. Hiatt has been inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, received the Americana Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and has a star on Nashville’s Walk of Fame. As stated by New West Records, “Hiatt, a master lyricist and satirical storyteller, weaves hidden plot twists into fictional tales ranging in topics including redemption, relationships, growing older, and surrendering, on his terms.”
Hiatt recently released a new album titled, The Eclipse Sessions; the first album Hiatt has released since 2014's Terms of My Surrender.
https://open.spotify.com/album/1xj9Fu7Ec7mbspOHEYuZRU
Hear more of Hiatt's music!
There’s just a handful of tickets left, so grab a seat and come join us for an intimate concert, meet and greet with the artist, and a post-concert reception on December 7th.
If you have any questions about purchasing tickets to this event, please contact the Box Office at 914 -232-5035.