Pete’s 90th Birthday Party at Madison Square Garden

May 3rd, 2009
WASN’T THAT A PARTY!

Pete Seeger celebrated his 90th birthday with 18,000 friends and family in Madison Square Garden on May 3rd, and I was truly privileged to be part of it. Talk about your hootenannies! The concert––to support the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater Project––sold out in 15 minutes online and the buzz in the Garden was electric. The list of performers was jam-packed with top-liners, all thrilled to be there to celebrate Pete. My daughter, Kate, and I arrived at the Garden, to join Eric Weissberg and Tom Morello for a run-through. The rehearsal was worth the price of admission, as they say. Many musical jokes, much irreverence and, in the end, a new appreciation of a great old song. Tom Morello is a terrifically talented rock guitarist formerly of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave who also performs as the folk alter ego, “The Nightwatchman.” Eric Weissberg is an old friend who frequently tours with me, and is one of the best banjo musicians in the business, best known for the “Dueling Banjos” theme for Deliverance. Both Tom and Eric have been tireless supporters of important causes like Pete’s Clearwater project for years. We hung around for a while in our communal green room, which we shared with Steve Earle, Taj Mahal, Ben Harper, Billy Bragg and Bruce Cockburn, telling war stories of gigs-from-hell and generally whooping it up.

We wandered up and down the halls, meeting old friends: Joan Baez, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot and Tom Chapin. I also began what I hope will prove to be an enduring relationship with Oscar The Grouch.

The show began shortly after 5 PM. I cannot imagine the organizational wizardry it took to get it on, period, and to finish 4 and a half hours later was another miracle. Tom, Eric and I followed Ani DiFranco and Bruce Cockburn, who rocked the hall with Which Side Are You On? We did John Henry, one of Pete’s favorite traditional American ballads. Tao Rodriquez-Seeger, who coordinated all the talent for the evening, was the miracle worker that night. Hat’s off and a standing ovation for Pete’s grandson!

Hey, let me say it again: This Land Is Our Land, and wasn’t that a party?