Tom Paxton

Janis Ian Farewell Tour – Celebrating Our Years Together

March 9, 2022 by Tom Paxton in Music

Dear Friends:

My dear friend Janis Ian has recently begun her farewell tour. As in everything she does, when she says ‘farewell’ she means it. You simply must make sure to see her this one last time.

Ihave known and loved Janis for her entire career. She made her debut back in the sixties at the age of 13. It was a fundraising hootenanny that we did once a month at The Village Gate on Bleecker St. to raise money for Broaside, a mimeographed magazine featureing topical and political songs we were churning out faster than they could print them. It being a hoot, we all took the stage and sat in a semicircle, taking our turns at the mic and never leaving the stage. This pint-sized kid from New Jersey was seated between Len Chandler and me and when it was her turn they lowered the mic and she – somewhat smaller than her guitar, it seems in my memor – sang a song so full of sass that Len and I were leaning on each other and howling. One did not take encores at a Broadside hoot but we made her go back and do another. She nailed it that day and has continued to nail it for these decades that have gone by in a blur. You know the songs : Society’s Child, At Seventeen, and dozens of other,, classics recorded by dozens of the best singers of our generation. She’s won Grammys and a ton of other awards. Her placed in the pantheon is secured. ‘Nuff said.

A few years ago Janis and I called our own bluffs and did a couple of years touring with one another. It was – I say flatly – among the happiest experiences I have had inn my 60 years of performing. We decided right at the start that it wasn’t going to be a “you take a half and I’ll take a hal” deals. No, we went out together and stayed out there together except for two brief solo sets in the second half. It was tons of fun -just Janis, instrumentalist Robin Bullock and I. Night after night I saw the depth of her artistry and the mastery of composition that she wore like a baseball cap worn backwards.

Now she’s finishing her career and you have one last chance to see her. I guarantee you won’t forget the experience. Take a friend; and I hear you now talking about Janis all the way home. Here’s to you, Janny. There’s none better.

For more details and tickets, visit: https://janisian.com/tour