St. Clair Productions presents singer/songwriter David Roth in concert on Saturday, April 12, 8 p.m., at the Unitarian Fellowship, 87 4th St., Ashland. Tickets are $18/advance, $20/door, $10/12-17 and free under 12. Tickets are available at www.stclairevents.com, by calling 541-535-3562 or at the Music Coop in downtown Ashland.
A staple of the renowned Kerville Folk Festival since winning the “New Folk” award there in 1986, Roth’s has performed at venues as varied as United Center — where he twice sang the national anthem before Chicago Bull’s games — to the United Nations — where he performed “Earth” for the institution’s 40th anniversary in 1985. Featured on many of Christine Lavin's seminal Rounder Records compilations, the former artist-in-residence at New York's Omega Institute is the coordinator for the Swannanoa Gathering's Contemporary Folk Week each summer in Asheville, NC.
Andrea Marcovicci performed Roth’s “Ringing in Love” at the centennial of Carnegie Hall in 1991 and Noel Paul Stookey — the Paul of Peter, Paul and Mary fame — frequently performs a Roth-penned song, “Spacesuites.” Lyrics from two of Roth’s works — “Manuel Garcia” and “Nine Gold Medals” — were published as verse in Chicken Soup for the Soul books. The BOSE Corporation includes "Taller Than My Hair" and "Five Blind Men" on their "best of new folk" compilations.
A native of Chicago, Roth has been playing his "James Taylor meets Will Rogers" style of inspirational acoustic music for nearly three decades. Although his songs cover a variety of subjects and styles, the themes return to the basic tenants of love, support and community.
Roth rarely follows a set list, instead customizing his shows for each audience he encounters. He says, “I have enough repertoire that if I see that the energy in the room needs a little lift, I can do something funny, or if I see something going on in the world that needs to be acknowledged or addressed, I might do a song related to that."
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