Joan Baez and Kris Kristofferson
GNP is proud to present two legendary performers, Joan Baez and Kris Kristofferson for one show only on Sunday, November 6th at 7:30 PM at Boston’s Symphony Hall. Symphony Hall SUMMER Box Office hours Monday – Friday 10AM – 6PM and Saturdays, 12PM – 6PM.
Tickets will be exclusively available in support of WGBH television during the August 5-14 pledge drive. A limited number of preferred seats may be purchased through WGBH prior to the public on sale.
Three years after marking the 50th anniversary of her legendary residency at Boston’s famed Club 47 and two years after celebrating the 50th anniversary of her 1959 debut at the Newport Folk Festival, Joan Baez remains a musical force of nature whose influence is incalculable – from marching on the front line of the civil rights movement with Martin Luther King, Jr. to inspiring Vaclav Haval in his fight for a Czech Repblic to singing on the first Amnesty International tour and standing alongside Nelson Mandela when the world celebrated his 90th birthday in London’s Hyde Park. She brought the Free Speech Movement into the spotlight, and was recently honored by Amnesty International as the recipient of the first annual Joan Baez Award for Outstanding Inspirational Service in the Global Fight for Human Rights. Her earliest recordings fed a host of traditional ballads into the rock vernacular before she unselfconsciously introduced Bob Dylan to the world in 1963 and focused awareness on songwriters ranging from Woody Gutherie to Kris Kristofferson and many, many more. The Boston Globe proclaimed, “A half century into her career, folk icon Joan Baez is making a return of sorts–not to vintage material, but to songs that evoke the spirit and message of her defining early work…Baez has never sounded wiser, or more deeply human.” The prolific singer songwriter was recently profiled in Public Television’s American Masters documentary, Joan Baez: How Sweet The Sound.
Kris Kristofferson’s distinguished career has encompassed the authorship of such classic American songs as “Me and Bobby McGee,” “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” and “Help Me Make It Through the Night”; stardom in several feature films (Kris has appeared in over 50 films); honors including three Grammy Awards and Best Actor Golden Globe Award (“A Star is Born”); and years of outspoken political and social activism. He received several awards as a member of the Highwaymen (with Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings) and most recently the American Veteran’s Association “Veteran of the Year.”
Kristofferson has released eighteen solo albums, plus three with Rita Coolidge and three with the Highwaymen. This November, he will be feted as a BMI Icon at the performing rights organization’s Country Awards. Kristofferson is currently a member of the Songwriter Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame. In the last decade the now 73-year-old Kristofferson has been on a vigorous schedule of international solo appearances. Kristofferson says, “Something was making a direct communication with the audience,” he adds, “and I guess it must be down to the essence of the songs. Because God knows, there’s better guitar players and singers. But it seems to be working with my material — just me and the song. I’ve been really surprised at selling out the shows everywhere. People are filling up the houses.” Kris Kristofferson’s first recording in almost a dozen years – was hailed by critics as “one of the finest albums of his storied career” (Rolling Stone), “a stripped-down stunner” (Esquire), and “a return to his best work” (Q). Kristofferson says, “I like the intimacy of the new album. It has a general mood of reflecting on where we all are at this end of life.”
Links: JoanBaez.com – KrisKristofferson.com – Bostonsymphonyhall.org – Venue Area info – American Masters: Joan Baez – How Sweet the Sound