John McCutcheon & Tom Paxton with special guest Mike Green

Aubrey Entertainment & Athens Folk Music and Dance Society presents...

A very special cobill featuring

with special guest Mike Green

• Doors open @ 6pm, Early Show @ 7pm
• Under 18 ok with parent or Guardian
• Fully seated show
• Limited reserved table options available on the mezzanine level of the venue
• Food & Beverage must be ordered from the bar - No table service at the venue

has become a voice of his generation, addressing issues of injustice and inhumanity, laying bare the absurdities of modern culture and celebrating the tenderest bonds of family, friends, and community.

In describing Tom Paxton’s influence on his fellow musicians, Pete Seeger has said: “Tom’s songs have a way of sneaking up on you. You find yourself humming them, whistling them, and singing a verse to a friend. Like the songs of Woody Guthrie, they’re becoming part of America.” Pete goes on: “In a small village near Calcutta, in 1998, a villager who could not speak English sang me What Did You Learn In School Today? in Bengali! Tom Paxton’s songs are reaching around the world more than he is, or any of us could have realized. Keep on, Tom!”

Guy Clark adds: “Thirty years ago Tom Paxton taught a generation of traditional folksingers that it was noble to write your own songs, and, like a good guitar, he just gets better with age.” Paxton has been an integral part of the songwriting and folk music community since the early 60’s Greenwich Village scene, and continues to be a primary influence on today’s “New Folk” performers. The Chicago native came to New York via Oklahoma, which he considers to be his home state. His family moved there in 1948, when Tom was 10 years old, and he graduated from Bristow High School and The University of Oklahoma, where he majored in drama while his interest in folk music grew and eventually predominated.

Brought to New York courtesy of the US Army, Tom remained there following his discharge. His early success in Greenwich Village coffeehouses, such as The Gaslight and The Bitter End, led to an ever-increasing circle of work. Then in 1965 he made his first tour of the United Kingdom — the beginning of a still-thriving professional relationship that has included at least one tour in each of the succeeding years.

He and his late wife, Midge, have two daughters, Jennifer and Kate. All three women have served as inspiration for many songs, and now three grandsons, Christopher, Sean, and Peter are adding to the sources of inspiration.

He has performed thousands of concerts around the world in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong, Scandinavia, France, Italy, Belgium, Holland, England, Scotland, Ireland and Canada. That these fans still enjoy his work is a testament to the quality of his recent work, and to the enduring power of modern standards like The Last Thing On My Mind, Ramblin’ Boy, Bottle Of Wine, Whose Garden Was This?, Goin’ To The Zoo and The Marvelous Toy. Paxton’s songbooks, critically acclaimed children’s books (available from HarperCollins – see the page for children), award-winning children’s recordings, and a catalog of hundreds of songs (also recorded by many renowned artists including Willie Nelson, Placido Domingo, Paul Simon, Townes Van Zandt and Tiny Tim), all serve to document Tom Paxton’s 40-year career.

Tom received a 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy during the 51st Annual GRAMMY® Awards. He was nominated for a GRAMMY for Comedians and Angels in 2007, and Live in the U.K. in 2006. He was also nominated for GRAMMYS in 2003 for his Appleseed Records CD, Looking For The Moon, and in 2002 for his children’s CD, Your Shoes, My Shoes. He has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from ASCAP, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the BBC in London.

Tom Paxton’s place in folk music is secured not just by hit records and awards, but by the admiration of three generations of fellow musicians. An internationally recognized and loved cultural figure, he has always chosen goodwill over commercial success. His generosity has taken the shape of a benefit concert performance for a little girl fighting leukemia, or a personal note of encouragement to an up-and-coming songwriter. This is the man who wrote and lives the words, “Peace will come, and let it begin with me.”

He is one of the great songwriters of the last century and will be reckoned as one of the greats in this new century, as well. He is a man we have come to regard as our friend.

“Tom Paxton’s songs are so powerful and lyrical, written from the heart and the conscience, and they reach their mark, our most inner being. He writes stirring songs of social protest and gentle songs of love, each woven together with his personal gift for language. His melodies haunt, his lyrics reverberate. I have sung Tom’s songs for three decades and will go on doing so in the new century, for they are beautiful and timeless, and meant for every age.” (Judy Collins)

“Tom Paxton embodies the spirit of folk music in the most beautiful sense. Not just in his song crafting, his work ethic, his politics and his dedication to people’s music, but also in his kind and generous heart. When I first started playing folk festivals, I was all of eighteen, shaved headed and politically outspoken. Many people in the folk community at that time seemed defensive and threatened by me, but I remember Tom was a notable exception. He was nothing but warm, welcoming and supportive to me from the git go. He’s the coolest.” (Ani DiFranco)

folk music's renaissance man —
master instrumentalist, powerful
singer-songwriter, storyteller, activist, and author
No one remembers when the neighbors started calling the McCutcheons to complain about the loud singing from young John's bedroom. It didn't seem to do much good, though. For, after a shaky, lopsided battle between piano lessons and baseball (he was a mediocre pianist and an all-star catcher), he had "found his voice" thanks to a cheap mail-order guitar and a used book of chords.
From such inauspicious beginnings, John McCutcheon has emerged as one of our most respected and loved folksingers. As an instrumentalist, he is a master of a dozen different traditional instruments, most notably the rare and beautiful hammer dulcimer. His songwriting has been hailed by critics and singers around the globe. His thirty recordings have garnered every imaginable honor including seven Grammy nominations. He has produced over twenty albums of other artists, from traditional fiddlers to contemporary singer-songwriters to educational and documentary works. His books and instructional materials have introduced budding players to the joys of their own musicality. And his commitment to grassroots political organizations has put him on the front lines of many of the issues important to communities and workers.
Even before graduating summa cum laude from Minnesota's St. John's University, this Wisconsin native literally "headed for the hills," forgoing a college lecture hall for the classroom of the eastern Kentucky coal camps, union halls, country churches, and square dance halls. His apprenticeship to many of the legendary figures of Appalachian music imbedded a love of not only home-made music, but a sense of community and rootedness. The result is music...whether traditional or from his huge catalog of original songs...with the profound mark of place, family, and strength. It also created a storytelling style that has been compared to Will Rogers and Garrison Keillor.
The Washington Post described John as folk music's "Rustic Renaissance Man," a moniker flawed only by its understatement. "Calling John McCutcheon a 'folksinger' is like saying Deion Sanders is just a football player..." (Dallas Morning News). Besides his usual circuit of major concert halls and theaters, John is equally at home in an elementary school auditorium, a festival stage or at a farm rally. He is a whirlwind of energy packing five lifetimes into one. In the past few years alone he has headlined over a dozen different festivals in North America (including repeated performances at the National Storytelling Festival), recorded an original composition for Virginia Public Television involving over 500 musicians, toured Australia for the sixth time, toured Chile in support of a women's health initiative, appeared in a Woody Guthrie tribute concert in New York City, gave a featured concert at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, taught performance art skills at a North Carolina college, given symphony pops concerts across America, served as President of the fastest-growing Local in the Musicians Union and performed a special concert at the National Baseball Hall of Fame. This is all in his "spare time." His "real job," he's quick to point out, is father to two grown sons.
But it is in live performance that John feels most at home. It is what has brought his music into the lives and homes of one of the broadest audiences any folk musician has ever enjoyed. People of every generation and background seem to feel at home in a concert hall when John McCutcheon takes the stage, with what critics describe as "little feats of magic," "breathtaking in their ease and grace...," and "like a conversation with an illuminating old friend."
Whether in print, on record, or on stage, few people communicate with the versatility, charm, wit or pure talent of John McCutcheon.

“John McCutcheon is not only one of the best musicians in the USA, but also a great singer, songwriter, and song leader. And not just incidentally, he is committed to helping hard-working people everywhere to organize and push this world in a better direction.”
— Pete Seeger
"The most impressive instrumentalist I've ever heard."
— Johnny Cash
"He has an uncanny ability to breathe new life into the familiar. His storytelling has the richness of fine literature."
— Washington Post
"Calling John McCutcheon a 'folksinger' is like saying Deion Sanders is just a football player."
— Dallas Morning News

Long Debut: Listening for the Bell

What happens when you finally just stand still and listen to what's inside?

In the great pause of 2020, Mike Green took a good, long listen to an insistent bell ringing inside his head. Songs he knew were there—some since the 1970s—needed to be unlocked. Not only did he revive some of this material, he experienced a surge of creativity giving birth to several dozen new songs. With three successful decades as a booking agent, Mike suddenly added "singer/songwriter" to his resume. Many of these songs will land on Mike’s debut collection, Listening for the Bell. Mike’s expressive melodies, engaging lyrics, and creative guitar work give depth to a broad scope of topics. His songs are inherently optimistic, often touched with wry humor, leaving space for listeners to make the songs uniquely their own.

Though newly re-entering the ranks of touring performers, Mike has been an integral part of the folk community for thirty-plus years from his home in Ann Arbor, Michigan. As a booking agent, he has fostered careers and absorbed the music of top-tier artists from Tom Paxton to Ani DiFranco. Connecting with legendary venues literally from coast to coast – Club Passim, The Old Town School of Folk Music, The Ark, Freight & Salvage, and scores in between – Mike continues to represent touring artists including John McCutcheon, Carrie Newcomer, David Wilcox, and others.

Mike grew up in West Orange, New Jersey and has played music all his life. In his early years, he played the trumpet in the school band and at arts camp, but he had to give up the instrument when he got braces on his teeth. Mike then picked up the guitar and never looked back. He played ragtime, blues, and dabbled in political songwriting during a couple of years of touring in the late 1970s. “I don’t think I was awful, but I wasn’t that good,” Mike reflects. “And I went out of my way to be outrageous.” Since then, his influences have been shaped by an array of artists including Jesse Winchester, The Who, and Utah Phillips—all of whom seeped into his widely eclectic style.

At the encouragement of Carrie Newcomer and others, Mike began crafting his own work, writing songs that were inspired by his own life and personal growth. They offer sharp social statements, frank admissions, a soft touch on time at home, poignant reflections on the paths we all follow to get to where we are, and a pragmatic philosophy for keeping our eyes on what unfolds next. Mike's songs pose some challenging questions, offer no pat answers, yet open the door to let in hope.

Mike’s muse kept nudging him forward. The bell demanded to be heard. And so, here comes a fresh songwriter who faces the extraordinary and the ordinary, listening for and answering that persistent bell that calls all of us.

“To my mind, a writer’s mind, Mike Green is a wry philosopher with a guitar, a perceptive student of the human condition and an upcoming writer worthy of deep listening. His newest recording is a thoughtful, delightful and heart opening collection.”
— Carrie Newcomer (Singer-Songwriter, Author, Poet, Podcast Host)
“Mike Green is a man of many, sometimes hidden, talents. Sure, he's a well-known and respected talent agent, but he's also a wicked gardener. A gourmet cook. A lover of great music. And now, an out-of-the-closet singer/songwriter. What do all these things have in common? They make our lives a little richer, a little more nutritious, more worth living. These are all crafts that require time, patience, and a love for small details. In Mike's first recording, he sets a table as varied as it is satisfying. Pull up a chair and join in the feast.”
— John McCutcheon (Artist)
“When I think about Mike Green, I think about him as a great booking agent. Now that I’m hearing his own music, I realize why he’s a great agent. He can DO this. He understands what stagecraft and songwriting is - and can do it! That’s what makes him such a discerning agent - he sees it through the artist’s lens because he is an artist at his core. I’m so grateful to see Mike Green’s artistry shine through!”
— Matt Smith (Managing Director, Passim)

Host or Publisher Aubrey Entertainment