Iconic folk singer Joan Baez has confirmed her latest United States tour, which will take place in October and November. The tour commences in the Northeast with an October 4 appearance in Portland, Maine and concludes a month later on the West Coast with a show at Oakland’s Fox Theatre. The concerts in Boston, MA and Philadelphia, PA will feature a guest appearance by Mary Chapin Carpenter.
The kick-off of the tour is specifically timed to coincide with Wrongful Conviction Day – in fact, Baez is partnering with The Innocence Project and Innocence Network during the entire tour in order to raise awareness of wrongful convictions. During each stop on the 20-city tour, volunteers will give information to concert-goers about the efforts being taken to exonerate individuals who are believed to be wrongly convicted. Keeping the narrative close to home, each city will point out specific local convicts who the Innocence Network believes have been unjustly incarcerated.
“We hope to provide a platform that will amplify the heartbreaking stories of men and women wrongfully convicted, who suffer so needlessly,” Baez declared in a press release. “The fight against their unlawful convictions shines a light on both a broken criminal justice system and the racial inequality of people serving time. I hope my audiences will be motivated to support their work.”
Baez, who has been active in the music industry for over 50 years and released upwards of 30 albums, got her start in the 1960s folk scene. The singer has always injected her music with socially and politically progressive themes, and has been a devoted champion for those whose voices are heard the least.
In other recent Baez news, the singer celebrated her 75th birthday with a massive concert in New York City. The show featured some of the biggest names of the past few decades of music, including Jackson Browne, David Crosby, Emmylou Harris, Mavis Staples, Paul Simon, Indigo Girls, David Bromberg, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Judy Collins, Nano Stern, Richard Thompson and Damien Rice. The birthday blowout was recorded and aired on PBS as part of the network’s Great Performances series.
Joan Baez Fall 2016 Tour:
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October 4 – Portland, ME – Merrill Auditorium
October 6 – Hartford, CT – Mortensen Hall at the Bushnell
October 8 – Boston, MA – Wang Theatre
October 9 – Philadelphia, PA – Academy of Music
October 12 – Westbury, NY – Theatre at Westbury
October 13 – Port Chester, NY – The Capitol Theatre
October 15 – Montclair, NY – The Wellmont Theatre
October 16 – Washington, DC – Lisner Auditorium
October 19 – Cleveland, OH – State Theatre
October 20 – Carmel, IN – The Palladium
October 22 – Madison, WI – Capitol Theatre
October 23 – Milwaukee, WI – Pabst Theatre
October 25 – Chicago, IL – Symphony Center
October 26 – Minneapolis, MN – State Theatre
October 29 – Denver, CO – Paramount Theatre
October 30 – Santa Fe, NM – The Lensic
November 1 – Phoenix, AZ – Celebrity Theatre
November 3 – Santa Barbara, CA – Arlington Theatre
November 5 – Los Angeles, CA – Disney Hall
November 6 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theatre
