There’s a sense that California doesn’t get country or folk music. Our populous is far too inundated with the convenience of city living and adjacency to celebrity to ever be able to understand the plight of the common man. But not so long ago California was the land of folk and country. We are still the land of farmers and immigrant workers and we provide the most produce of any state in the U.S. in addition to all of the cultural exports.
The last twenty years have seen folk shed its label as music for old folks, and merely transition into music for white people. While that may not be entirely true, the point is that folk has gone from something that was viewed as lame into something that is coveted for its lyrical honesty and joyful style.
As folk has become more and more coveted, perhaps no artist has benefitted so much as Courtney Barnett. Barnett’s delightful blend of folk and rock music is as capable of causing laughter as it is causing tears. She can make you fall asleep in your rocking chair or get up and break out the windows with a sledgehammer. So her being chosen to headline the Newport Folk Revival benefit show on Valentines Day at the Palace Theater is an inspired and obvious choice.
The show has numerous surprise guests who are all unannounced as of Monday February tenth, but know that Newport Folk Festival never missed a shot to grab someone great so it’s absolutely worth grabbing a ticket.
Location: The Palace Theater
Address: 630 S Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90014
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