Rod MacDonald
with Mark Dann
Saturday – October 20 – 7:30 pm
Rod MacDonald was born in Connecticut and rose to prominence in NYC’s Greenwich Village clubs in the 1980s and 90s, co-founding the Greenwich Village Folk Festival and recording 21 songs now in the Smithsonian Folkways collection. He’s since made 11 solo cds, his songs covered by Shawn Colvin, Jonathan Edwards, Dave Van Ronk, Four Bitchin’ Babes and numerous other singers, and tours throughout North America and Europe. And his work keeps getting better: his 2014 CD, Later That Night, reached #3 on national Roots Music Folk charts in 2015, with the song “Raven” at #1, and his current release, Beginning Again (released June 2018 by Blue Flute Music) prompted WMNF’s DJ Craig Heugel to write “OMG!….This is a truly wonderful CD. Will be featuring it on next week’s show – 2 songs at each of the half hours. Just can’t decide which 4 to play. So many great songs on this.”
A tenor with a clear voice and wide range, MacDonald is often cited for both his musicality and the content of his songs about political and social events: “Rod MacDonald is a brilliant folk singer and composer. His melodic songs possess words that go straight into your heart and soul.” The Press Of Atlantic City … “A poet with a lot on his mind who has never allowed himself to make points at the expense of making music.” The Boston Globe … “True to the folk tradition, MacDonald is not afraid to get political, take chances, and perhaps shock some people….MacDonald’s place in the folk hall of fame is assured by his ‘A Sailor’s Prayer,’ a hymn-styled tune that many people have mistaken for a traditional song.” All-Music Guide.
In December 2014 MacDonald published his first novel, The Open Mike, “a music-driven novel for the ages and a great extension of MacDonald’s already prolific creative output.” …Jonathan Widran, Music Connection Magazine
Now living in south Florida, he’s been named one of “Ten Greatest South Florida Folksingers Of All Time” by New Times, and Fort Lauderdale’s Labyrinth Café—where MacDonald appears in concert each year –notes “his personal commitment to communicating events that have affected and shaped our world’s societies….Rod’s songs will stay in your heart and mind long after the music has ended.”
Mark Dann is the recording engineeer and principal lead guitarist for the Fast Folk Musical Magazine, and has played bass with many artists. He is also the co-producer of 11 of Rod’s CDs. Rod and Mark have been performing together for more than 40 years, including 40+ tours of Europe.
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