VERO BEACH — Fresh from a successful tour in the United Kingdom, come two performers that will prove to be a show not to be missed in Vero Beach. The final performers for The Masters of Music Series, to be held on Friday evening, April 10 at 7 p.m., are two musical greats, Janis Ian and Tom Paxton, along with the additional support of master instrumentalist Robin Bullock.
Janis Ian is an American songwriter, singer, musician, columnist and author. She has won two Grammy Awards, the first in 1975 for her song “At Seventeen,” and the second in 2013 for Best Spoken Word Album, for her autobiography, “Society’s Child.”
The latter, in 1967, reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100, the single having sold 600,000 copies, and the album 350,000 copies. In 2001, “Society’s Child” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which honors recordings considered timeless and important to music history. In addition to being an award-winning singer-songwriter, Ian writes science fiction and is currently presenting her first children’s book, “The Tiny Mouse,” which is published along with an accompanying CD.
Tom Paxton 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. It has been said that Paxton, 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 1960s Greenwich Village scene, and continues to be a primary influence on today’s “New Folk” performers. He has performed thousands of concerts around the world where fans still enjoy his work and 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, award-winning children’s recordings, and a catalog of hundreds of songs, all serve to document Tom Paxton’s 40-year career.
The Masters of Music Series is brought to Vero Beach by concert promoter Rusty Young of MusicWorks, Inc. Young is co-producing this series with the Vero Beach based marketing and special events professionals, Beverly and Martin Paris of Paris Productions. A portion of the proceeds of each performance will be given back to the partnering organization of the (not-for-profit) Emerson Center to help defray their operating costs. The Emcee for Ian and Paxton’s performance will be Lisa Rymer, the Editor of Luminaries and Social Editor of Vero Beach NewsWeekly.
Tickets for Emerson Center performances may be purchased either online at www.TheEmersonCenter.org or by calling the Box Office at (772) 778-5249. Single tickets range from $20 to $75. A $3 per ticket service fee will be added to each ticket price. All concerts offer a VIP seating and a Meet and Greet following the performance.
The Emerson Center is conveniently located on the campus of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Vero Beach, on the SE corner of 16th Street and 27th Avenue. It has more than 300 parking spaces, an auditorium that seats more than 800 people in comfortable padded seating, a raised stage that offers everyone unrestricted views, and professional state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems. Ask about the new elevator to the 2nd floor balcony and the seating for the physically challenged.