Click here to buy tickets in advance>>Download a flier by clicking here>>
The Greater New Haven Labor History Association, in partnership with CT Folk, is pleased to announce Inspiring Songs About Working Men and Women, an evening featuring Tom Juravich with Frank Panzarella, presenting a concert of inspirational songs about the working class experience. The concert will take place on Saturday, November 20, at 8 pm, at the newly refurbished Historic Lyric Hall, 827 Whalley Avenue, in New Haven.
The concert is the product of a longstanding marriage between the power of song and social activism.
Preceding the concert, at 7 pm, there will be a book talk and signing of Tom Juravich’s new book, “At the Altar of the Bottom Line.” The book, based on six years of in-depth interviews, exposes and examines the degradation of work and shows how workers’ rights are sacrificed for profits.
Tom Juravich is Professor of Labor Studies and Director of the Labor Center at the University of Massachusetts, and is a well-published author and song-writer, known for his explorations of issues of work and labor. In 2002 he began an intensive four-year project interviewing workers in a variety of occupations to document the degradation of work in the United States. More than 100 interviews form the core of a Juravich’s new book, and he drew on them for a series of songs he wrote for his new album, Altar of the Bottom Line. The album features songs about twelve-hour days, plant shut-downs, work in the service sector, and the struggles of immigrant workers.
As a singer, songwriter and interpreter of songs, Tom Juravich gives us music that grabs hold of real life, focuses on the things that matter and gives them back to us through the stories of people we can't help but know. At the core of Juravich’s music is his voice. Rich and sure, it resonates through songs he sings, filling them out and making them his own. As Pete Seeger put it, "I was impressed by your wide variety of material and frankly, jealous of your wonderful voice.
Frank Panzarella is a musician who plays it all from folk to classical, jazz and rock. Frank is part of a local favorite group, the Jazz Folks, and has performed at the CT Folk Festival, at the May Day Festival, and as repeat featured guest artist at the Greater New Haven Labor History Association Annual Meeting.
Tickets are available for purchase in advance for $15 or at the door for $20, with a student rate of $10. Wine and refreshments will be available. Seating is limited, so patrons are advised to purchase tickets early.
Proceeds from the concert will serve to benefit both the Labor History Association and CT Folk, both of which are small-budget local non-profit organizations.
For information and to buy tickets, visit www.ctfolk.org.
About CT Folk
CT Folk is a non-profit organization dedicated to the presentation of live folk music throughout the state of Connecticut. At CT Folk, live music joins with educational events and environmental stewardship. From October through May, CT Folk presents First Fridays, an acoustic concert series at First Presbyterian Church, 704 Whitney Avenue in New Haven, with concerts starting at 7:30 pm. CT Folk also sponsors the Annual CT Green Expo, providing real solutions for people to live better, healthier lives with less impact on the environment. The Festival connects people who are interested in making a positive difference in both their lives and in their communities through environmental initiatives and activities, and through the social advocacy of traditional and contemporary roots music.
About the Greater New Haven Labor History Association
The Greater New Haven Labor History Association (LHA), the only labor history association in Connecticut, tells the story of working class people in our region which otherwise could go untold. Through research and preservation of stories, interviews, artifacts and documents, LHA produces exhibits and events which serve to bring to light the working class experience. The “New Haven’s Garment Workers: An Elm City Story” exhibit has toured throughout Connecticut since 2006. Coming this spring, LHA is proud to launch a new exhibit about the experience of workers at New Haven’s Winchester plant, which hugely impacted Newhallville and the New Haven community at large. LHA is also seeking individual oral history interviews with senior citizens about the working class experience through the History Among Us program.