Eric Andersen & Scarlet Rivera

Eric will be joined by violinist            Scarlet Rivera, a veteran of tours with Dylan, and incredibly gifted percussionist            Jagoda. Eric will deliver a master class on the art of  songwriting, with “Dusty Box Car Wall,” “Violets of Dawn,” “Foghorn” and  an amazing “Sinking Deeper Into You." Get yourself set for a treasure  trove of intriguing and poetic set of songs and stories.          

           In 2018, Sony/Legacy Recordings issued            THE ESSENTIAL ERIC ANDERSEN – a 42-track  retrospective release covering fifty years of his recorded history. The  double CD and digital download included the important classics which  span across all his albums, including his early classics “Thirsty Boots”  “Violets of Dawn” and “Close the Door Lightly.” Guests on this  career-spanning, 2-disc compilation included Joni Mitchell, David  Bromberg, Leon Russell, Joan Baez, Richard Thompson, Rick Danko Phil  Ochs and Lou Reed.             

          Andersen first came to prominence as a performer in Greenwich  Village in the early 1960s and immediately became part of the Village  folk and songwriter scene along with Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton, Dave Van  Ronk, Bob Dylan, and was at the epicenter of the Greenwich Village  singer-songwriter explosion in New York City. With over 25 albums to his  credit, Eric has been making extraordinary music since his early days  in the Greenwich Village folk scene. This period produced some of his  best known songs including: "Violets of Dawn", "Come to My Bedside", and  "Thirsty Boots." His songs have been recorded by Johnny Cash, Bob  Dylan, Judy Collins, Linda Ronstadt, The Grateful Dead and many others.             

          Andersen was seemingly involved in every scene of  counter-cultural significance, even as his songwriting bona fides  mounted over the course of twenty-plus albums: seeing Buddy Holly, Elvis  Presley, and The Everly Brothers in concert as a kid outside Buffalo,  NY; spotting John and Jackie Kennedy leaving a church in southern  Massachusetts; playing and trading songs in Greenwich Village in 1964;  opening for John Lee Hooker upon his arrival to NYC; meeting beat poets  in San Francisco at City Lights bookstore and seeing them read the night  JFK died; working to register black voters in Liberty, MS in 1965;  being on the managerial roster of Brian Epstein (until his untimely  death); starring with Edie Sedgwick in an Andy Warhol movie called  Space; showing Joni Mitchell open G and D modal tunings on the guitar;  playing on the legendary Festival Express (event and film) alongside The  Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Band, and Buddy Guy; recording in  Nashville in the early ‘70s; being introduced to Cash by Dylan at  Newport Folk Fest in 1964 and later appearing on TV’s The Johnny Cash  Show; opening for The Doors, Elton John, and The Byrds; living in the  Chelsea Hotel in the 1970s alongside Kris Kristofferson, Sam Shepard,  and Leonard Cohen; moving to Woodstock in the mid-70s; playing on the  first two shows of Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue tour; co-writing with  Townes Van Zandt and Lou Reed; moving to Norway and then the  Netherlands; and singing with Rick Danko in the trio  Danko/Fjeld/Andersen.            ~~~~~             Scarlet Rivera burned a hole in the fabric of rock  history with her pioneering electrified violin sound. Based in classical  roots, Ms. Rivera was bending the capabilities of current accepted  norms by playing all styles of music. From the Jazz of Ornette Coleman  to the robust innovation of a violin amid a 17 piece Cuban band, Scarlet  was a revolutionary at the start, an iconoclast of 70’s rock sound. Her  discovery by Bob Dylan in 1975 set in motion the tapestry of a new  sound and era. Leading the way for strong female voices in  instrumentation and paving the highway for the acceptance of strings in  rock music. Bob Dylan recognized the genius of Ms. Rivera and her unique  vision and use of violin much like a lead guitar. Their first  collaboration was the legendary 1976 album ‘Desire’, and the rest is  history! Scarlet Rivera enjoys an honored place among the world’s most  prominent, active and versatile violinists. She is known for her  contributions to countless recordings and performances of the most  influential artists of our time. She played a pivotal role as a member  of Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue and 4 additional multi-platinum  albums. Scarlet continued her journey of expression and creativity while  performing with such treasured legends as Indigo Girls, Tracy Chapman,  Eric Andersen, Keb 'Mo, Peter Maffay, David Johansen and Sylvia Tyson of  ‘Ian and Sylvia’, and five time Grammy winner Cindy Cashdollar. Ms.  Rivera’s abilities are wide ranging and have enjoyed the spotlight in  music’s most hallowed Carnegie Hall with The Duke Ellington Orchestra as  well as The Kennedy Center, and the Carnival of Venice, Italy.