Saturday, January 25, 2020 at 8:00pm
"Deeper Than Skin"
Greg Greenway and Reggie Harris present a shared exploration of place, race, and heritage through collaborative song and storytelling.
Born just three days apart, Greg Greenway (a soulful, moving singer, powerful poet, and sparkling entertainer, most recently touring and recording as part of folk trio Brother Sun, who has been cited as "one of the strongest and finest voices in folk music") and Reggie Harris (well-traveled folk performer, lecturer, cultural ambassador and protest song writer, known for over 40 years as one-half of the eminently prominent duo Kim & Reggie Harris) have built a bridge through 30 years of friendship and music. They also share a connection to place, specifically to Richmond, Virginia - where Greg grew up, and where Reggie's ancestor lived as a slave.
In this moving performance, Harris and Greenway explore the commonalities and diversities of their lives and legacies - as musicians, as autobiographical historians, and as committed folk singers with an eye towards social justice.
"This is Deeper Than the Skin"
The presentation begins with a song... followed by another song...
that moves into a poem and then... an invitation.
This is not just another evening of talk.
This is not just a concert of songs that just entertain.
Deeper Than the Skin" is a experience of singing and listening... of
experiencing a connection so deep that it makes you laugh,smile, cry and
reconsider what you know about our history. It's an invitation to open your
heart and mind to a story of shared humanity that resonates with your own.
Two friends... one Black, one White... one from the North... one from the
South! Musicians, storytellers, students of history and world travelers...
born 3 day apart! Two separate narratives forged into one powerful
friendship aimed at finding common ground and helping others to do the
same.
Deeper Than the Skin brings together a remarkable journey that started 30
years ago and is now offering hope to people all over the nation. It's a
presentation that ends with an open dialogue that moves the audience from
emotion into action...that gives voice and direction to the question "What
can I do?"
Deeper That the Skin is an interactive, engaging invitation to take a step into
a new reality. It's an affirmation of the notion that a more perfect union
begins.... with us!
Reggie Harris
Reggie Harris is a singer-songwriter, storyteller, and cultural ambassador on a mission to educate, entertain, and inspire. For over 40 years, he has captivated audiences to standing ovations in the US, Canada, and across Europe.
A songwriter of great depth and insight, Reggie writes from a personal but accessible place that reveals his deep sense of humanity and a uniquely positive worldview. He is a trailblazer who performs for audiences of all ages. His effervescently humorous and hopeful presence has led fans to label him the "Ambassador of Joy, Hope, and Freedom."
An educator who entertains, Reggie's songs reveal the subtle truths of issues that touch our lives regardless of color, background, age, or nationality. It's about the laughter and the tears... the challenges and the joy... the global and the personal. It's about history and the present day... the sacred and the laugh out loud funny moments that define us.
Reggie received a life-saving liver transplant in 2008. He uses the inspiration and triumph of that gift of life to spread light and hope.
Averaging over 250 dates per year, this versatile performer is in high demand at arts centers, schools, universities, and festivals. Reggie is an intuitive presenter in workshops on history, song writing, and performance.
Reggie is a teaching artist for the John F Kennedy Center's CETA program, a Woodrow Wilson Scholar, and the Director of Music Education for the UU Living Legacy Project. He is a master song leader who deeply values the power of song and the dignity of every human being.
Previously known as one-half of the acclaimed folk acoustic duo Kim and Reggie Harris, this natural collaborator, also invigorates his solo touring with occasional partnerships, most notably with Greg Greenway (Deeper Than the Skin) Scott Ainslie (Long Time Coming), and Pat Wictor.
Reggie leads workshops and seminars on songwriting, race relations, and performance at colleges and universities, retreat centers, and festivals. A partial list includes the Kennedy Center Summer Education Institute, The Swannanoa Gathering, Boston's Summer Acoustic Music Week (SAMW), the People's Music Network, and the Southeastern Unitarian Universalist Summer Institute (SUUSI).
"Deeper Than The Skin is an absolutely amazing experience. Not a performance (although these are two fine performers) but an experience. If you are anywhere within reach of this, don't miss it." - Selma Civil Rights activist Rev. Gordon Gibson,
author of Southern Witness, Knoxville, TN
Greg Greenway
Originally from Richmond, VA, Greg moved to Boston for its rich Folk Music tradition and has become one of its most unique and superlative emissaries. His "In the Name of Love," a lead in to the U2 classic, "Pride," was the #5 song on the Folk DJ list in 2013. It has become a defining piece on his journey to becoming an international artist capable of addressing sensitive topics like Race in a way that connects audiences to their humanity while entertaining them at the same time.
He has been described as "one of the strongest, and finest voices in folk music." The Boston Globe wrote, "Confessional one moment, rambunctiously disarming the next, few modern folk singers can own a coffeehouse stage as completely as Greenway." Another reviewer perhaps described it best, "A profoundly rich poet and musician. Folk Music is too narrow a description."
Musically, his guitar, piano, and ukulele reflect inspiration from all over the map-gospel, rock, blues, Jazz, and world music. But his center is in the singer/songwriter tradition that traces it roots all the way back to the social awareness of Woody Guthrie. His central appeal is that it all comes through the singular lens of Greenway's own humanity and affinity for the audience. He has legendary energy, couched in a presentation of high spirited give and take of such good humor that audiences unfailingly walk away uplifted.
Brother Sun
From the end of 2010 to the present, Greenway has been one third of one of the most successful Folk trios in North America, Brother Sun. With Joe Jencks and Pat Wictor, Greenway has, as Brother Sun, produced three CDs, Brother Sun, Some Part of the Truth (produced by Grammy award winning producer, Ben Wisch), and Weights and Wings. Brother Sun remained on the Folk DJ charts for a year and a half, while Some Part of the Truth was the #1 CD for the entire year of 2013, and Weights and Wings did the same for 2016. Their remarkable three part harmony has brought them standing ovations from mainstages from Massachusetts to Vancouver Island.
Among Greenway's solo highlights are a show at Carnegie Hall in the New York Singer / Songwriter Festival which was rebroadcast on NPR's World Cafe, an appearance on nationally syndicated Mountain Stage, and a show at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honoring Phil Ochs. Greenway was seen world wide on CNN's World Beat in a segment on socially conscious artists. He was filmed at the Clearwater Hudson River Revival Festival performing along with Folk legend Pete Seeger and others. Greenway has been featured on the weekend edition of NPR's All Things Considered, and his dreams were fulfilled when "Driving in Massachusetts" was played on Car Talk.
