Humanities Project: Jackson Grimm Performs Woody Guthrie Songs at CCC on Feb. 13

Humanities Project: Jackson Grimm Performs Woody Guthrie Songs at CCC on Feb. 13

Jackson Grimm.

Singer-songwriter Jackson Grimm will be performing Woody Guthrie classics on the Coffeyville Community College campus on Tuesday, February 13, as part of the CCC Humanities Project. The public is invited to the 10:30 a.m. Tuesday humanities performances at CCC.  The performances are free and held in the Spencer/Rounds Performing Arts Theatre.

Guthrie's songs have long since permeated America’s soundscape, as deeply imbedded in the songs of Bob Dylan as the songs of Taylor Swift. Guthrie is the father figure for today’s singer-songwriter. His songs spoke about the people, for the people, and in the defense of the people. He wrote about things in the past and things in the present. He gave the common people a voice.

Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, Brooklyn’s Cowboy, plays the old songs with more heart and intentionality than anyone else. He toured and recorded with Guthrie, and gave the traditional folk song repertoire a much needed boost during the folk revival of the 1960’s. 

Carrying on the torch of traditional songs as played by Ramblin’ Jack and of songs written by Guthrie, Jackson Grimm will be playing and singing with his acoustic guitar and banjo. These old songs are still relevant in today’s day and age where our country is divided along lines of privilege. These songs and subsequent discussions will examine the effects of those divisions and will explore music as protest and social commentary.

Jackson lives in Asheville, North Carolina, where the lonesome mountain sound permeates his songs and his songwriting. He studied old-time and bluegrass guitar, banjo, and mandolin from many renowned instructors at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, North Carolina. Outside of the school year, Jackson has twice attended the area’s music summer camp, The Swannanoa Gathering, which attracts high-profile instructors such as Tom Paxton, Beppe Gambetta, Pat Kirtley, and Al Petteway. In addition to the music of the region, Jackson also studied jazz guitar and jazz theory while in school. 

The songwriting is in his blood as his father, Tim Grimm, has been a touring singer-songwriter on the folk circuit for the better part of 20 years and with many songwriting accolades to his name. After graduating from school, Jackson helped his father compose music for a production at the Indiana Repertory Theater in Indianapolis, Indiana. The production was called "Finding Home," and Jackson performed over 30 shows over the course of seven weeks. The show was filmed by a PBS affiliate in Indianapolis. Jackson was key in composing songs and writing lyrics and the music was recorded on the album “Finding Home” by Tim Grimm and the Family Band. Immediately after that, they went back into the studio and cut a new album, “A Stranger in this Time.” Jackson once again was composing and writing with his father, Tim, and they co-wrote one of the most listened to songs on folk radio in 2017, “Gonna Be Great.” Jackson spent 14 months on and off in 2016-17 touring and playing music from the new album with his father, playing in 18 different states in the U.S. and nine different countries in western Europe. 

Jackson has also shared the stage and played with singer-songwriters Ben Bedford, Krista Detor, and Jennie DeVoe.

Jackson has one EP recorded so far, the "Airtime Sessions", recorded in January of 2016 in Bloomington, Indiana. Jackson can now be found playing locally around Asheville, solo or with groups, and plans on recording more music in the spring of 2018.

For more information about the humanities project at CCC, please call 620-251-7700, ext. 2166.