Folk Icon to play at USU
Blow up your TV, picket your place of employment and join a labor union.
Utah Phillips is coming to town.
Born in 1935 as Bruce Phillips, he has been traveling the country for the past thirty years, spreading his unique brand of folk singing, storytelling and general tom-foolery. From a youth spent riding the rails and collecting stories to a pair of collaborations with indie princess and riot girl Ani Difranco, Phillips has done it all.
Friday night he brings his traveling circus to the Eccles Conference Center Auditorium.
Utah Phillips performs in the tradition of the great American storyteller. A winner of both the World Folk Music Association’s Kate Wolf Memorial Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Folk Alliance, he does it well.
“At Utah’s age and given the extent of his travels, he’s accumulated a wealth of stories,” Eric Wagner, a member of the Bridger Folk Music Society, said.
In his 12 albums, Phillips taps into the collective memory, telling stories that have their roots in anarchy, labor unions and pacifism. In doing so, he’s in good company. “Storytelling is an ancient art form that served to pass on history before the written word ever did,” Wagner said. “It hearkens back to a time when there was a lot less to do – no TV, no meetings to go to, no concerts. People passed the time telling stories and entertained themselves too.”
Friday’s show begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $12 in advance or $14 at the door. They can be purchased at the Spectrum and Taggart Student Center ticket offices, Sunrise Cyclery, Maya’s Corner or Import Auto. Tickets for children 12 years old and under are $9 and are available at the door.
-zpendleton@cc.usu.edu