With Special Guest Wesley Stace
Saturday, June 15
Mineral Point Opera House
Mineral Point, WI
Tickets available at Eventbrite.com
Loudon Wainwright III
In 2022 Loudon released Lifetime Achievement, an album of 15 original songs, that established his singular talent as our foremost six-string tragicomedian, not only undiminished but hitting new heights. The orchestration varies from solo performance to trio work with his longstanding musical cohorts, Chaim Tannenbaum and David Mansfield, to Nashville and Memphis-style little big bands, to a full-blown string arrangement by Rob Moose. Loudon puts his latest achievement in the context of a lifetime of music-making this way: “When I made my first record for Atlantic in 1969, I wanted to make not only a recording but a document that captures a moment. Now, fifty years later, I guess I still want to make a testament of songs, and I like to think they might last a while.”
In October of 2020 Loudon unveiled the album I’d Rather Lead a Band, in which he is featured as a vocalist with Vince Giordano and The Nighthawks. The 14-song collection of classic songs from the 1920s and ‘30s was widely acclaimed. During the pandemic, Wainwright has produced a number of virtual shows, including The Special Relationship (presented by the Royal Albert Hall ) and The Great Unknown, a musical tribute to his friend, the late George Gerdes. Also featured in that show were Richard Thompson, Suzanne Vega, Steve Forbert, and the members of Spinal Tap.
“Town & Country” is set to a rousing arrangement featuring horns and even guitar and organ solos. You can almost feel the city come back to life in the music. With “Town & Country” we can add “sardonic folk” to the pandemic top 40.”
– Rolling Stone
In Fall 2018, Loudon released Years in the Making a 42-song treasury of rare and unreleased Loudoniana. This 2-disc, 60-page hardbound audio biography of his 40-year career includes orphaned album cuts, lovingly-made lo-fi home recordings, radio appearances, demos, live performances, and beyond. It features appearances by Kate McGarrigle, Suzzy Roche, Bill Frisell, Van Dyke Parks, Chaim Tannenbaum, David Mansfield, and the Wainwright children Rufus, Martha, Lucy, and Lexie.
In 2017, Wainwright published his memoir, Liner Notes (Blue Rider Press), which led to appearances on Fresh Air with Terry Gross and WTF with Marc Maron. The New York Times said the book “makes your heart wobble on its axis.”
Wainwright also created a one-man theatrical show, Surviving Twin, which combines his songs and the writings of his late father. Initially developed as part of University of North Carolina’s Playmakers series, it focuses on fatherhood—both being a father and having one—and also explores the issues of birth, self-identity, loss, mortality, fashion, and of course, pet ownership. Surviving Twin has been performed in limited theater engagements and is available as a Netflix special, produced by Judd Apatow and directed by Christopher Guest.
Additionally, Wainwright has co-written with songwriter/producer Joe Henry on the music for Judd Apatow’s hit movie Knocked Up, written music for the British theatrical adaptation of the Carl Hiaasen novel Lucky You, and composed topical songs for NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered and ABC’s Nightline. An accomplished actor, he has appeared in films directed by Martin Scorsese, Hal Ashby, Christopher Guest, Tim Burton, Cameron Crowe, and Judd Apatow. Wainwright has also starred on TV in M.A.S.H. and Undeclared, and on Broadway in Pump Boys and Dinettes. More recently, he appeared in the film Pleased to Meet You (with fellow music legends John Doe, Aimee Mann, and Joe Henry), and the television series, Mosaic, directed by Steven Soderbergh.
Loudon Wainwright III Official Links
Wesley Stace
Wesley Stace was born in Hastings, East Sussex in 1965. He released many albums under the name John Wesley Harding, before switching back to his birth name for more recent recordings, including 2021’s Late Style. He has recorded duets with, among others, Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, and Rosanne Cash. Stace has published four novels, including the international bestseller Misfortune, and recently co-wrote Mark Morris’ memoir Out Loud. He also created Cabinet of Wonders, a monthly show that plays at New York City’s City Winery, and which The New Yorker called “one of the finest nights of entertainment this city has to offer.” He has taught at Princeton, Swarthmore and Fairleigh-Dickinson, and writes regularly for the Times Literary Supplement and the Wall Street Journal. He lives in Philadelphia.