Loudon Wainwright III to Play at Club Helsinki

Loudon Wainwright by Paula Court

(HUDSON, N.Y.) – Singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III, a one-time “new Dylan” who has over time become the somewhat unlikely patriarch of a folk music family dynasty, performs his uniquely acerbic songs at Club Helsinki Hudson on Thursday, August 2, 2012, at 9 p.m.

Wainwright’s career spans more than 40 years and 23 albums. He sings with a distinct humor and wit, and his deeply folk-infused tone lifts his lyricism and poetry up to create an experience of entirely open hearted storytelling. In 2009, Wainwright’s album High Wide & Handsome earned him a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album, as well as the Album of the Year honors from Entertainment Weekly.

Wainwright is the father of musicians Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright and Lucy Wainwright Roche, brother of folksinger Sloan Wainwright, and the former husband of both the late folksinger Kate McGarrigle and of Suzzy Roche of The Roches.

Wainwright is perhaps best known for his 1972 novelty song, “Dead Skunk (in the Middle of the Road).” He directly addressed his unfortunate labeling as one of the “new Dylans” of the early 1970s (the others including John Prine and Bruce Springsteen, among many others) in the comic, rueful song, “Talking New Bob Dylan”, on his 1992 album, History.

Wainwright’s father, Loudon Wainwright II, was a writer and editor at LIFE Magazine, and his mother, Martha Taylor, was a yoga teacher. Wainwright is a direct descendant of Peter Stuyvesant, a one-time governor of New Amsterdam, the Dutch precursor of the British colony of New York.

Celebrated artists such as Mose Allison, Earl Scruggs and Johnny Cash have been drawn by Wainwright’s refreshing honesty and comedic sensibility, recording their own covers of his work.

Wainwright’s candor and presence earned him recurring roles on television in M*A*S*H*, a role in The Pump Boys and the Dinettes, as well as appearances in the films of Martin Scorsese, Tim Burton and Cameron Crowe.

His latest album, Older Than My Man Now (2010), continues his examination of life, aging, love, and everything through his distinct character.

For reservations in The Restaurant or in the club call 518.828.4800

 

 

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