CARRBORO, N.C. – The upcoming concert of the Music Maker Foundation’s Freight Train Blues series is set for 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, May 17, at Carrboro Town Commons, 301 W. Main Street.
The series is a collaboration among the Music Maker Foundation; the Town of Carrboro; WUNC 91.5 FM; and The Forests at Duke. Funding for this year’s series was also provided by Spark the Arts.
Bring your picnic, lawn chairs and blankets for a free evening of live music on the lawn. Beer and food will be available for purchase at the events.
Featured this Friday are the following artists:
- Music Maker Blues Revue featuring Albert White, Pat “Mother Blues” Cohen and Jimbo Mathus
The Music Maker Blues Revue is an all-star band and a thriving musical institution. It was born in the early 1990s as a backing band for Guitar Gabriel, and quickly became a power cell of Music Maker Foundation’s live presence. Featuring dozens of different Music Maker artists over the years, the Revue has played all over the world in every kind of venue. They’ve busked on the sidewalks of High Point, NC, and received standing ovations at Carnegie Hall. From Argentina to Australia, Europe to Guatemala, and across the U.S., the Revue pleases all types of fans; “the boogiers and the bookworms,” as drummer Ardie Dean puts it. - Albert White
Albert White, an Atlanta native, grew up playing behind his uncle, Piano Red, a legendary Rhythm & Blues powerhouse who had many hits including the song “Doctor Feelgood” famously covered by the Beatles. In Albert, the tradition of high energy, funky R&B lives on. Albert and his band The Rockers have played jukes, clubs, weddings and celebrations throughout the Southeast from the 1960s to the present. Along the way, they have shared the stage with every notable R&B star that has traveled the circuit including Rufus Thomas, Ray Charles, The Tams, Joe Tex and many more. - Pat “Mother Blues” Cohen
Pat “Mother Blues” Cohen shares the mettle, pathos, and ocean-deep compassion of the blues singers she idolizes — Billie Holiday, Koko Taylor, and Etta James. Despite losing her home twice, she keeps taking her talent and heart to the world. Pat’s performances have always unfurled the tapestry of her life experiences to her audience in soulful words and music. That compassion began to flow from Pat in brand new ways during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. As her scheduled gigs disappeared, she began playing one-woman shows at nursing homes. She even made phone calls to individual people and sang to them. These works of compassion wound up making her the subject of touching stories on PBS Newshour and in Rolling Stone Magazine.
About Freight Train Blues Concert Series
Celebrating its 10th year anniversary, this Carrboro event honors GRAMMY-winning folk and blues artist and North Carolina Music Hall of Famer Elizabeth “Libba” Cotten, born in Carrboro, N.C. in 1893. Cotten’s soulful voice and unique guitar style have rendered her a legend in the world of blues, leading her to receive National Heritage Fellowship in 1984 and a GRAMMY award in 1985. She lived to be 104 years old and died in 1987. Her songs, like the iconic “Freight Train,” have been reimagined by artists like The Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan. In 2022, she was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Music Maker Foundation honors Cotten’s legacy in the world of roots music by emphasizing the cultural diversity, complexity, and vitality of her music and the music of many other artists local to her community and all over the country.
