By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Tom Chapin to play MAC stage
Placeholder Image
MONROE - Five-time Grammy nominated and three-time Grammy award winner Tom Chapin, will take the Monroe Arts Center (MAC) stage on Saturday, April 9 at 7:30 p.m. Chapin, along with his longtime friends and musicians Michael Mark and Jon Cobert, will present an adult concert of songs featuring the clear vocals, and intricate guitar work that have become Chapin's trademark.

For over thirty years, Chapin has entertained audiences of all ages with original songs told in a sophisticated array of musical styles. Dubbed "one of the great personalities in contemporary folk music" by the New York Times, and "the best family artist around," by Billboard Magazine, this beloved singer-songwriter, storyteller, and multi-instrumentalist continues to be a strong voice and positive presence in a precarious world. Chapin says: "Mine is not a traditional music, but it comes from a tradition. My musical heroes are people like Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie, who wrote and sang real songs for real people; for everyone, old, young, and in-between."

Chapin has recorded ten albums of adult-oriented material. Released in 2011, Broadsides: A Miscellany Of Musical Opinion, is a collection of songs written primarily for NPR's Morning Edition. Co-written with satirist John Forster, the CD's fourteen witty and pointed songs cover newsworthy are in the tradition of the "broadside ballads" of the past century, whose masters were Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger.

Chapin's varied career spans Broadway, television, documentary and feature films, the concert stage, and twenty-two CDs and counting. On Broadway he was lead in the musical Pump Boys and Dinettes, and off-Broadway he was the musical director of both Cotton Patch Gospel and Harry Chapin: Lies & Legends. He was the television host on ABC's Make A Wish, and the host of the documentary series National Geographic Explorer. He has contributed satiric topical songs to National Public Radio's Morning Edition, poking fun at social and scientific trends in the news. Tom had a cameo role in Jonathan Demme's 2004 remake of The Manchurian Candidate.

Joining Chapin on-stage at the MAC concert will be Jon Cobert (Piano, Synthesizer, Accordion, Harmonica, Vocals) and Michael Mark (Bass, Concertina, Marimba, Irish Whistle, Vocals). Jon Cobert is a studio musician, composer and arranger who has recorded with John Lennon, John Denver, Harry Chapin, Linda Eder, and Laura Branigan, among others.

He has also written the themes for ESPN's Baseball Tonight and College Football Gameday shows, as well as hundreds of television and radio jingles. Michael Mark was musical director for the national tour of I Love My Wife, which starred Tom and Dick Smothers. He is perhaps best known for writing the theme for TV's Entertainment Tonight program.

A total of twelve children's recordings have earned Chapin recognition and awards from The Recording Academy (Grammy), Parent's Choice, American Academy of Children's Entertainment, American Library Association, National Music Council, New York Music, National Parenting Publication, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (Emmy), George Foster Peabody, and Children's Music Network (Magic Penny).

Just released this year is his new family CD, Give PEAS a Chance, which is about good food and the good earth. Chapin has also provided music and narrated four children's books.

Tom works tirelessly on behalf of many charitable organizations such as Why Hunger Organization. He is active in environmental causes and is working to get music and the arts back in schools. In addition, Chapin's schedule includes Harry Chapin tribute concerts in which the Chapin family and Harry's original band come together to celebrate and bring alive legendary songs such as Cats In The Cradle, Taxi, Mr. Tanner, and Circle.

Reserved seat tickets for Tom Chapin concert are $25 and $20, and may be purchased by calling the Monroe Arts Center at (608) 325-5700 or in person at the box office located at 1315 11th Street. Additional information regarding this performance and other MAC events can be found online at www.monroeartscenter.com.

This event has been underwritten by Corporate Underwriter Colony Brands, Inc., and Media Underwriters Monroe Publishing, LLC, and Big Radio. Additional underwriting has been provided Colony Brands, Inc; Henry and Adair Najat; Super 8 Motel; Kittelsen, Barry, Wellington, Thompson, and Schluesche; Monroe Clinic; Reffue, Pas, Jacobson, and Koster; Bernice Benkert; Don Amphlett, Jan Johnson, Helen Johnson; and Lee and Chris Knuteson.