PBS will premiere "Alice's Restaurant 50th Anniversary Concert with Arlo Guthrie" on Thanksgiving Day 2015 (Nov. 26, 2015) on TV stations across the country (8 pm - 9:30 pm EST, please check local listings). A singular multi-media event, "Alice's Restaurant 50th Anniversary Concert with Arlo Guthrie" features a recent live performance by legendary folk music icon and his deft band at The Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, MA (May 21, 2015). The PBS program is produced and directed by four-time Emmy Award winner Jim Brown, whose other films include 50 Years with Peter, Paul and Mary; Pete Seeger: The Power of Song; and The Weavers: Wasn't That A Time!.
"Alice's Restaurant 50th Anniversary Concert with Arlo Guthrie" includes performances of the following songs: "The Motorcycle Song," "Chilling of the Evening," "St. James Infirmary," "Pig Meat," "Coming Into Los Angeles," "Alice's Restaurant," "I Hear You Sing Again," "City of New Orleans," "Highway In The Wind," and "My Peace." Please feel free to preview "Coming Into Los Angeles" at this link.
To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the event that inspired his seminal song, "Alice's Restaurant Massacree," Arlo Guthrie continues his epic journey across North America throughout the month of November 2015 and picks up the tour again in January 2016. Guthrie tours in 45 markets over the next seven months, and commemorates the actual 50th Anniversary with his annual headlining performance at New York City's Carnegie Hall (November 28, 2015). A musical monologue running more than 18 minutes, "Alice's Restaurant" has become a Thanksgiving holiday anthem to families around the world and it all originates from Guthrie's experience on Thanksgiving in 1965.
Guthrie performs his most prominent work in its entirety each night on the 50th Anniversary tour, as well as selections from various full-length studio albums he's released since his debut, Alice's Restaurant (1967). His daughter Sarah Lee Guthrie -- a singer-songwriter with a lauded career in her own right -- will open each concert in November 2015. For a list of all forthcoming 50th Anniversary shows, please see the tour dates below and visit risingsonrecords.com. Interviews and hi-res photos are available upon request.
"I didn't think I was gonna live long enough to have to learn 'Alice's Restaurant' again," Arlo Guthrie says with a smile. "It was a quirky kinda thing to begin with. Nobody writes an 18-minute monologue expecting fame and fortune. The initial success of the song really took me by surprise more than anyone else. The fact that I have contended with it for five decades either by having to learn it again or by not doing it, has been an interesting balancing act. I'm surely looking forward to it being a centerpiece of my repertoire for the 50th anniversary tour."
"Alice's Restaurant's" hilarious account of actual events that precluded Arlo Guthrie from military service (1966) became a platinum selling record (1967) and full-length motion picture (1969) at the outset of his renowned career. As we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the lengthiest hit single in music history, he once again performs it live. Due to its length, Guthrie has only added the complete "Alice's Restaurant Massacree" to his touring menu on the 10-year anniversaries.
Fans have certainly embraced "Alice's Restaurant" as part of their annual Thanksgiving tradition, but also view it as one of the more pronounced "anti-stupid" rally songs. Every year, Arlo receives handfuls of letters from Vietnam vets and soldiers currently at war expressing their heartfelt connection to the song. Today, times are eerily similar to the mid-60's, with unpopular wars being fought far away from home, and soldiers finding ways to cope. Music is often the best medicine to soothe the soul. However listeners interpret the quintessential tune, we can be rest assured that people of all different walks of life come together singing that famous chorus, "You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant...".
Over the last five decades, Arlo has carried on the Guthrie family legacy of sharing timeless stories and unforgettable classics to audiences far and wide. "The Alice's Restaurant 50th Anniversary Tour" brings together an ensemble of fine musicians never to grace the stage together at one time. Guthrie's band includes Terry Hall (drums), Bobby Sweet (guitar, vocals), Darren Todd (bass), and his son, Abe Guthrie (keyboards). Each show is curated with an awe-inspiring light show created specifically for this tour by 44 Designs, Inc., along with previously unseen images from the Guthrie archives. More than 75,000 photos have recently been digitized, and selections will be projected during the evening.
For the dedicated lovers of "Alice's Restaurant", they'll be happy to know the Old Trinity Church is still around. Guthrie bought it over 20 years ago and renamed it "The Guthrie Center at the Old Trinity Church". He runs his non-profit foundation from the building, and it's his hope that it'll continue to be of service to the local community.
On "Alice's Restaurant" becoming such a cultural phenomenon, Arlo says, "Well, I've always loved good stories. And I've loved telling tall tales. Why people enjoy it is beyond me. I haven't sung 'Alice' for years and people still keep coming to the gigs. 'Alice' has taken on a life of its own and become attached to Thanksgiving. If I had to guess though, maybe because it's a story about a little guy against a big world."
Don't miss Arlo Guthrie as he tours in a city near you, performing one of America's greatest musical treasures! Below is a list of confirmed tour dates, and additional shows will be added. Stay up to date on risingsonrecords.com
Arlo Guthrie Presents "The Alice's Restaurant 50th Anniversary Tour":
Nov. 8, 2015 -- Chicago, IL -- The Harris Theater
Nov. 9, 2015 -- Ann Arbor, MI -- Michigan Theater
Nov. 11, 2015 -- Ithaca, NY -- The State Theatre
Nov. 13, 2015 -- New Bedford, MA -- The Zeiterion
Nov. 14, 2015 -- Tarrytown, NY -- Tarrytown Music Hall
Nov. 15, 2015 -- Patchogue, NY -- The Patchogue Theatre
Nov. 17, 2015 -- Easton, MD -- The Avalon Theatre
Nov. 19, 2015 -- Wilmington, DE -- Grand Opera House
Nov. 20, 2015 -- Princeton, NJ -- The McCarter Theatre
Nov. 21, 2015 -- Glenside, PA -- The Keswick Theatre
Nov. 28, 2015 -- New York, NY -- Carnegie Hall
Nov. 29, 2015 -- Newark, NJ -- NJ Performing Arts Center
Jan. 16, 2016 -- Coral Springs, FL -- Coral Springs Center
Jan. 17, 2016 -- Miami, FL -- South Miami-Dade Co. Arts
Jan. 19, 2016 -- Ft. Myers, FL -- Barbara Mann Hall
Jan. 20, 2016 -- Clearwater, FL -- The Capitol Theatre
Jan. 22, 2016 -- Stuart, FL -- The Lyric Theatre
Jan. 23, 2016 -- Orlando, FL -- The Plaza Live
Jan. 24, 2016 -- Melbourne, FL -- The King Center
Jan. 26, 2016 -- Charleston, SC -- Charleston Music Hall
Jan. 27, 2016 -- Newberry, SC -- Newberry Opera House
Jan. 28, 2016 -- Durham, NC -- The Carolina Theatre
Jan. 30 & 31, 2016 -- Richmond, VA -- Modlin Center
Feb. 3, 2016 -- Bethesda, MD -- Strathmore Hall
Feb. 5 & 6, 2016 -- Alexandria, VA -- The Birchmere
Feb. 8 & 9, 2016 -- Rocky Mount, VA -- Harvester
Feb. 12, 2016 -- Lawrence, KS -- Liberty Hall
Feb. 13, 2016 -- Wichita, KS -- The Orpheum
Feb. 14, 2016 -- Tulsa, OK -- The Brady Theatre
Feb. 16, 2016 -- St. Louis, MO -- Touhill Arts Center
Feb. 18, 2016 -- Fort Worth, TX -- Bass Performance Hall
Feb. 21, 2016 -- Austin, TX -- The Long Center
Feb. 24, 2016 -- Columbia, MO -- The Missouri Theatre
Feb. 25, 2016 -- Louisville, KY -- Kentucky Center
Feb. 27, 2016 -- Biloxi, MS -- IP Casino
April 1, 2016 -- Mesa, AZ -- Mesa Performing Arts Center
April 7, 2016 -- Santa Barbara, CA -- The Lobero Theatre
April 9, 2016 -- Palo Alto, CA -- The Bing Concert Hall
April 10, 2016 -- Chico, CA -- Laxon Auditorium
April 14, 2016 -- Portland, OR -- Revolution Hall
April 15, 2016 -- Olympia, WA -- Washington Center
April 16, 2016 -- Seattle, WA -- The Moore Theatre
April 21, 2016 -- Vancouver, BC, Canada -- Chan Centre
April 23, 2016 -- Spokane, WA -- The Fox Theater
May 5, 2016 -- Washington, MA -- The Guthrie Center
