Hartford Village
This week, he’ll demonstrate his chops in another way, performing and discussing folk songs at Greater Hartford United Church of Christ, 1721 Maple St.
Now that the Legislature is out of session, and since he’s not campaigning for re-election this year, McCormack has more time to pursue music.
“I think is an interesting thing to do,” he said, of the upcoming event.
The free program, sponsored by the Hartford Historical Society, is set for Wednesday, at 7 p.m. McCormack will play classic protest songs as well as tunes from what is sometimes called the “great folk scare” of the 1960s.
He’ll also do originals, including a premiere performance of a trilogy several years in the making.
A blend of scholarship and folklore, the songs explore the earliest settlement of Vermont by English-speaking people, said McCormack, a musician who made his living as a performer from about 1967 to 2000.
He has performed song and commentary at coffee houses, concert halls, bars and churches, has recorded nine albums, and had a Vermont Public Radio show, Dick McCormack’s Veranda.
A former instructor in the state college system who taught history, government and the history of rock ’n’ roll, McCormack frequently mines history for his songs.
“History lends itself to good stories,” he said.
For more information about the show, call 802-295-2123 or visit http://www.hartfordhistory.org.