Party: John Mceuen and John Carter Cash: "Will the Circle be Unbroken?" The Music of Johnny Cash and the Carter Family at the Dakota

Party: John Mceuen and John Carter Cash: "Will the Circle be Unbroken?" The Music of Johnny Cash and the Carter Family at the Dakota

This unique show celebrates the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s landmark Circle album (instigated by founding member McEuen in 1971), and how Carter Family music became a classic American Music form. The audience will discover how Mother Maybelle Carter, Earl Scruggs, Roy Acuff, Doc Watson, Vassar Clements, Merle Travis, Jimmy Martin… and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (NGDB) came together for the historic sessions.

Host John McEuen opens the evening with the NGDB’s story: a bunch of young 1960′s “west-coast longhair hippies,” with songs from their early years performed live, and accompanying what is on screen. Through many historic photos and film, the audience finds out how this iconic California band’s rocky past led to Nashville. McEuen’s enthusiastic storytelling and music, coinciding with what is on the screen, all lead up to the story of that incredible week in August, 1971.

John Carter (son of Johnny Cash and June Carter) takes the helm to relate the Carter Family story and heritage with narrative and historic photographs from his personal archives. With music from the early Carter Family days by the ensemble, John Carter relates what it was like growing up with Grandma Maybelle Carter, and how A.P. Carter influenced his and his father’s life paths. This leads to how NGDB joined the icons of Country Music for a magic Nashville week in August of 1971 to create the classic multi-platinum album - Will the Circle Be Unbroken.

The full cast then performs songs from the Circle album against the larger-than-life photo-montage backdrop from the sessions. Special to this evening, another original NGDB member Les Thompson (1966-1976) will be part of this ensemble, along with Laura McGhee (from Scotland), Matt Cartsonis, and Dave Daeger. The audience is transported to that magic time with the performers for an exciting, unforgettable experience.

With bluegrass, country, gospel, and the roots of America’s acoustic music, songs from all the Circle album’s artists (“Wildwood Flower,” “Keep on the Sunnyside,” “I Am a Pilgrim,” “Cannonball Rag,” “Wreck on the Highway,” “Earl’s Breakdown,” etc.), the evening ends with the audience all joining in for the Carter classic “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.”

Invited: Pam Plimpton Klatt, Beth Loraine Bowman, Maria Rivera, William Wolfe, Sharon Wolfe