WAMC Northeast Public Radio to Support Tropical Storm Relief

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Happy Traum

ALBANY, NY (09/08/2011)(readMedia)-- On Tuesday, September 13th between 1:00 and 4:00, WAMC will be holding a special fund drive, opening up the phone banks to raise support for Tropical Storm Irene relief. All proceeds will be divided among the Red Cross chapters serving the hardest hit regions in WAMC's listening area. The fund drive will be followed on Friday, September 16th at 7:00 p.m. by a special benefit concert, headlined by musical legends Happy Traum and John Sebastian. The concert will be broadcast live from The Linda, WAMC's Performing Arts Studio before a studio audience. Tickets will be available during Tuesday's on-air fund drive with a pledge of $100 a pair. Any tickets remaining after the Drive will be made available on a first come, first served basis with all proceeds going to benefit the Red Cross.

"We did it for Japan, and for Haiti, and for Katrina – now the people in our own backyard need our help and we are going to do what we can," said WAMC's President, Alan Chartock. WAMC applied for and received a special waiver from the Federal Communications Commission, permitting the station to use its airwaves to raise funds for another organization. "WAMC listeners are the most generous in the world," Chartock continued. "This crisis has really shown what a community we are. From Vermont to Massachusetts to New York, people have rallied to help their neighbors. This sense of community is really what WAMC is all about."

Happy Traum who, both solo and with his late brother Artie, helped to define the Woodstock folk music sound, has over the past 40 years been a performer, writer, editor, folklorist, teacher and recording artist. He has played and recorded with Bob Dylan, Chris Smither, Maria Muldaur, Eric Andersen, Rory Block, Jerry Jeff Walker, Allen Ginsberg, Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel and innumerable others. Along with his wife, Jane, he founded and runs Homespun Tapes, a successful company with a catalog of more than 500 music lessons on DVDs, CDs, books and downloads.

Over four decades the contributions of John Sebastian have become a permanent part of our American musical fabric. His group The Lovin' Spoonful played a major role in the mid-'60s rock revolution, but what leader, singer and songwriter Sebastian had in mind was actually a counter-revolution. "We were grateful to the Beatles for reminding us our rock & roll roots," John explains, "but we wanted to cut out the English middlemen, so to speak, and get down to making this new music as an 'American' band."

Member-supported WAMC Northeast Public Radio broadcasts news, informational and cultural programming to listeners in portions of seven northeastern states. WAMC is an award winning producer of regionally based programming and an affiliate of National Public Radio, American Public Media, and Public Radio International. To become a member go to: http://www.wamc.org/support.html

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