Recent News from the Weather Center

Concert to Benefit Weather Center

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Jan. 28, 2010

by Tom Chapin of The Spirit

Groundhog Day will go folk with a performance by Mary McCaslin in an event to benefit the Punxsutawney Weather Discovery Center. Her performance will be at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Elks, with special guests the Frostburg Lounge Lizards.

Described by Sing Out! magazine as a "songwriter′s songwriter," McCaslin′s real-life western songs and earthy romanticism were influential among songwriters in the 1970′s, when she also became known for open guitar tunings and her distinct vocal style.

McCaslin has also become known for her own version such as "Ghost Riders in the Sky," the Beatles "Things We Said" and the Supremes "My World Is Empty," among others.  On songs such as The Who′s "Pinball Wizard" and the Beatles′ "Blackbird," she uses her "clawhammer" banjo accompaniment.

Jeff Hansen, publisher of the quarterly newspaper Cahoots in Hollywood, FL, and long-time visitor to Punxsutawney for Groundhog Day, is presenting the concert as a benefit for the Weather Discovery Center. He came to meet McCaslin when he presented other concerts on the beach in Hollywood by Walter Egen and Country Joe & The Fish.

These days, McCaslin also maintains a travel Web site, www.alongtheamericanmusicroad.com, and writes a music column for the Santa Cruz Sentinel. Hansen--who also founded the Hollywood Beach Bum chapter of the Groundhog Club--said McCaslin and her husband are looking forward to their trip to Punxsutawney. "She′s really excited," he said. "Goundhog Day fits into stuff she likes about small-town America."