Elder Folk Singers Make a Comeback
If you lived in New England in the 1970s-’80s and followed the folk music scene, there is no way you hadn’t heard of Buskin & Batteau, a duo comprised by David Buskin (left) and Robin Batteau (right). At one time, they were the kings of the folk music scene.
Then they took a 13-year furlough from playing live music. They separated but both led lives writing jingles for national television (“The Heartbeat of America,” “All aboard Amtrak”).
Over the last few years, the singer-songwriters paired up again and began to play live. I went to one of their Cambridge concerts, presented at the venerable Club Passim coffehouse in Harvard Square. The baby boomers turned out and packed the place. Everyone in the crowd and onstage was decades older than the last time they’d all seen each other, but the magic was still there.
So today, the duo has released a CD, “Red Shoes and Golden Hearts,” all brand-new music. Here is a recent-ish video of one of their most popular songs, The Boy with the Violin. Here is Buskin & Batteau’s upcoming performance schedule. Check out their MySpace page.
January 14th, 2010 at 12:37 pm
A great mid-life story. Thanks.
Rita blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide
January 18th, 2010 at 9:51 am
[...] Buskin & Batteau, a popular New England-based folk singing duo from the 1970s-80s, is making a c…. They are now in their 60s. [...]