David Rovics is relentless. His brilliant mix of catchy songwriting, intellectual clarity and prolific creativity floods the world with a river of tunes and insight, splashing against current news and uplifting activists everywhere.
And he’s now on tour! If you are ever near one of his gigs, go. You’ll thank yourself for being in the same room as his defiant spirit and boot-stomping good musicianship. Plus, the audience is sure to be a delightful crowd and you just might bump into an old friend you met at that lockdown a few years back.
Just two more shows in the US before he heads to Europe, both in Portland: March 29 and 30. Then he’ll be singing his way through England, Scotland, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland before returning to North America for shows in Boston (June 1) and the Vancouver Folk Festival (July 18-20). See details about tour dates on his website. Help spread the word by sending out a thunderclap to promote the tour.
David makes lots of good material available online, including a blog of his travels, 200+ songs for free (over a million downloads), pirate songs for kids and a chronicle of activist history. And he’s on Facebook and Twitter.
From Green Left.org: (full album review on the site) Fans of radical US singer-songwriter David Rovics will welcome his latest CD, If I had a Hammer, a compilation of three albums recorded last year and released in December. And those not familiar with his mix of angry, satirical, pensive and informative folk punk songs of struggle should check out this 23-track marathon introduction to some of the recent offerings of this prolific artist.
Rovics’ audiences include young and old folkies, anarchists, socialists, animal liberationists, union activists, environmentalists, and refugee, Palestine and anti-war activists – and it’s easy to see why, scanning the contents of this newest album.
In the best tradition of a people’s bard, Rovics helps keep alive the historical memory of popular struggle, long past and recent.
Consistent with Rovics’ stance against intellectual property rights, all his songs are licensed creative commons rather than copyrighted, and available to share for noncommercial uses. While this means greater access for fans and greater exposure for him, it also means he’s reliant on a greater degree of conscious financial support than if he took a more market-oriented approach.
The web site has links for donations and subscriptions to enable him to continue production of songs for social and environmental movements – in recordings, gigs and at protest actions.
Rovics is definitely deserving of a wider audience.
– Folkworld Magazine
“…a fine songwriter and a good activist”
– Utah Philips
“If the great Phil Ochs were to rise from the dead today, he would probably be hailed as the new David Rovics.”
– Andy Kershaw, BBC
The latest from David: “I thought John Kerry needed some help with his talking points on the situation in Ukraine, so I wrote a song for this purpose — The American Way. Hope you like it.”
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Please,,Lets,,, NOT embarrass ourselves any further into thinking this man is even in the same league as Phil Ochs,,,Only a TOTAL IDIOT or a FOOL would ever go close to “THERE”,,,Phil Ochs was creative,prolific,,,well informed,,and had a voice seldom heard in the folk arena he mastered,,Listen to Phils voice,,,his breath,,,his phrasing,,,,he was a MASTER,,,Dave is OKAY,,,he says what has to be said,,,, but not in any manner as clever as Phil,,,Dave may be a credible activist,,,but he is NOT in any way ( MY OPINION ) a “FOLK SINGER”,,,,
I think most of the “folk” would disagree.