“I feel this record ties past and present together through all those people and places in the South I knew and thought I had left behind.” Singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash is talking about her new album The River and the Thread, which she will premiere during a three-day residency at the Library of Congress that begins Thursday night. The holiday season is a time when many of us think of people and places left behind. In Cash’s experience, this includes one of the icons of country music.
Cash’s previous album, the Grammy-nominated The List, was taken from songs selected by Cash’s father, the late Johnny Cash. Her lineage marks her as a country singer, but Rosanne Cash has found crossover appeal with hits like “Seven Year Ache.” The River and the Thread features guest artists from generations of musicians, from John Paul White of The Civil Wars to swamp rocker Tony Joe White and folk troubadour John Prine. The album’s inspiration comes from family and the land, including the storied musical landscapes of Memphis, Tennessee and the Mississippi Delta. Cash discussed the new album at length with the Oxford American – read that excellent article here.
Join the Library of Congress as we celebrate the music of Rosanne Cash, with the help of longtime collaborators John Leventhal, Rodney Crowell, Amy Helm, Cory Chisel, and Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Thursday, December 5, 8 p.m. (tickets required)
Rosanne Cash Band, featuring John Leventhal
Coolidge Auditorium, Thomas Jefferson Building
101 Independence Avenue S.E., Washington, D.C.
Friday, December 6, 8 p.m. (tickets required – still available!)
Rosanne Cash hosts a round-robin with John Leventhal, Cory Chisel, Rodney Crowell and Amy Helm
Coolidge Auditorium, Thomas Jefferson Building
Saturday. December 7, 7 p.m. (no tickets required)
Rosanne Cash and Natasha Trethewey, Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry
Hosted by Robert Casper, director of the Library of Congress Poetry and Literature Center
LJ 119, Thomas Jefferson Building
Tickets are available from Ticketmaster (www.Ticketmaster.com) for a nominal service charge. Advance tickets for Thursday’s event are sold out; however, patrons are encouraged to try for Rush tickets at the door on concert nights, beginning two hours before each event’s start time. Rush tickets are offered on a space-available basis and seats are not guaranteed.