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Through five decades as a professional folksinger, storyteller and square dance caller, Jon Sundell has proven himself to be an outstanding interpreter of folk tradition. In nearly half of the United States, as well as several countries of Europe and Latin America, he has performed for people of all ages and backgrounds, in Spanish as well as English. Accompanying himself on guitar, banjo, autoharp, mountain dulcimer, harmonica, and spoons, as well as singing unaccompanied, and interweaving songs with folk tales of different cultures, he creates a varied program that easily maintains the interest of any group. His warm, personal style and frequent use of singalongs quickly puts an audience at ease and draws them in to participate in a sense of shared adventure.
Although he is an engaging and dynamic performer, Jon seeks to do more than impress or entertain his audience. He especially wants to connect with them – and in that connection to share his admiration of folk tradition and those who have carried it on. As well as the immediacy of individual songs or tales, he communicates a deep respect for the cultures that have born them. Over many years of performing he has learned to weave his material together in ways that make each concert more than the sum of its parts. His introductions are full of history and insight, as well as personal anecdotes that are alternately amusing and enlightening. His thoughtful combinations and juxtapositions of songs and tales on varying themes enable them to reflect on each other in unexpected ways. Mixed in with a broad range of traditional songs and tales there are a few recent songs by such traditionally oriented song writers as Hazel Dickens, Utah Phillips, Norman Blake, John McCutcheon, or Si Kahn that complement and illuminate the older material and their themes.
In a day when most of what we see performed as “folk music,” is actually the work of singer songwriters presenting reflections on their own individual lives, Jon Sundell still focuses on our common heritage and experiences, as it has been passed down through many years and many people. One of the most satistifying aspects of that focus is that it creates a sense of community among performer and audience members. This sense of community comes in part from the folk process which has carried the material, as well as from the issues that many of the songs deal with, and from Jon’s personal warmth and broad perspective. It also comes from a whole array of related experiences that underpin his role as a folksinger, storyteller and dance caller and shape the way he goes about it. Some of these experiences include:
All these people, cultures, and experiences inhabit Jon Sundell and his concerts as, in the finest tradition of folk transmission, he passes them on to the audiences who have come to see and share with him.
Dear Jon,
Thanks for letting me know about your site. Its wonderful and I am so happy to know what you are doing. Wish we could have you here at my community for a performance. How delighted Jess would be to know about your singing and playing.
I so appreciate your keeping in touch. Lost touch with Eric and if you would email me his address I would appreciate it. Meanwhile enjoy your family, your music and all good things in the coming year. We will need a lot of music to warm and cheer us, in the face of our new administration.
Love, Joyce