Richie Havens

John Lennon once told Rolling Stone that Richie Havens "plays a pretty funky guitar." Havens's status as a folk icon for the last forty years, however, is much more a result of the combination of that unusual guitar playing and his gravelly, unmistakable voice.

Havens first got his start at the age of sixteen in his home of Brooklyn, singing gigs with a gospel group. Since then, the music he's made shows he hasn't lost touch with his soulful side. "I'm not in show business; I'm in the communications business," he said, referring to his belief that he really is singing to, and for, his fans. At the 1969 Woodstock concert, where Havens was the opening act, applause kept him on the stage for more than three hours, performing encore after encore.

December 5 at McGlohon Theatre