Singer/Songwriter Deidre McCalla Here Oct. 8-9

Singer/Songwriter Deidre McCalla Here Oct. 8-9

09/09/2010 

Southern singer and songwriter Deidre McCalla will speak and perform a blend of folk, country, rock and pop in a concert during her visit to SUNY Cortland on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 8-9.

The lecture and concert are presented by the Campus Artists and Lecture Series (CALS).

A single parent residing in Georgia with her son, McCalla will lecture on “Outside the Lines: Reflections on Race, Gender, Sexuality, Art, Parenting and Politics” on Friday, Oct. 8, at 4 p.m. in the Corey Union Exhibition Lounge. Co-sponsored during Family Weekend by the Multicultural Life Office, the talk is free and open to the public.

McCalla’s performance will be held at 8 p.m. in the Corey Union Function Room on Saturday, Oct. 9. The event will feature an ongoing dessert reception. Admission is $3 for all students and $5 for general admission. Children 10 and under will be admitted free of charge.

Tickets may be obtained through the Campus Activities and Corey Union Office, Corey Union Room 406, or at the door one hour prior to the performance. For more information on tickets, call (607) 753-5574.

“Playing For Keeps” is an apt title for her latest CD. From the moment McCalla takes the stage, her engaging presence and music  seize the listeners by the heart and do not let go.

She came of age in the fiery blaze of New York City’s folk heyday, a time when Greenwich Village clubs were filled with singers like Dylan, Baez and Ochs; a time when Motown ruled the top of the charts and the streets of America screamed with anger and civil unrest. Her first album, “Fur Coats and Blue Jeans,” was released when Deidre was 19 and a student at Vassar College. With a theater degree tucked under her belt and an acoustic guitar tossed in the back of a battered Buick station wagon, McCalla hit the proverbial road and never looked back. She later majored in jazz guitar at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and released three albums with the pioneering women’s music label, Olivia Records.

A much beloved performer in both folk and women’s music circles, McCalla has shared the stage with a long list of notables who include Suzanne Vega, Tracy Chapman, Holly Near, Odetta, Cris Williamson, and Sweet Honey in the Rock. With five critically acclaimed albums to her credit, she remains the ever-seeking road warrior, her words and music chronicling our strengths and weaknesses and celebrating the power and diversity of the human spirit.

McCalla taught performance at Warren Wilson College’s Swannanoa Gathering. Her work has been published in Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology, The Original Coming Out Stories, and Chrysalis: A Feminist Quarterly, and she is featured in The Power of Words: A Transformative Language Arts Reader. She is a member of American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Local 1000 and the North American Folk Alliance.

More details about McCalla and her performance can be found on her website at www.deidremccalla.com.


More News

The Driver Era to close out Spring Fling

The Driver Era to close out Spring Fling

The band concludes a Coachella-themed week of fun at SUNY Cortland.


Cortland earns SUNY’s Shared Governance Award

Cortland earns SUNY’s Shared Governance Award

The system-wide honor recognizes collaboration between Faculty Senate and campus leadership.


Chinese politics scholar to speak

Chinese politics scholar to speak

China’s focus on Tibetan religious customs as a power wedge is talk topic on March 20.


The Big Event Returns April 21

The Big Event Returns April 21

Cortland's student-run community cleanup has potential as a statewide model.


Student shares mental health research nationally

Student shares mental health research nationally

Kyla Young presented her original findings at a rescue service providers conference.


‘Harvest Week!’ culminates ‘Food’ series

‘Harvest Week!’ culminates ‘Food’ series

Topping the week of April 8-12's activities is a talk by the ‘Braiding Sweetgrass' author.


Physics and art departments host eclipse viewing  

Physics and art departments host eclipse viewing  

A rare solar phenomenon will unite the worlds of physics and art on campus. 


Vote for Blaze in SUNY's Mascot Madness!

Vote for Blaze in SUNY's Mascot Madness!

Cortland's mascot needs your vote to advance past the annual popularity tournament's second round.


Prizes offered for student opinions

Prizes offered for student opinions

Undergraduates have until April 5 to complete SUNY’s Student Satisfaction Survey.


Three students earn SUNY Chancellor’s Awards

Three students earn SUNY Chancellor’s Awards

The seniors will receive the prestigious student honor at an April 11 ceremony in Albany.