8th Step presents a fascinating and lively mix of folk concert and book reading by two-time Grammy winner, musician, attorney David Bernz & Jacob Bernz, his son, who intertwine readings and live music performance in an evening drawn from David’s recent book Chopping Wood, written with Pete Seeger at 7 pm, Saturday, May 17, 8th Step at Proctors (Addy Theatre).
The father and son musical duo will perform some of the songs mentioned in the book together with more recent songs and original material for a fun, participatory and certainly uplifting evening.
The evening is inspired by and derived from the book Chopping Wood: Thoughts and Stories of a Legendary American Folksinger by Seeger with Bernz, forward by Arlo Guthrie, published by Jawbone Press, London, 1924.
Chopping Wood – both as book and stage experience – brings Pete Seeger (1919-2014) up close and personal like never before. Derived from years of conversations between Seeger and his close friend and collaborator David Bernz, it takes readers on a uniquely personal journey through this legendary folksinger and songwriter remarkable life and career, in Seeger’s own words. Onstage, Bernz chooses from a fascinating array of Seeger’s historical and family stories starting with learning the banjo; his time traveling with Woody Guthrie; finding commercial success with The Weavers. He explains how he wrote books and put together songs; delves into controversial subjects like communism and the Peekskill Riots; and highlights those he admired and respected, including Bruce Springsteen, who honored Pete with his Seeger Sessions album in 2006.
He talks of the 1965 Newport Folk Festival; his relationship to Greenwich Village; and the need for copyright reform. The live audience is invited to know Pete more deeply as Bernz and Bernz conjure this gentle, principled man’s voice, bearing witness to his humility and willingness to respect those whose opinions differed greatly from his own.
Seeger reveals the background behind some of his biggest hits (“Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” was inspired by a line in a Soviet novel) and recounts career misadventures, including breaking a banjo while jumping off a freight train with Woody Guthrie. The bulk of these reflections center on the singer’s activism, including the time he sang “Waist Deep in the Big Muddy” on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour during the Vietnam War in 1967, sparking a controversy that contributed to the show’s cancellation.
David and Jacob Bernz are a father-son team of folksingers and songwriters hailing from Beacon, where Pete Seeger’s cabin overlooked the Hudson River. David Bernz was Pete Seeger’s friend, and eventually his music producer. They had worked together to transcribe Seeger’s spoken word, stories and recollections into a book, which Bernz released in 2024.
A mainstay of Seeger’s Hudson River Sloop Singers and a frequent sideman onstage with Seeger, David Bernz (banjo, guitar, vocals) has performed as part of ‘Dave, Perry, Rande,’ ‘Stone Soup’ and ‘Work o’ the Weavers,’ releasing CDs with each. He won two Grammy Awards producing CDs for Pete Seeger, including Best Folk Album 2008 for Pete at 89 and best Children’s Album 2010 for Pete Seeger: Yesterday’s Children. Jacob Bernz (guitar, vocals) is a prolific young singer-songwriter encouraged by Seeger. He has released five CDs of original material combining his many influences into a genre all his own with a uniquely poetic and personal style. Together David (banjo, guitar, vocals) and Jacob (guitar, vocals) weave a fascinating tapestry of songs old and new.
Tickets are $25 / $22 Advance / $30 Gold Circle [Priority Seating], available at 8thstep.org or through Proctors Box Office at proctors.org. Free parking is available around the corner on Broadway.
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