Celebrate the working man at Coffee Gallery
By John Sollenberger 11/26/2008
Woody Guthrie and countless other troubadors have made a mark on the world by singing about the plight of the working man, a tradition continued Sunday when singer-songwriter Tom Breiding arrrives from Pennsylvania’s coal and steel country to perform a matinee show at the Coffee Gallery Backstage.
Handy with a guitar, Breiding writes and performs musical stories about life in and around the mills and mines of Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Like some of his songs’ subjects, the former English teacher is one of the hardest-working players on today’s folk scene. He frequently takes his show on the road to schools, holding songwriting workshops and delivering musical lessons on the steel and coal industries and early labor disputes.
In addition to his solo work, Brieding performs with several other folk bands and is a teaching artist with Calliope, Pittsburgh’s folk music society. He has also found time to record 10 albums since 1991, his latest “The Unbroken Circle: Songs of the West Virginia Coalfields.”
Music starts at 3 p.m. Sunday at Coffee Gallery Backstage, 2029 N. Lake Ave., Altadena. Populuxe also performs. Call (626) 398-7917.
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