Click photo to enlarge
Tom Neilson is a folk singer in the radical tradition that mixes humor, compassion and outrage in songs about real people's struggles against greed and violence. You can measure your mix this Friday, March 8 at 7 p.m. at the Garberville Vet's Hall at Locust and Conger streets in Garberville. This will be a benefit for the Veterans for Peace Golden Rule project, which has been busy restoring the historical vessel. During Pacific Ocean nuclear testing in the fifties, the valiant ketch trespassed into that zone in the name of sanity.

A master of parody, Tom Neilson combines both playfulness and passion in his songs. Called “a coming together of Phil Ochs and Tom Lehrer,” he is a veteran of stage and street theater, with his writing, acting, and directing. Combining art with activism, he has appeared with Noam Chomsky, Amy Goodman, Howard Zinn and others, and even played at the MLK Center in Havana, Cuba. His experiences are reflected in his songs. He has been at the forefront of helping communities organize against water privatization, mountain top removal, nuclear energy, incinerators, fracking, and toxic waste.

He plays at music festivals, union halls, universities, conferences, cafes, and at political and social gatherings. His music has been used in eight documentaries. He tells our stories, interjecting a good deal of levity along the way. Activist, historian, educator, and basketball coach, his award-winning songs of humor, compassion, and political affairs have been performed in 20 countries on five continents.

One quickly recognizes the sophistication of his singing and writing that has been pouring out of a guitar with a sharp wit, a seasoned experience, and a big fat uncompromising bunch of truth behind it. Tom Paxton says “This is very good music. And very good politics.” Spend Friday evening with Tom Neilson and benefit the work of the Golden Rule project as well.