Phil Ochs Song Night

Featuring Betty & the Baby Boomers, Greg Greenway, Reggie Harris, Magpie, Pamela Means, Kal Teaux, and Pat Wictor.

Phil Ochs Song Night brings together a richly talented ensemble of musicians in a heartfelt tribute to Ochs, who was central to the 1960s Greenwich Village folk music movement and known for his civil rights and protest songs, such as “I Ain’t Marching Anymore.”

The first Phil Ochs Song Night was in NYC, organized and hosted by Ochs’ sister, Sonny Ochs, and featuring Suzanne Vega, Melanie, Tom Paxton, Christine Lavin, and Dave Van Ronk. It moved Upstate with Sonny and was presented at 8th Step’s Albany stage for a long run of annual sellout concerts, with varied musicians joining a core group that always included Kim & Reggie Harris and Magpie. Next, it reached radio listeners via WAMC-FM, often co-hosted by Wanda Fischer (“Hudson River Sampler”). Sonny took it on the road, playing stages big and small, including Toronto, Cleveland’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and The Kennedy Center.

Each of more than 10 performers sang an Ochs song and one original for a warm and powerful night that ended with the audience spontaneously rising to join the ensemble’s finale chorus of Ochs’ “When I’m Gone,” led by Magpie. The ensembles are a bit smaller now, but each performer still conjures Ochs with two of his songs and one like-minded original. Phil Ochs Song Night is a gala celebration of a beloved music and cultural icon’s life, music, heart, and deep love of country, in anticipation of America’s upcoming midterm elections.