TUNE IN TO E STREET RADIO TOMORROW (MAY 8)

Tomorrow I'll be a guest co-host on Live From E Street Nation on SIRIUS XM's E Street Radio. The show is hosted by legendary Music Journalist Dave Marsh. I can't wait. We'll be talking about Bruce Springsteen's brief performance at Sunday night's Pete Seeger 90th birthday celebration. Live From E Street Nation is a great show: basically people calling in to talk about Bruce, the current tour, and ask Dave questions - sometimes really weird ones - about Bruce. I try to catch it every week if I'm not too busy at my day job.

Oh - this picture. I've posted it before. A Pete Seeger impromtu performance from many years ago. I'm the kid in the Spider-Man shirt by the tree. I showed this picture to my dad, and he told me that it kind of embodies Pete Seeger. We were at some park, and Pete had a gig scheduled somewhere in the park. So he was walking to the gig, saw some kids, and grabbed his banjo and sang a bunch of songs before going on his way. None of the kids probably had much of an idea who he was.

SEEGER'S 90TH

The show (not where this picture was taken, obviously) was great. We got there a bit late and missed some performances, but it was pretty awesome. For me, the highlights were: Roger McGuinn with the guys from Band Of Horses doing "Turn! Turn! Turn!," Ben Harper with his mom, his aunt and Tom Morello doing his own "Gather 'Round The Stone" and Bruce Springsteen and Tom Morello doing "The Ghost Of Tom Joad." There were other great performances by Ani DiFranco, Kris Kristofferson, Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, Warren Haynes... everyone was pretty great, actually. Pete's grandson Tao Rodridguez-Seeger was inspiring, and I think he will carry on his grandfather's music and message in the decades to come. Shout out to Oscar The Grouch who duetted with Tom Chapin on a song called "Garbage" (what else?). It was amazing to see MSG standing ovations to the likes of Joan Baez and Ritchie Havens.

And every time Pete Seeger was on stage was a highlight, to say the least. He is an amazing figure. It was odd to see him feted at a venue like Madison Square Garden in such a slick (but not cold) production. With him, it's not really about being a star, although he's certainly used his power to draw people. But it's about getting people to sing... more than it is about singing to them. That's a powerful thing.

The picture I've posted here (for the second time) was taken probably 35 years ago (thanks to Richard for hooking me up with it). I'm the kid in the Spider-Man shirt by the tree. I showed it to my dad, and he told me that it kind of embodies Pete Seeger. We were at some park, and Pete had a gig scheduled somewhere in the park. So he was walking to the gig, saw some kids, and grabbed his banjo and sang a bunch of songs before going on his way. None of the kids probably had much of an idea who he was.

But that's who he is. Not every artist can be like Pete, or should be like Pete. There are rare cases of artists who seem immune to temptation: Ani DiFranco is one, Ian McKaye another. If you're an artist, you don't have to try to be like that. But you should keep artists like that towards the front of your mind -- I think they act as the sort of angel on your shoulder, your conscious, to keep you from losing yourself into the "bubble" (as Tina Fey puts it) of stardom. There's being famous... and then there's being taken seriously. And if you do the latter, who knows the former may happen along the way.

OK, time for me to check in. God bless Pete Seeger.

BEN HARPER, TOM MORELLO, WARREN HAYNES SIGN ON TO PETE SEEGER'S 90TH BIRTHDAY CONCERT

A lot more artists have signed on for Pete Seeger's 90th birthday celebration: joining the aforementioned Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Vedder, Steve Earle, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris and John Mellencamp: Ben Harper, Warren Haynes, Tom Morello, Dave Matthews, Ani DiFranco, Kris Kristofferson, Michael Franti of Spearhead, Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers, Del McCoury, Richie Havens, Ramblin' Jack Elliott and Taj Majal among others. See the whole lineup here. There's an American Express pre-sale, which I find shocking, but they are probably donating money to The Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, which is close to Pete's heart.

PETE SEEGER TO HIT THE BIG NINE-OH!

Pete Seeger is the real deal, period. He's always been about connecting with people, and not just about making a buck. He's super humble, and usually avoids all showbiz type stuff. My first few concerts were performances by Pete in parks, and it made a huge impression on me. He turns 90 on May 3, and there's going to be a huge concert at Madison Square Garden to celebrate. According to Backstreests, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, Eddie Vedder, John Mellencamp will all perform. It's hard to imagine that Pete would be into this - it seems kind of more high profile than he is comfortable with. On the other hand, he just performed with Bruce Springsteen at Barack Obama's inauguaration, that was pretty grand. He performed right before Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made his "I Had A Dream" speech. I bet Pete never thought he'd perform for the first African-American president's inauguration. I definitely want to catch this concert. Also, the concert will benefit the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, which is close to Pete's heart.

MY SEEGER SESSIONS

People often ask what your first concert was. My first few were all by Pete Seeger. Not at venues where you had to pay, but just at parks where he would show up and perform. That's me next to the tree in the blue shirt with the Spider-Man logo (tough to see I know). I think somehow Pete Seeger's music, and the artist that he is, influenced me, and I'm grateful to my parents for taking me to see him perform.

(My first concert at an actual venue was Barry Manilow, my parents took me to that one also, but what can you do?)

(thanks Richard Y. for hooking me up with this photo)

WE ARE ONE

Yes, it was cold out, but I
have loved to have been at the We Are One concert at the Lincoln Memorial honoring Barack Obama. Lots of huge stars there - and it was really cool that Bruce Springsteen both opened and closed the show: he opened with "The Rising," backed by a huge multi-cultural choir, and closed with Pete Seeger doing "This Land Is Your Land." I didn't see the show - I don't have HBO - but I watched that performance, and it was so incredibly moving. 45 years after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech, Seeger singing that song (including "banned" lyrics "The sign said private property / and on the other side, it didn’t say nothing / That side was made for you and me")... it was just so moving and powerful.

Bono was on the bill as a solo artist, but it turned out that all of U2 turned out to perform "Pride (In The Name Of Love" and "City Of Blinding Lights." I guess Bono is relieved that, for the next four years, if he hangs out with the President, his bandmates won't cringe and give him the silent treatment. I can't wait for the inauguration tomorrow: Barack is an extrodinary guy, but not a superhero, so I don't think that his inauguration will actually be the end of our long (inter)national nightmare: but hopefully it is the beginning of the end of it.

There were lots of artists from different genres there, but I was very glad to see Garth Brooks - the best selling country artist of all time - on board. He also played Al Gore's "Live Earth" concerts, so he's probably not the most red-state guy anyway, but still, he's country's biggest superstar, welcoming an African-Amerian Democratic President. Pretty awesome.