FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEAPRIL 10,
2009
NASHVILLE
AREA ARTISTS PERFORM AT JUSTICE AWARD IN WASHINGTON, DC
Tim O’Brien, Ed
Pettersen, and Joanna Smith go to Washington
(also appearing: Ms. Bettye Lavette)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Nashville area artists Tim O’Brien, Ed
Pettersen, and Joanna Smith are headed to Washington, DC on April 17th to
perform at the Justice Award presentation by the American Judicature Society.
The AJS is presenting the 2009 Justice Award to former Attorney General Janet Reno
in honor of her significant contributions to improving the administration of justice in the United
States. The ceremony will include musical performances drawn from the Song of America,
a unique musical compilation which tells our history as a nation through song from 1492 to
modern times, and which was inspired by Ms. Reno.
The Nashville connection comes about through songwriter/producer Ed Pettersen who through family
connections ended up on sitting on the floor of the Attorney General’s Washington apartment one day
playing and describing the history behind his songs Nowhere to Roam (co-written with
Tennessean copy editor Jeff Walter) and La Tragedia de Heraclio Bernal. The response from the Attorney
General--- “Ed, you should record an entire album of songs that tell the history of our
country”, as she promptly took a piece of paper and jotted down the various eras
of history to be covered in chronological order.
The compilation inspired by that evening, Song of America, was released in late 2007 and features
a host of respected and Grammy winning indie artists including Folk Family
Robinson (Black Crowes), Suzy Boggus, Del McCoury, the Blind Boys of Alabama,
Devendra Banhart, Martha Wainwright, Andrew Bird, Janis Ian, Marah, Old Crow
Medicine Show and more in the fifty song set. The collection spans the folk, blues,
rock, R&B, country, classical and hip-hop genres as it winds its way through
time, highlighting historic moments and movements. In addition to beautiful renderings of
well known melodies, the compilation also features new arrangements that may
prompt you listen to a song in a whole new way, notably Harper Simon's makeover
of Yankee Doodle and Andrew Bird’s interpretation of How Ya Gonna Keep ‘Em Down on the Farm.
Designed to benefit non-profit organizations which promote the preservation of our musical history
and the teaching of history through music, including the Voices Across Time project of the Center
for American Music and The Society for American Music, Folk Alliance, and the Sing Out Resource
Center, the Song of America project is an ongoing effort.
The next phase of the project includes a
concert in Nashville to be filmed for incorporation in a Song of America television special planned for
PBS that will include footage of the studio recordings, live performances, and discussion both of the
personal impact to the artists and of the historical relevance of the songs themselves. The television
special and other outreach programs will support the final goal of funding a teaching guide to be distributed
with the musical compilation free of charge to schools nationwide.
# # #
For more information on the Song of America, please see
www.songofamerica.org or contact
Jane Hurchalla, Project
Administrator • Tel: (615) 463-2982
•
jane@srrecords.com For information on the American Judicature Society and the Justice Award, please contact Kristine
Frakes, Justice
Award Liaison, •
Tel: (515) 271-2286 •
kfrakes@ajs.org •
www.ajs.org