Sue and Tammy

For Sue’s birthday this year, I bought us tickets to a Holly Near performance. Holly is turning 68 soon and comes from a California town not far from where Sue grew up. Sue tells about her appreciation for Holly Near’s work on her blip. The audience was a sea of gray heads, and Holly’s opening line was, “It’s been nice growing old with you.” However, apart from two old favorites, including “Singing for our Lives,” the show was new work taking on the issues of global corporatism. Our favorite was a short, cheery ditty called “Coup d’Etat.” 

The surprise bonus of the performance was Tammy Hall, a composer-arranger and jazz pianist touring with Holly, posing here with Sue. The musicians met their enthusiastic fans outside the green room, and we had time to talk with Tammy about the tour and her work.