Singer-songwriter Steve Forbert will be on campus next Wednesday at 7 p.m. as part of Schoenfeldt series.
Steve Forbert, folk musician, will be playing a concert next Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Chapel of Christ the Teacher. (Photo courtesy of Brian Doyle)
By Natalie Wheeler, Staff Writer -- wheelern12@up.edu
If you're walking past the chapel on your way to The Commons next Wednesday night, make sure to stop in and see folk music legend Steve Forbert sing a few songs and answer a few questions.
On Wednesday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m., Forbert will be playing in the Chapel of Christ the Teacher. His visit is part of the Schoenfeldt Distinguished Writers series.
Forbert is most famous for his 1978 song, "Romeo's Tune," which hit No. 11 on the weekly Billboard Charts. Dubbed "the new Bob Dylan" by the media at that time, Forbert made an effort to distinguish himself.
"I made sure not to play Bob Dylan songs then," Forbert said. "I tried to play it down."
However, Forbert's music spans much more than his popular 1978 song. At 55, he has released 14 studio albums and hundreds of songs. Many of his tunes have also been covered by artists such as Rosanne Cash and Keith Urban.
The UP concert next Wednesday was arranged by Brian Doyle, editor of Portland Magazine. Doyle hopes that students take advantage of Forbert's visit.
"I hope we fill all 300 seats, and I hope the first 200 of them are packed with students," Doyle said.
Forbert started playing the acoustic guitar when he was 10. After hearing the Byrds record "Mr. Tambourine Man," he knew what kind of music he wanted to write.
"That song brought folk music into rock and roll," Forbert said. "When I heard this, that's when I started to say ‘I have to do this.'"
In addition to his UP visit, Forbert will play at the Alberta Rose Theatre in downtown Portland on Saturday, Oct. 16 at 8:30 p.m. As for the UP concert next Wednesday, Forbert hopes for it to be a little more informal.
"I want it to be a free form, question and answer type thing," Forbert said. "It's easy to do that with 30 people, but if it gets to 300 people I'd better just play!"
