Donovan celebrates 50th anniversary with acoustic show at Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre on June 4
From a press release:
It was announced today that Scottish singer, songwriter, and guitarist Donovan will bring his 50th Anniversary celebration to the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre on Sunday, June 4 at 7 p.m. with a solo acoustic show.
Tickets, which are $25, $35, and $45, plus fees, go on sale next Friday, March 10 at 10 a.m. and can be purchased at the Kirby Center box office (71 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre), online at kirbycenter.org, and by phone at 570-826-1100. A special Kirby Member pre-sale begins Wednesday, March 8 at 10 a.m.
Donovan Leitch is widely regarded as one of the most influential songwriters and recording artists working today. At his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, it was stated, “Donovan singlehandedly initiated the psychedelic revolution with ‘Sunshine Superman.’”
He created this masterwork album in late 1965 at 19 years of age, one year before his friends The Beatles, influencing their album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and leading the way for many other artists.
It is now history that Donovan became the tutor of The Beatles on their famous trip to India, where he taught John, Paul, and George the fingerstyle guitar and many of his unique chord patterns that would create many of the best songs and styles of “The White Album.”
Donovan is much more than the creator of the first psychedelic album. “Sunshine Superman” announced Flower Power for the first time and presented to the world the first world music fusions of folk, classical, jazz, Indian, Celtic, Arabic, and Caribbean. At the age of 16, Donovan set his artist vision to return poetry to popular culture, and he has done so on a worldwide scale.
As highly influential and successful as “Sunshine Superman” album was, Donovan had already scored four Top 20 singles, EPs, and two albums in his so-called “folk period” of early 1965. Donovan received the prestigious Ivor Novella Award for his very first song, “Catch the Wind,” at only 18 years old.
Donovan is also the recipient of the Mojo Maverick Award, Lifetime BBC Folk Award and, in 2014, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
For over 50 years and up to the present day, his evocative songs are consistently requested for major films, hit TV series, and top commercials, spreading his work further into new audiences.
It’s all a long way from that heady decade that birthed him, but Donovan is so much more than a mere heritage act. He is the history of British rock and pop distilled into one man. He is an institution, and his legacy and influence will ensure that he is part of its future, too.
“I am delighted to be celebrating the 50th anniversary of my work. It has always been my wish to offer as many as possible an alternative. See you in a concert soon!” says Donovan.
