American banjo player and folk singer Abigail Washburn performs at Scripps College on Friday, April 23 from 5:30-7:00 pm. The spring installment of the Levitt on the Lawn Concert Series, the event takes place on Scripps College’s Bowling Green and is free and open to the public.
Washburn’s mix of Americana, bluegrass and folk, yodels, and the occasional Mandarin Chinese has captivated audience since her spontaneous entrance onto the music scene in 2004. Since then, Abigail Washburn and The Sparrow Quartet have played music festivals across North America including Merlefest, the Vancouver Folk Festival, and Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival.
In spring 2009, Washburn collaborated with keyboardist and electronica artist David Liang to produce “Afterquake,” a folk/electronic project “remixing voices and sounds from the China earthquake zone to raise awareness for victims” of the Sichuan earthquake on May 12, 2008. Abigail contributes using her banjo-picking roots-folk music to create a bluegrass rendition of Chinese folk tunes which are sung in their original Mandarin.
Levitt on the Lawn at Scripps College is an offshoot of the Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts in Pasadena and MacArthur Park. Scripps College alumna Elizabeth Levitt Hirsch ’74 sponsors the concert series to give back to the Scripps College community and increase awareness of the summer concerts at the Levitt Pavilions.
Attendees are encouraged to bring a picnic supper, or may purchase dinner for $8. For more information, contact the Malott Commons office at (909) 607-9372.