Alejandro Escovedo Preps for a Couple Charity Events

It’s been a good year for Austin rocker Alejandro Escovedo . He’s been nominated for the Americana Music Association award for Artist of the Year, and last summer’s Real Animal is up for Album of the Year. Earlier this spring, he swept up a number of accolades at the Austin Music Awards, where he was named Musician of the Year and Songwriter of the Year, and where Real Animal took Album of the Year. But this year’s not all about taking for Escovedo; he’ll spend the summer giving a bit, too. To kick off the season, Escovedo will lend some skinny southwestern soul to a charity event on June 21 at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in New Canaan, Connecticut.

The 5 p.m. event will benefit Camp Hand-In-Hand, a local daycamp that boasts a commitment to diversity, and the Michael B. Stabile ’97 Memorial Scholarship Foundation, awarded to students with language-related learning disabilities at a boys’ prep school in upstate New York. Guitarist David Pulkingham and violinist Susan Voelz will accompany Escovedo, and their performance will be followed by hors-d’oeuvres and a silent auction.

This won’t be the first time Escovedo has hit the stage for a good cause this summer; the intimate event will follow his appearance at the 40th annual Clearwater Festival on June 20, where he’ll share the spotlight with the likes of Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, Old Crow Medicine Show and Dr. Dog. Founded 40 years ago by Seeger himself, the Clearwater Festival is hosted by environmental non-profit Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc. and raises money and awareness to protect the Hudson River.

The New Canaan event will end the East Coast leg of Escovedo’s tour; he’ll pick back up July 10 for a series of California shows, followed by stops at the Calgary Folk Fest and throughout the Northwest.

By Catherine Prewitt – Paste Magazine

http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/06/alejandro-escovedo-to-play-connecticut-benefit-con.html