David Rovics writes, plays, and sings hard-hitting political folk music. His songs don’t pull any punches, and his astounding wealth of experience-based knowledge and empathy is made both entertaining and inspiring, through his compelling voice, and powerful guitar playing. He’ll be joined by his partner, Kamala Emanuel with close and compelling harmonies, and we’re fortunate to be the last stop of their East Coast tour.
David Rovics is the musical version of Democracy Now!
Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!
Listen to David Rovics.
Pete Seeger
If the great Phil Ochs were to rise from the dead today, he would probably be hailed as the new David Rovics.
Andy Kershaw, BBC
Absolutely brilliant. David Rovics says exactly what needs to be said.
Ian McMillan, BBC
David Rovics is a freaking genius.
Eric Spitznagel, MTV
I’m a big fan.
Tom Morello, Rage Against the Machine
No one gets more deeply to the heart of important issues, with catchy and concise poetry, than David does. He has a talent for expressing things that are hard to say. All of his songs grab me emotionally and let me know how I really feel. His songs come alive like stories and movies, not just words.
Steve Wozniak
Right now, there is no one to touch David Rovics when it comes to a politically coherent music that can both entertain, energize and educate.
Afshin Rattansi, RT
David Rovics is the musical version of Democracy Now!
Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!
Listen to David Rovics.
Pete Seeger
Short Bio
David Rovics is a songwriter, musician, writer and podcaster based in Portland, Oregon. Since the 1990’s, David has been touring regularly throughout North America, Europe, and occasionally elsewhere, playing on stages large and small, at protests and festivals as well as in squatted social centers and folk clubs. He is known for writing songs about the history of popular struggles and social movements, and for participating musically in contemporary social movements in many countries. He has recorded dozens of albums and has millions of his songs streamed every year. His writing and podcasting can be found on Substack and other platforms. David often performs solo, and even more often as a duo with Kamala Emanuel, from Brisbane, Australia. Together they call themselves the Ministry of Culture. They also plays music for kids.
Longer Bio
As a guitar-slinging singer/songwriter, David has toured in over two dozen countries, including every state in the US except for Mississippi and North Dakota (if you don’t count that open mike in Bismarck during a road trip across the country around 1989).
His many years of attempting to musically infiltrate the Left have not been entirely pointless. He has been a featured performer at protests throughout North America and Europe. An abbreviated list includes many protest rallies against the IMF and World Bank in Washington, DC including April 16th, 2000; antiwar protests in Washington and New York, including February 15th, 2003, for half a million people.
When President Bush came to Berlin in 2002, David entertained the 100,000 or so folks who came to protest, and at the TTIP protest in Berlin in 2015 he sang for 250,000. He was also a featured performer at the G8 protests in Rostock in 2007, the G8 protests in Scotland in 2005, the G20 in Pittsburgh in 2009 and the G20 in Toronto the following year. Other countries where David has played at protests for thousands of people include England, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Australia and Japan.
These sorts of crowds make David feel very good, since at his own gigs he considers himself lucky if 50 people show up.
In addition to his musical involvement with the anticapitalist movement, labor, environmental and antiwar movements internationally, David has been writing songs and singing at protests related to the Israeli occupation of Palestine since 2000. In 2005 he did a tour that included ten shows in the West Bank, along with shows in Lebanon and Jordan. He has also toured a bit in Japan, Hong Kong and a variety of Latin American countries, and extensively in Australia, New Zealand, and much of Europe.
David’s songs have been streamed or downloaded in one form or another in the low millions, between the various platforms. This has resulted in very little money, however, and since the demise of the CD, David has managed to continue to make a living as a musician by beseeching his fans to join his Community-Supported Art scheme.
David’s songs have been recorded by various musicians, including the founder of Nueva Trova, Cuba’s Vicente Feliu (“Song for Ana Belen Montes”). David’s song “The Commons” was translated into Dutch and recorded with the Kik by legendary Dutch songwriter, Armand. The Wakes of Scotland recorded “They’re Building A Wall” and “St Patrick Battalion,” which has also been performed and recorded by many people throughout Europe and throughout the Americas. Other songs of his that have been covered extensively include “Black Flag Flying” and “I’m A Better Anarchist Than You.”
His songs have appeared in songbooks including Rise Again (sequel to Rise Up Singing), and the official songbook of the Norwegian labor movement (LO) and the Danish SUF (Socialist Youth). His songs have appeared regularly in Sing Out! magazine. His songs have also appeared in widely-circulated high school textbooks in Germany and Sweden, as tools for developing a deeper understanding of US politics.
His music is played regularly on community radio, and a long time ago he used to be heard on Democracy Now! regularly. For a while he was featured regularly on a national BBC radio show in the UK, until Andy Kershaw lost his job there. He has occasionally been featured on other media including the Washington Post, RT (Russia Today), Press TV (Iran), Al-Manar (Lebanon), and national radio programs in Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Ireland, Australia and elsewhere.
David’s songs have been featured in many documentaries, probably because he’s the only person to have written a song on that particular subject. Legendary director Haskell Wexler (Four Days in Chicago) and Mohammed Al-Attar (The Iron Wall) are two of the directors who have used his stuff. His music was used in documentaries broadcast on West Virginia Public Television and ABC in Australia, and has been used as theme music for Truthout’s audio broadcasts and other radio and internet broadcasts.
David’s essays are regularly published in Counterpunch, and have also appeared in Truthout, Alternet, Dissident Voice, Common Dreams and many other places. Such as his blog.
David has two albums of children’s songs. “The Pirate Song,” being one of the few songs about pirates that does not mention inappropriate subjects such as alcohol and has no swear words in it, has been featured in elementary school plays throughout the English-speaking world.
He has shared the stage on a number of occasions with Tom Morello, founder of Rage Against the Machine, who also recorded a lead guitar track on David’s 2012 album, Meanwhile In Afghanistan. He has also shared the stage with Billy Bragg, Chumbawamba, Joan Baez, and Pete Seeger, and has toured extensively with Attila the Stockbroker, Robb Johnson, Anne Feeney, Tracey Curtis and Alistair Hulett.
Following her electrifying performance on Saturday, May 17th at The Drake, Argentinian singer/composer/producer and performer Mica Farías Gómez will present an acoustic set on Friday June 6th as part of the First Fridays concert series at Cherry Hill Cohousing in North Amherst. Mica will perform with her partner and fellow musician, percussionist/drummer Manuel Uriona. Singer and Songwriter Nina Mankin will do a short opening set.
