Family-friendly concert to feature Tom Chapin

The Arthur Zankel Music Center at Skidmore College will host a concert by popular singer/songwriter Tom Chapin at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22. The family-friendly performance - free and open to the public - occurs in conjunction with the Saratoga Springs Peace Week. 

Chapin, a three-time Grammy award winner, will perform his own and many other topical compositions about the current turbulent times. He will bring a socially relevant musical experience focused on the issues of hunger, poverty, the environment, war and peace.

Chapin got his start when he joined his two brothers, Steve and Harry, to form a folk trio, the Chapins. The group played nightclub gigs in New York and recorded their first album, Chapin Music! in 1966. Soon after, the trio broke up so that each brother could pursue his own interests. Meanwhile, Tom Chapin earned his bachelor's degree in history then sang on the soundtrack for Blue Water, White Death, a documentary on sharks. He went on to TV, singing and hosting the show Make a Wish. He discovered a passion for songwriting when his brother Harry, who wrote songs for the show, became too busy to finish the songs and left the final versions to Tom. The first solo album by Tom, Life Is Like That, was released in 1976. In 1981, he became the arranger for the Off-Broadway musical Cotton Patch Gospel, written by brother Harry. Shortly after, Harry was killed in a car accident. Determined to keep his brother's musical and social messages alive, Tom became involved in the political organization Harry had founded to fight hunger, World Hunger Year (WHY).

Tom Chapin continued to work in musical theater for several years and actively pursued a songwriting and solo singing career. When looking for music for his daughters, he realized there was a lack of music for children between ages five and 10. Chapin embarked on a series of children's albums that have won high praise from experts and audiences alike. The albums pleased parents so well that they are thought of as "family" music rather than "kids" music.

Chapin's new family CD, Give PEAS A Chance, about good food and the green earth, includes songs titled "Locally Grown," "Farmer's Market Good," "The Junk Food Pyramid," "Beans Talk," "The Ultimate Lunchroom," and many more.

Admission for the Sept. 22 Skidmore performance of Tom Chapin is free and open to the public. The Zankel Music Center is wheelchair accessible and offers listening devices for the hearing impaired. For more information, please click here.