Kingston Trio: Singing Folk Music’s Praises

Its easy rhythms and soft-spoken words of love and longing can easily lull people into thinking folk music is the music of folks, say like grandparents.

And while the genre may have gotten its start in the 50s, the seminal group of the time – The Kingston Trio – is just as relevant now as it was 60 years ago.

And these guys smash stereotypes faster than you can say, “Hang down your head Tom Dooley.”

The group brings its brand of Americana music to Palm Desert’s on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 8 p.m. Although the trio has changed hands throughout the years, this current group of Bill Zorn, George Grove and Rick Dougherty are as smooth and accomplished as the original three, reviewers have said.

Understanding and embracing their place in history, the current musicians that comprise The Kingston Trio remain the start of music that is all-American and has been lovingly and sometimes loosely copied by everyone from Bob Dylan to Fleetwood Mac  to U2 and Green Day.

Even if they didn’t know it.

“Folk music is any kind of music that tells a story or tells of a social condition,” said George Grove, who has been with the Kingston Trio since 1967. “Early rap was folk music. Even punk rock was a form of folk music. It’s all folk music. Today’s country music is folk music with a rock and roll band behind it.”

Grove, who lives in Las Vegas, wholly embraces the rock image, despite the fact that the music they play is primarily soft rock. And like every good rocker, boy does he have stories from the road.

After joining the famous punk rock pioneers, The Ramones, as honorees of Grammy’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the two groups met again in Boston. They discovered they were staying in the same hotel and decided to meet up for drinks after their respective shows.

Grove laughed, recalling that they said, ‘Hey dudes, you ought to come and party with us after the shows.’ Without going into too many details, Grove said the Ramones bowed out first that night, admitting they were out-partied by The Kingston Trio.

“We had a great time with them. Musicians on the road are kindred spirits, so when they asked us, we said, ‘Why not?’” Grove said. “Because we’ve been around for so long, what we’ve seen with other musicians is their reverence for the Kingston Trio.”

Tickets for the Nov. 5 show are available at www.mccallumtheatre.com or by phone at the McCallum Box office at 760.340.ARTS (2787).