More than a poet or songwriter, Leonard Cohen was an intellectual explorer who used songwriting as a way of making sense of a bewildering world. His music inspired generations and had a profound impact on Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, Nina Simone, Roberta Flack, R.E.M., Elton John, Joe Cocker, Tori Amos, Don Henley, Aretha Franklin, and Bono, who said, “He finds shades in the blackness that feel like color.”
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer used wry humor to explore the hidden mechanics of love, sex, war, religion, and death. Cohen described his songs Suzanne, Halleluiah, Bird on a Wire, and Famous Blue Raincoat as “investigations into the beautiful and terrifying truths of existence.”.
To deliver the music of this vast and deeply spiritual catalog, Pat Guadagno has put together The Orchestra of Rags & Feathers, an eclectic ensemble including singer-songwriter, activist Arlan Feiles, soul, hip-hop, classical harpist Christine Elise, The Tango Kid, Barefoot Strings, and one of the most captivating vocalists ever to grace a New Jersey stage, Maureen McCrink.
Anyone who’s been to one of Pat Guadagno’s theatrical musical celebrations, BobFest (Bob Dylan), The Heart of Saturday Night (Tom Waits), 100 Years of Hank (Hank Williams), Souvenirs (John Prine), or A Marvelous Night (Van Morrison), knows to expect the music of Leonard Cohen, delivered with the passion and reverence that has become Guadagno’s trademark.
