Author and musician Peter S. Beagle and His Band of Merry Men (that is, Phil Sigunick) will be performing together in public for the first time in 44 years on 18 and 19 July in Wurtsboro, New York. (Their last gig as a duo was in 1964, when they opened for Tom Paxton at a club in Berkeley, California.)
“I See By My Outfit—The Book, The Music, The Video” will be performed at the Red Eft Gallery (159 Sullivan Street, PO Box 910, Wurtsboro, New York 12790). There are only 83 seats available for each night, and tickets are $20. Reservations (probably required, and like now) are to be had by emailing contact at conlanpress dot com or calling 845-888-2519.
There will be refreshments before each show, and “a chance to get books signed and hang around with Peter and Phil for a good while afterward.” Doors open at 7PM, with the music starting about 8.
The gallery writes “Fans of Peter’s classic travel memoir, I See By My Outfit, will absolutely not want to miss this chance to be there when Phil and Peter pick up their guitars and recapture the magic that helped make their long-ago cross-country journey so extraordinary. Peter S. Beagle was born in 1939 and raised in the Bronx, just a few blocks from Woodlawn Cemetery, the inspiration for his first novel, A Fine and Private Place. He originally proclaimed he would be a writer when he was 10 years old. Subsequent events have proven him either prescient or even more stubborn than hitherto suspected. Today, thanks to classic works such as The Last Unicorn, Tamsin, and The Innkeeper’s Song, he is acknowledged as America’s greatest living fantasy author; and his dazzling abilities with language, characters, and magical storytelling have earned him many millions of fans around the world. In addition to stories and novels, Peter has written numerous teleplays and screenplays, including the animated versions of The Lord of the Rings and The Last Unicorn, plus the fan-favorite “Sarek” episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. His nonfiction book I See By My Outfit, which recounts a 1963 journey across America on motor scooter, is considered a classic of American travel writing; and he is also a gifted poet, lyricist, and singer/songwriter.
“Phil Sigunick is a very talented painter who is currently devoting his efforts to making the Red Eft Gallery a world class place to find original fine art (and consequently not painting enough to satisfy). He is creative director, curator, and scapegoat, and still whistles while he works. He lives in Cragsmoor, New York.”