Robin and Linda Williams return to KAC Coffeehouse
Editor's note: A previous version of this story included an incorrect byline.
When a musical act has a career that has spanned five decades, spawned 24 recordings, brought them to three continents for thousands of concerts and has found them in a Robert Altman-directed movie and on NPR’s “A Prairie Home Companion,” you’d think it might be a come down to perform at a small local coffeehouse.
Not if that act is Robin and Linda Williams, and that small coffeehouse is at the Kirkland Art Center.
The iconic American folk duo will be in Clinton at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov.10 at for a special KAC Coffeehouse concert to celebrate the legacy of longtime KAC Coffeehouse director Ginger Parker.
The husband-and-wife pair was one of Ginger’s favorite acts, leading to numerous appearances on the KAC stage.
“I can't even remember how many times we played in Clinton over the years,” musses Robin. “The Kirkland Art Center became a favorite place to play, not just for us, but for a lot of other performers as well, and the success and longevity of the concert series was due mostly to Ginger's professionalism, her love of music, and her ability to organize and work with people and get things done.
“Plus, she was a thoroughly enjoyable person. We remember her fondly and are glad to be returning again.”
As live performers Robin and Linda are second to none and, as songwriters, they have earned the respect of their musical peers, their songs having been recorded by such well-known artists as Mary Chapin Carpenter, Tom T. Hall, Tim and Mollie O’Brien, Mary Black, The Seldom Scene, and Emmylou Harris, to name just a few.
Ginger Parker, who passed away in January 2021, launched the KAC Coffeehouse series in the early 1980s and was the driving force behind the nationally recognized KAC Coffeehouse for decades.
For Robin, the opportunity to perform in Ginger’s honor recalls their first encounter.
“Ginger Parker came up to us one hot, sweltering July afternoon in the distant past, after we'd played a set at a Bluegrass festival, and asked if we'd be interested in playing for a concert series she was starting,” recalls Robin. “I don't even remember the name of the festival, but I remember Ginger. Her competence, gracefulness and style were evident and we liked her immediately.
“So, we, of course, said ‘yes, just call our agent’, and the rest is history.”
Tickets for the Friday, Nov. 10 concert with Robin and Linda Williams are available at www.kacny.org/kac-live or at the door ($25 general/$22.50 KAC members).
The evening will include classic KAC Coffeehouse touches like checkered tablecloths, a 50:50 raffle, and baked goods downstairs.
This KAC Coffeehouse is sponsored by Jeff & Danelle Parker and by Martin Gorton of Coldwell Banker Sexton Real Estate in Clinton.
The Kirkland Art Center is located at 9 ½ East Park Row in Clinton.
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Robin and Linda Williams return to Kirkland for legacy concert
