Josh White Jr. sings for Barking Cherry House Concerts

By Jane Dunlap Norris

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When you’re in the mood to catch a young singer-songwriter on the rise or an established folk star shining at full power, there’s no place like home.

On Saturday, Josh White Jr. will be performing music from a lifetime of folk albums and appearances — as well a set of songs by his famous father, Josh White — at a Charlottesville-area home to wind up the season for the Barking Cherry House Concerts series.

It may sound unusual to pack up a folding chair and head to someone’s home to hear a concert by a well-known musician, but it wasn’t that many generations ago when it was out of the ordinary to go to a concert hall to listen to a performer. The house-concert phenomenon is an old idea that’s becoming new again, and White said he thinks having a more intimate setting is a good option for both musicians and listeners.

“It goes back to coffeehouse days,’’ White said cheerfully. “[People] get quiet and listen.’’

White said he sees the phenomenon as a positive opportunity for young singer-songwriters trying to make their way in the music business.

It can be difficult to find quiet listening rooms these days, and an artist who tells stories through songs might have trouble connecting with listeners in the bustle of smoky bars.

“I came up in coffeehouses,’’ White said. “I didn’t have to play in bars.’’

White said listeners can expect an intriguing mix of songs Saturday evening.

“I’ve always been eclectic, so you might have everything from Cole Porter to Bob Dylan,’’ he said.

When White performs a set of his father’s songs, he will be accompanying himself on one of his father’s 12-fret guitars.

Most guitars these days have 14 frets, and White said that part of his father’s trademark sound came from his affinity for the 12-fret instruments.

Stories also are an important part of the program.

“What I like to do when I perform is I like to give you background on the songs,’’ White said.

Audience members will be in for a treat when White shares stories about his father’s songs, because there are plenty of them.

There’s the time Eleanor Roosevelt heard Josh White Sr. performing and arranged for him to meet President Franklin Roosevelt. Or the younger White’s performance at age 4 with his dad at Cafe Society in New York, the nation’s first integrated nightclub.

The elder White rose from a difficult childhood of performing to help feed his family, witnessing the terror of lynchings and seeing a black man burned at the stake to becoming a nationally prominent folk singer who broke down barriers of segregation. He played in venues that previously had been off limits to black musicians, gaining both black and white fans along the way. In 1941, he was the first black artist to give a command performance at the White House.

The elder White also was careful to convey messages of equality and respect not only in his folk music, but in his lessons to his own children.

The younger White said his parents “not only talked the talk, they walked the walk.

“He taught us all to take individuals as individuals,’’ the younger White said of his father. “There’s no head higher than mine, and no head lower than mine.”

Folk music offers an appealing way to prompt listeners to think about issues, White said, calling the process “sort of a Johnny Appleseed thing. You drop the seed and keep on going.

“It’s a continuum,’’ White said. “You have to remind people of the good that’s in them. That’s my job.

“We are greater than we show ourselves to be, and sometimes we need to be reminded.’’

Every time White picks up his guitar and sings, he’s reminded of why he followed his father — and his own heart — into the world of folk.

“Folk music will never be the main music, but it will reward you,’’ White said. “You don’t go into it expecting to make money, but you touch your passion every day. This really is the music of the people, by the people and for the people.’’

Doors will open at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and coffee, tea, soft drinks and desserts will be available at the break. Don’t forget to bring your own folding chair.

Concert series founder Len Jaffe also likes to let listeners with allergies know ahead of time that there’s a cat on the premises.