Winter Music Series: Fred Clayton

Blues musician Fred Clayton is accompanied by Chris McCarthy on drums and Alex Pashoian on guitar in this free concert sponsored by the library's Helen Telfair Trust. The guitar and the blues have been an intrinsic part of Fred Clayton’s life since his hardscrabble childhood. While spending some time in the state’s Department of Youth Services (DYS) system, Clayton was encouraged by his musical mentors to apply for a grant at the National Endowment of the Arts, which he won. He feels strongly that real music comes from hardship. “You’ve got to pay to be able to play the blues,” Clayton says. He believes that music, to be authentic, “comes out of the true feeling of the soul.”