Berkeley folk-blues-jazz singer Barbara Dane celebrates her eightieth birthday Sunday at the Freight in grand style, with a band of trad jazz buddies and other musicians helping out. Dane has always been where the musical and political action is, using her songs as weapons for peace. She appeared at the first Newport Folk Festival in 1959, was the first American singer to perform in Cuba after the revolution, sang for civil rights in the South before it was cool to do so, and performed on a CBS-TV folk special that introduced Bob Dylan to television viewers. Her albums run the gamut from folk to trad jazz; I Hate the Capitalist System was recently reissued on CD. She will sing with a small combo featuring pianist Ellen Hoffman, guitarist Johnny Harper, and special guests including violinist India Cooke. She also will front a band of Bay Area jazz greats, the Golden Gate Hot Seven, featuring pianist Ray Skelbred, reedsman Richard Hadlock, and trombonist Bob Mielke. Sunday, July 22. 8 p.m., $19.50-$20.50. TheFreight.org
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