A Few Highlights

9 Albums in a 30 year international performing and recording career

Florida Atlantic University Lecturer/Performance Lecturer

21 Songs in Smithsonian Folkways Recordings from The Fast Folk Music Collection

1st American Folksinger to tour liberated Czech Republic

Signature songs "American Jerusalem" & "Sailor's Prayer" considered modern day classics

Featured artist in Sing Out! 2003 early summer issue

Finalist in the 2003 USA Songwriting Competition

Featured artist in Acoustic Live April 2002

 "A man who has chosen to make his own way, to fulfill his destiny,
and to include you in his journeys."

Throughout a 30-year performing career, Rod MacDonald has been entertaining audiences worldwide with his timeless ballads, modern folk songs, wry humor and his musical versatility.  Possessing the heart of a troubadour, the soul of a poet and the voice of a virtuoso, he is as distinctive an entertainer as he is a songwriter.  Known for his passionate interest in the events that shape our world's societies, Rod is a prolific and poignant communicator who is regarded as "one of the most politically and socially aware lyricists of our time." (All Music Guide).

Rod has released 9 solo albums, and has performed at many of the world's finest clubs and major international festivals in the U.S., Europe and Canada.  The first American folksinger to tour the liberated Czech Republic, Rod performed frequently at the 3-4 day Straznice Festival for audiences of 10,000, where he debuted his passionate anthem "For The People", a tribute to the newly freed Czechs.  He summered with the Oglala Sioux Indians on their South Dakota reservation where he met Frank Fool's Crow, ceremonial chief and medicine healer and to whom he dedicated his 2nd album, "White Buffalo", featuring the song of the same name.  Said Rod, "he is a great inspiration to me, and to everyone who knows him."

Among the more than two dozen artists who have recorded his works are Dave Van Ronk, Four Bitchin' Babes with Christine Lavin, Happy Traum and Garnet Rogers.  Rod's albums "No Commercial Traffic" (re-released in 2002) and "White Buffalo" have been hailed as "one of the towering achievements in modern folk music."  (Boston Herald).

Born and raised in a small Connecticut town, Rod was educated at the University of Virginia and Columbia Law School.  Drawn to music since childhood and artistically ambitious by nature, it was not completely surprising that during his final year at Columbia, and having done a stint as a correspondent for Newsweek Magazine, he put aside all thoughts of a legal career and instead dedicated himself solely to music.  Already performing since his early college days, he graduated from Columbia, never took the bar exam and remained in New York.

Rod became a major part of the 70s and 80s Greenwich Village folk renaissance, and appeared onstage performing with notables like Pete Seeger, Tom Chapin, Dave Van Ronk, Suzanne Vega, Doc Watson, John Gorka, and Emmylou Harris.  Rod frequently headlined at New York's Speakeasy and Folk City clubs, and his uforgettable performance at The Bottom Line of what became his signature song, his "American Jerusalem", was heralded by fans and media alike as a "defining moment in folk music history".

In 2002, Smithsonian Folkways recognized Rod's considerable contribution to folk music by including 21 of his songs in their Fast Folk Musical Magazine, honoring him as one of the most heavily represented artists in the series.  "MacDonald's place in the folk Hall of Fame is assured by his 'A Sailor's Prayer,' a hymn-styled tune that many people mistook for a traditional song" writes Richard Skelly of All Music Guide .  The lead-off track on Smithsonian's anniversary CD featured Rod's enduring classic, "American Jerusalem",  "a brilliant contrast of rich and poor, of the powerful and the powerless in Manhattan." (Sing Out! * Summer 2003).

Throughout his career Rod has remained a vital  force in the folk music world.  His unique eclectic brand of music transcends the typical folk genre and is infused with a reverence for life and concern for humanity, evident in lyrics that are infectious and inspiring, sometimes reckless, often evocative - and always compelling.  The Boston Folk Festival recently wrote "Rod MacDonald is an original Greenwich Village icon-a pivotal folk singer who uses his background in law and journalism to ask the important questions of our time." 

In his trademark balladeer style, Rod artfully weaves together a tapestry of journalistically insightful lyrics and poetic imagery offering up to listeners entertaining, thought-provoking honesty - and often humorously satirical commentaries on a variety of topics that invite and inspire his listeners to come to their own conclusions.  Although among Rod's works are a number of enchantingly romantic love songs, when his satire is turned towards politics and current events, he is at his wittiest.

Residing in Delray Beach, Florida, since the mid-90s, Rod maintains an aggressive touring and recording schedule.  He continues  developing a powerful body of works with songs that document our times and "hit all the right emotional notes".  "MacDonald approaches the genre differently from most contemporary singer-songwriters.  His 'protest' songs are narratives that invite you to draw your own conclusions ... takes listeners on previously untrod paths in his unique stories."  (Sing Out!)

His 2005 CD, "A Tale of Two Americas", released by Wind River Records in the U.S., and Brambus Records in Europe, "provides Rod's perspective on current political and world events, along with putting to words the thoughts and feelings emanating from everyday life."  Says Kevin McCarthy of Celtic Folk Music, "MacDonald has proven again here that he is a master at musically portraying the difficult issues facing this country and the world.  It's also abundantly clear that MacDonald didn't head to Florida to retire.  In fact, he appears to have discovered the fountain of youth.  Lucky for us." 

In 2003, Rod's 911 tribute, "My Neighbors In Delray", (Recognition) was selected as a Folk Category finalist in the USA Songwriting Competition.  In contrast to many other 911 songs written, "Neighbors" is more of a questioning, reflective commentary, an observation of the 911 terrorists' adaptation to Florida's casual lifestyle, their easy integration into the culture, and how they unobtrusively mapped out their terrorist activities while residing only blocks away from Rod's home. Rod asks the question:  "I wonder what God will say of my neighbors in Delray".

In addition to performing, Rod enjoys teaching "Songwriting for Self Expression", his self-styled 6-week workshop for both experienced and inexperienced songwriters.  He has returned several times to be an instructor for Common Ground on the Hill, a two-week workshop sponsored by McDaniel College in Westminster, MD., and has conducted workships at the New York Open Center in NYC, and Endicott Performing Arts Center.

Rod is now conducting his 5th 8-week lecture series, "Music Americana-The Roots of Rock & Roll", at several Florida Atlantic University locations through their Lifelong Learning Centers.

His latest cd, "After The War", released in early 2009 in the U.S., and entitled "This One" for release in Europe,  on Brambus in October 2008, is a collection of 17 songs Rod has performed over his 30 year career, and new songs.  Rod's singing and songwriting artistry is further enhanced by the excellent contributions of a stellar list of guest musicians and vocalists.

 *****************************************

"He's a restless traveler, seeker and communicator of the truth ... and an obedient servant of his music.  What more is there ?"  (Arthur Wood, Acoustic Live April 2002)

Of himself and his music, Rod says ...."something to touch your heart .. something to awaken your spirit .. something to tickle your funny bone .. something to make you a little more conscious of your role in life.  All of this sounds very serious, but it's really what I feel my job is."