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Richie Havens

The times, well, they probably haven’t changed as much as Richie Havens would have liked since he emerged as one of the lights of the Greenwich Village folk scene in the early 1960s. “There isn’t a hell of lot left to learn,” he told an audience in San Francisco some years back. “We already know what will make the world a better place.” It’s a bit of stage patter for which he finds new iterations every time he tours, which is frankly depressing. All the conditions Havens sings about—war, poverty, racism, oppression, environmental degradation—prevail today as surely as they did 40 years ago. The tonic for that depression prevails, too: Havens in performance. After nearly 30 records and a tireless schedule of touring and collaboration, Havens still exudes an easygoing peace and faith in human nature, counterpointed by his furious, energetic guitar and unapologetic politics. If we all balanced happiness and righteous indignation so well and so long, the world might improve more quickly. Noa Bursie opens the show.

Wednesday, July 11 at 6:30pm. Artpark, 450 South 4th Street, Lewiston (754-4375). FREE ($6 to park on-site).