Yusuf/Cat Stevens’ Catalog To Be Celebrated In Online CatSong Festival
Dave Matthews, Jack Johnson, James Morrison, and Ron Sexsmith are among more than 30 artists performing songs from across the entire catalog of the revered English singer-songwriter.
CatSong Festival, a live broadcast celebrating the 50th anniversary of Cat Stevens’ newly-expanded 1970 albums Tea For The Tillerman and Mona Bone Jakon, will air on the official Yusuf/Cat Stevens YouTube channel on Saturday (December 5) at 12pm PST/8pm GMT.
Feist, Dave Matthews, Jack Johnson, James Morrison, and Ron Sexsmith are among more than 30 artists who have given their time to perform songs from across the entire catalog of the revered English singer-songwriter, The live event will include new interpretations of such indelible songs as “Wild World,” “Peace Train,” “Father And Son’ and many more.
The turbulent year caused by the pandemic has not stopped Yusuf/Cat Stevens from a highly creative period in his unique career. Glowing reviews for his Tea for the Tillerman² reinterpretation of the 1970 album were complemented with a No.4 debut in the UK chart, his highest ranking for more than 40 years. December 4 will see UMC/Island’s deluxe reissues of the original LP and of Mona Bone Jakon, also first released that year, as 50th anniversary Super Deluxe Collector’s Edition box sets.
Artists from a wide range of musical backgrounds will take part in the CatSong Festival, emphasizing how widely Yusuf’s influence continues to be felt across the artistic community, and is spread from one generation to the next. After being forced to cancel what would have been a full year of touring in 2020, he hopes to encourage a solution to the severe challenges facing artists by providing this platform for them to share their talents with his, and with each other’s audiences.
Artists participating in the CatSong Festival include: Dave Matthews, Brandon Boyd of Incubus, Jack Johnson, Passenger, Andy Allo, James Morrison, Bonnie “Prince” Billy & Matt Sweeney, Ron Sexsmith, Eliane Correa & Fedzilla, Hamza Namira, Ariel Posen, Mimi Naja, Vintage Trouble, The Brothers Landreth, Mary Spender, Mollie Marriott, Jason Kerrison, Matt Costa, Sad13, Ruby Waters & Debbie Bechamp, Braison Cyrus, Cinzia & The Eclipse, Mark Diamond, The Lucky 13s, Laura Sheeran & Brian Bolger, Bonnie Laughton Kora, Noah Kahan, Parker Gispert, Heartstring Kids, and Leoni Jane Kennedy, with more to be announced.
Mona Bone Jakon and Tea For The Tillerman are released in Super Deluxe Collector’s Edition box sets on December 4.
Listen to the best of Yusuf/Cat Stevens on Apple Music and Spotify.