Loudon Wainwright III kicked off our 2026 Down Home Concert Series with a fantastic evening of songs and stories. An enthusiastic audience laughed together (a LOT), cried together (because we know it’s so more than “Just a Cat”), and heard songs from across his half-century career. After the show, Wainwright warmly greeted fans, smiling as he heard about their favorite songs and favorite moments from his many years of recording and touring.
Born in Durham, Wainwright studied acting in college but dropped out to partake in the Summer of Love in San Francisco, where he wrote his first song in 1968 (“Edgar,” about a lobsterman in Rhode Island). His career took off when his song “Dead Skunk” became a Top 20 hit in 1972. From there, he’s written two dozen albums of frank and often funny songs and performed live shows that leave audiences both challenged and charged up.
His songs have since been recorded by the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Johnny Cash, Earl Scruggs, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, his son Rufus Wainwright, and Mose Allison, among others, and have been used in movies and theater. The Grammy-award winner even returns to acting sometimes, with roles in the TV show “M*A*S*H” and films including “The Aviator,” “Big Fish,” “Knocked Up,” and “The 40-Year-Old Virgin.”
Photos by Todd Gunsher
