The opposite of a material man, Del Goldfarb is a portable man. “If you’re not too attached to material things, you’re more portable. It helps you to travel.”

Goldfarb’s song, “Portable Man,” got its name when his then three-year-old daughter Audrey, noticing homeless people with shopping carts in the park, asked, “Dad, why are those people sleeping in the park?” His answer, that they were “portable,” inspired a song that became part of a national campaign against homelessness in 2007.

A unique collaboration between homeless musicians and A-list artists (Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt, Madeleine Peyroux, Pete Seeger, Natalie Merchant, Keb Mo’ and more), the “Give Us Your Poor” CD raised awareness of poverty issues nationwide, and donated many proceeds to front-line organizations.

Founder of the original waterfront blues festival in 1987 (then called Rose City Blues festival), Golfarb has a distinctive Portland legacy. But his witty lyrics and “unhinged” guitar picking are heard worldwide on folk, blues and country radio. He’s been the assistant curator at the Memphis Music Hall of Fame, and has performed in several countries around the world.

This weekend he returns to Portland, coming full circle in his mid-60s, to perform at the Clinton Street Theater with “special guests,” including his now- grown-up daughter, Audrey, a contributor to PRP.FM.

Del and Audrey paid a visit to the PRP studio this morning:

 

Photo: Robert Parish

Photo: Robert Parish

 

 

 

Rebecca Webb
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