Credit: Bahram Foroughi

On Friday, June 13, Woodstock, N.Y.’s newly renovated Bearsville Theater welcomed the great blues and folk rock guitarist Jorma Kaukonen for an intimate and powerful solo acoustic set. The great 84-year-old vocal and instrumental talent’s performance featured an overview of the many styles and songs he’s pioneered through his many years at the forefront of americana  and improvisational music, including Hot Tuna selections “I See the Light,” “Serpent of Dreams” and “Sea Child” and Jefferson airplane’s unforgettable “Trial by Fire.”

In the latter half of the evening, Kaukonen dug into his true expertise with a string of essentials from the blues canon, for which he welcomed support from John Hulburt. While sharing the spotlight, the artist exhibited the affecting power of his lyrical and earthy guitar style, pouring his spirit into rousing renditions of Reverend Gary Davis’ “Death Don’t Have No Mercy,” Blind Willie McTell’s “Wee Midnight Hours” and Lead Belly’s “Take This Hammer.” Kaukonen concluded the show with a potent political message charged by his thorough understanding of American folk song’s activist tradition, igniting the crowd with Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” and Bob Dylan’s “Chimes of Freedom.”

Get an inside look at Kaukonen’s performance from Friday in the gallery below, courtesy of photographer Bahram Foroughi. Find more information on Kaukonen’s live itinerary at jormakaukonen.com and read up on his set from Saturday’s inaugural Hudson River Music Festival here.