As part of their U.S. and Canada tour, The Simon & Garfunkel Story performed their two hour, 28-song set at Zoellner Arts Center on Jan. 28.
The Simon & Garfunkel Story is put on by actors portraying Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon who are accompanied by a band. The songs are performed as they were written chronologically to reflect time periods in the artist’s lives.
Simon & Garfunkel were a folk rock duo and one of the best selling music groups of the 20th century.
Mark Wilson, executive director of Zoellner Arts Center, said he was excited to have the chance to rebook this performance from the original date last year which was canceled due to COVID-19.
“Personally I love the music of Simon & Garfunkel and I know a lot of folks who are in my age range that love the music and have learned so much about them,” Wilson said.
George Clements is playing Paul Simon on the tour and has been a part of the performance group since 2019.
“When I started, I was with them for about six months until they had to shut down,” Clements said.
Clements said he is excited to tour and perform again. He has been on the U.S. and Canada tour since the beginning of 2022.
His love for music and Simon & Garfunkel started at a young age as Clements said one of the first albums he got for Christmas was Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sounds of Silence.”
For seven years, Clements was part of a bluegrass band called The Lonely Heartstring Band but they decided to take a break. During that break, a teacher from Berklee College of Music gave him the casting call for The Simon & Garfunkel Story.
He auditioned and got the gig. Now, he performs alongside Brendan Smith who plays Art Garfunkel.
Sammy Haggert, ‘24, went to see the performance at Zoellner and said she was glad students could attend for free.
Haggert said she didn’t know much about Simon & Garfunkel, but decided to go see what it was about.
“I didn’t know what to expect at first, but it turned out to be super cool and felt like a concert,” Haggert said. “I also liked how they got the crowd involved.”
Clements said one of his favorite songs to sing during the show is “America” because it depicts both Simon’s life and the tour.
“America” tells the story of Simon driving outside his hometown to see what the rest of the country looks like.
Clements said he also enjoys performing numbers without the band.
“There’s something about those stripped down numbers where it’s just two voices and an acoustic guitar,” Clements said. “It’s really beautiful.”
Wilson said he was also excited for the performance to come to Lehigh and to see Baker Hall filled for the first time since his start at Lehigh in 2020.
In the past months, Zoellner’s biggest audience reached 275 people. For this performance, Baker Hall was filled with 595 people.
Along with the undergraduate population, graduate students are now able to attend shows for free, which resulted in the high attendance.
The Simon & Garfunkel story tour will wrap up in the middle of April, ending in Niagara Falls.
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