By Riley Fontana
Hometown Weekly Reporter
The Westwood Public Library was honored to host Howie Newman and his musical stylings about baseball. The concert was a great time for everyone in attendance and a very educational experience about baseball history.
Newman is an ex-sports writer who decided to bring together his love of baseball and music to start writing songs about groundbreaking moments in the sport. Throughout his set he shared stories and trivia from days of baseball past. The audience really enjoyed the guitar tunes and catchy lyrics, with a few young patrons dancing along.
One of the songs detailed the heartbreaking trade of Johnny Damon to the New York Yankees. “Why Did You Go, Johnny Damon?” was slotted first on the lineup for the night. Those in the audience who remembered the trade found humor in the song. Before each tune Newman would share stories of the game or player he was going to sing about, and he spoke about Damon helping the Red Sox take the 2004 World Series and end the 86 year drought.
If there wasn’t a story to tell between songs, there was trivia. The audience loved learning new things about certain players and historic games. He also talked about his bumper sticker campaigns about getting rid of the designated hitter rule and removing astroturf from stadiums. He shared his song “AstroTurf” written about the then Houston Colt 45s stadium requiring fake grass. His campaign around designated hitters got so much attention the sticker is in the Baseball Hall of Fame and some of his songs are in the archive.
Newman finished the night off with a rendition of “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” and discussing his memorabilia collection with the audience. Young members of the audience loved learning about baseball before their time and hearing the stories Newman had to share. Many left excited to share the songs with family members and friends.
Howie Newman is still writing and releasing music, not all about baseball. His most recent EP was released a few months ago, and he is always happy to share his songs and stories. His concert at the Westwood Public Library was a great time for everyone in attendance.
