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The last show as told by Pierre Huet

Black and white photograph of the performers Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee sitting on chairs in the centre of a stage, one playing guitar and singing, one with an harmonica, behind microphones. The space is dimly lit.

Image: Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee at The New Penelope, 1968. Daniel Kieffer (photographer),  copyright 1968. Courtesy of Daniel Kieffer

 

Credit: ARCMTL collection. Interview was conducted in Montreal on May 18, 2021 with Pierre Huet by Louis Rastelli, Director of ARCMTL.
Duration: 0:18 min

During an interview with ARCMTL, a nostalgic Pierre Huet, well-known Quebec songwriter, recounts The New Penelope’s closing concert and its unexpected ending. 

Here is the English translation of the original interview held in French.

Transcription:

Pierre Huet: On the last night, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, they were the ones playing. Then, at some point, they left, got off the stage. They were in the audience, out on the street and I think there were like two hundred of us walking [with them]. They went around the whole block to come back into the club. Uh… They closed the Penelope.