Music figures in both programs at The Church this weekend, but only one will involve a performance. The Knowledge Friday series will bring Tom Freston to the Sag Harbor cultural center on Friday at 6 p.m. to talk about his life and experiences as captured in his book “Unplugged: Adventures From MTV to Timbuktu.”
Freston traveled through Europe and Asia before starting a successful clothing export business in Afghanistan and India. When he returned to the United States, he helped launch MTV and brought it to international fame in more than 150 countries. He ran MTV Networks for 17 years, overseeing Nickelodeon, VH1, Comedy Central, and other networks. From there he went on to become the co-president of Viacom, running Paramount Pictures, Famous Music Publishing, and Simon and Schuster.
He is a board member of Imagine Entertainment and a board member emeritus of both the American Museum of Natural History and the think tank New America. He is the board chairman of the One Campaign, an anti-poverty advocacy organization focused on Africa.
Questions will be taken after the talk, and copies of “Unplugged” will be available for purchase and signing. Tickets are $10, free for members, who are required to R.S.V.P.
Jim Windolf, a journalist and widely recognized Beatles expert, will be at The Church on Sunday afternoon at 3 to talk about his new book, “Where the Music Had to Go,” with Susan Morrison, the author of “Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live.” They will be joined for a performance by Nellie McKay, a singer-songwriter who has appeared both on Broadway and off.
Part dual biography and part cultural history, Windolf’s book is a portrait of how two musical luminaries, the Beatles and Bob Dylan, actively shaped each other’s work. Full of little-known anecdotes and revelations, including an account of every interaction between Dylan and the Beatles, the book also includes an exclusive interview with Paul McCartney.
Reviewing the book for The New York Times, Francine Prose said, “I was fully persuaded and consistently engaged by the connections that Windolf makes.” Of the book’s account of a trip Dylan made to Lennon’s childhood home in 2009, she added, “There’s something very moving about it that makes us feel a sense of gratitude for the work of these extraordinary talents — and to Jim Windolf for putting it all together.”
Tickets are $25, $22 for members.
