OKEMAH, OK (June 15, 2020) — The Woody Guthrie Coalition is elated to host a free virtual festival for the 23rd annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival. Guthrie family members, veteran songwriters, & festival favorites will join the celebration of the folk singer’s 108th birthday, with performances from the Guthrie Family, Jason Mraz, Graham Nash, Mary Gauthier, Glen Hansard, Branjae, BJ Barham, Ellis Paul, Jabee Williams, Jaimee Harris, Jamie Lin Wilson, Joel Rafael, John Fullbright, & Samantha Crain, plus more than 50 songwriters from throughout Oklahoma & the United States.
The Guthrie family will again be well-represented with performances from Arlo Guthrie (Woody Guthrie’s son); Annie Guthrie (Woody Guthrie’s granddaughter); Krishna Guthrie (Woody Guthrie’s great-grandson); Serena Guthrie (Woody Guthrie’s great-granddaughter); Cole Rotante (Woody Guthrie’s grandson); & Cathy Guthrie (Woody Guthrie’s granddaughter) alongside Amy Nelson (Willie Nelson’s daughter) as the duo Folk Uke.
Returning festival favorites include jazz, blues, & folk duo Miss Brown to You; multi-instrumentalist & Women of WoodyFest producer Susan Herndon; Cimarron Songbird singer-songwriter Monica Taylor; traveling troubadour Butch Hancock; blues & folk duo The Burns Sisters; red-dirt banner carriers & psychedelic cowboys the Red Dirt Rangers; & folk & jazz maestro David Amram.
Making their WoodyFest debut include Irish vocalist, songwriter, & guitarist Glen Hansard; award-winning Grand Ole Opry singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier; award-winning singer-songwriter Raye Zaragoza; & Emmy-award winning hip-hop artist & community activist Jabee Williams.
Educational panels & workshops include Music That Matters moderated by Woody Guthrie archivist Barry Ollman with Glen Hansard, Mary Gauthier, Dr. Sunu Kodumthara, & more; Ellis Paul’s annual Songwriting Workshop; Native Music of Oklahoma moderated by Sterlin Harjo & Dr. Hugh Foley with Samantha Crain, Jula Harjo, Kylee Robison, Johnny Akeketa, Nokosee Fields, & K-OSS; & more.
The free digital celebration of the acclaimed singer, songwriter, poet, & activist will take place on Tuesday, July 14 (Woody’s birthday), Saturday, July 18, & Sunday, July 19, with panels occurring on Friday, July 17 & Saturday, July 18. Streaming will be available on AppleTV, Roku, YouTube, Facebook Live, & more. Donations will be accepted for future programming with a portion given to the Red Dirt Relief Fund & the Huntington’s Disease Society of America. For streaming information, please visit woodyfest.com/watch.
The internationally acclaimed festival honoring the legendary folk singer pays tribute to Woody Guthrie through songs, scholarship, tradition, storytelling, & songwriting. The festival is made possible, in part, by a grant provided by the Oklahoma Arts Council with additional partnership with the Kirkpatrick Foundation, COOP Ale Works, Philip E. Landers Foundation, Oklahoma Humanities, BancFirst, & Pilgrim Media Group. Please visit woodyfest.com for more information.
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