‘Re: Generation Tour’ a Guthrie family affair
The Guthrie family has a rich connection to countercultural voices going back to the 1930s.
Woody Guthrie’s protest songs spoke for many down-on-their-luck Americans in the Great Depression. Son Arlo provided one of the biggest anti-war anthems of the Vietnam era in 1967’s “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree.” And in the new millennium, Arlo’s daughter Sarah Lee and son, Abe, have teamed with their dad to keep the message going.
“I guess there are certain traditions that every family passes on through generations,” said New York native Arlo Guthrie via email. “Ours has to do with the kind of people we are and admire, and what we tend to stand for. Justice, liberty, freedom — stuff like that.”
The Guthrie family is on their Re: Generation Tour, coming Friday to the Plaza Live in Orlando (8 p.m., 425 N. Bumby Ave., $36.50-$59.50, plazaliveorlando.org).
Guthrie doesn’t see his family name as the important contribution of his legacy. “Dynasties aren’t all they’re cracked up to be, in my estimation,” he said. “Everyone’s traditions are equally important whether they’re well-known or not.”
Sarah Lee Guthrie, 38, has been performing as part of a musical duo since 2000 with her husband, Johnny Irion. (His greatuncle was Woody Guthrie contemporary and friend, author John Steinbeck.) Abe Guthrie began playing in ’80s rock band Xavier before starting to tour with his father 23 years ago.
“I love working with my kids, mostly because they’re actually good,” said Guthrie, 70. “And on this tour in particular, where we’re all onstage together for the duration of the evening, it’s even better.”
An actor as well as a folk legend, Arlo Guthrie is known for incorporating direct storytelling into his musical performances, such as the 18-minute anecdote that runs through “Alice’s Restaurant.” Such a method of performance doesn’t register as a device to the songwriter. “I just do my thing, and sometimes it’s useful,” he said. The story in the song was adapted into the 1969 movie of the same name starring Guthrie.
Guthrie believes his family has continued to pass on his father’s concerns and fighting spirit beyond his own children. “These days it’s really my grandkids who have inherited the enthusiasm to move ahead,” he said. “After all, it’s really their world at this point. They are the ones who are already dealing with the way things are, and the way it will be.”
He also notes similar issues facing his grandchildren as those he sang about in the ’60s. “These days may seem familiar to me in many ways, but for my grandkids, it’s all new,” he said. “The problems we face as a nation, and a world seem to ebb and flow, like tides.”
But for now Guthrie is focused on his concerts and his connection with his audience. “Our shows end up feeling pretty good,” he said. “We’re a generation of hopers and dreamers, and keeping the dream alive makes an impact that’s hard to measure.”
“Dynasties aren’t all they’re cracked up to be, in my estimation.” Arlo Guthrie