Fullbright, Mraz are in WoodyFest lineup
OKEMAH — The Woody Guthrie Coalition will welcome Guthrie family members, veteran songwriters and festival favorites for the 21st annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival on July 11-15 in Guthrie’s hometown of Okemah.
The Guthrie family will be well-represented at the musical celebration of the folk singer’s 106th birthday. Woody Guthrie’s grandchildren, Annie Guthrie and Cole Quest, who is appearing with his band the City Pickers. Also appearing is Johnny Irion, husband of Sarah Lee Guthrie, according to a news release.
Returning festival favorites include Americana singer-songwriter and astute storyteller Ellis Paul, a longtime Woody Guthrie student and collaborator Joel Rafael; the self-proclaimed “Queen of Oklahoma” and awardwinning singer-songwriter Carter Sampson; Okemah native and Grammy-nominated Americana artist John Fullbright; Okie-grown country folk-rockers The Turnpike Troubadours; and red dirt standard-bearers and psychedelic cowboys the Red Dirt Rangers.
Hit songwriter, soulful folk-pop musician and activist Jason Mraz will make his WoodyFest debut. Other veteran songwriters and first-time festival performers include “Ozark Mountain Soul Roots n Roll” group Opal Agafia & the Sweet Nothings, folk singer and storyteller Willie Watson (a founding member of Old Crow Medicine Show), and Americana cult legend Willis Alan Ramsay.
Affectionately known as WoodyFest, the internationally acclaimed festival continues to pay tribute to Woody Guthrie through songs, communion, scholarship, tradition, storytelling, and songwriting. The Woody Guthrie Folk Festival is organized by the Woody Guthrie Coalition, a nonprofit organization made up entirely of volunteers.
For tickets and more information, go to www. woodyfest.com.