Oklahoma
Woody Guthrie Folk Festival draws musicians and fans back to folk icon’s Oklahoma hometown
Even 35 years later, Monica Taylor still remembers her first trip out to The Farm, the Stillwater homestead now recognized as the birthplace of Oklahoma’s Red Dirt music.
“The first thing I thought was, ‘Oh my God, I’ve found my people,’” the Perkins singer-songwriter recalled with a laugh. “All the picking, all the (song) circles, oh, wow, it was just amazing. That was about 1989 or so … and ever since then, those people have been my family.”
If the Oklahoma songwriters’ scene is a big family, the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in Okemah is one of its biggest yearly reunions. Affectionately known as WoodyFest, the long-running event brings together dozens of Sooner State musicians, along with players from far and wide who admire the iconic folk troubadour the fest is named for.
“There are so many people there that you see. … With the artists, there’s some that you join on stage, some that you just chat with backstage and some that you pick with all night long in the parking lot,” Taylor said. “But it’s not just the artists: People come from all over the country — actually, from all over the world; there are always people who come from Europe, Australia and Canada, for sure — to enjoy every single day and every moment of the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival. And they are family.”
Dubbed “The Cimarron Songbird” by the early WoodyFest staples the late Bob Childers and Jimmy LaFave, Taylor has become a fixture at the 27th annual event, playing 25 editions so far. The recent Restless Spirit Award honoree will join fellow WoodyFest legacy artists Ellis Paul and Joel Rafael in performing at this year’s opening-night concert, “Twenty-Seven Julys in Okemah: Memories of WoodyFest,” at 7 p.m. July 10 at Okemah’s historic Crystal Theatre.
In 2021, Taylor embarked with her husband, fellow musician Travis Fite, on recording her current project, the multi-volume “Red Dirt Ramble.” Paying tribute to the pioneers of Red Dirt music, the collection features 55 guest vocalists and musicians, and she’ll be playing selections from Vol. 1 during her WoodyFest opening-night set. She’s also planning to perform a few songs from her early WoodyFest days with the Farm Couple, her former duo with the late Patrick Williams.
“There is not a line, really, between the audience and the artist, and the artists make lifetime fans and friends at WoodyFest. And it’s a beautiful thing for everybody,” said Taylor, who will host on July 15 her Annual Post Woodyfest Concert featuring Don Conoscenti and Tim Easton at the Old Church Center in Perkins.
Organized by the nonprofit Woody Guthrie Coalition, WoodyFest 2024 is scheduled for July 10-14 at multiple venues in Guthrie’s hometown of Okemah. Here’s what you need to know about the 27th Annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival:
Who was Woody Guthrie?
Legendary singer-songwriter Woodrow Wilson “Woody” Guthrie was born on July 14, 1912, in Okemah. He would have been 112 years old this year.
The festival annually takes place on and around his July 14 birthday in his Okfuskee County hometown, which he once described as “one of the singingest, square dancingest, drinkingest, yellingest, preachingest, walkingest, talkingest, laughingest, cryingest, shootingest, fist fightingest, bleedingest, gamblingest, gun, club and razor carryingest of our ranch towns and farm towns because it blossomed out into one of our first Oil Boom Towns.”
Guthrie died Oct. 3, 1967, at the Creedmoor State Hospital in Queens, New York, of Huntington’s disease, a degenerative genetic neurological disorder. He was just 55 years old.
But in his relatively short life, he wrote prose, poetry and thousands of songs — including “This Land is Your Land,” “Oklahoma Hills” and “Pastures of Plenty” — and influenced a wide range of musicians, from Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger to Lead Belly and Guthrie’s own son, Arlo Guthrie.
More than half a century after Guthrie’s death, the iconic singer-songwriter’s influence continues to grow: He has been cited as an inspiration by the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Ani DiFranco, Joan Baez and many more. He was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2006.
Who will be playing WoodyFest 2024?
Along with the trio playing the July 10 opening-night WoodyFest retrospective, this year’s festival will feature more than 50 musical acts performing at the Crystal Theatre, Rocky Road Tavern, Bound for Glory Stage at the Hen House restaurant and Pastures of Plenty outdoor stage.
The lineup features Guthrie’s granddaughter Annie Guthrie as well Guthrie great-granddaughter Serena Guthrie.
Oklahomans on this year’s WoodyFest roster include the Red Dirt Rangers, Ken Pomeroy, John Fullbright, Carter Sampson, Travis Linville, Selby Minner, Gypsy Twang, Jacob Tovar, Jared Deck, Jared Tyler, Randy Crouch, Susan Herndon, Melissa Hembree, Cassie Latshaw, Peggy Johnson, Miss Brown to You, RT Valine, Joe Baxter, Kierston White and Nellie Clay.
The lineup also features David Amram, Beat Root Revival, Butch Hancock, Jaimee Harris, The Deslondes, James McMurtry, Jamie Lin Wilson, Opal Agafia, Crys Matthews and Willi Carlilse.
Several daytime song swaps are on the schedule for this year’s festival, plus the WoodyFest House Band — Norman guitar hero Terry “Buffalo” Ware, bassist Uncle Don Morris, accordion and keyboard player T.Z. Wright and drummer Michael McCarty — will play their new House Band Happy Hour each day July 11-13.
Hosted by Dan Martin, the open mic is another daily festival highlight: It’s set for 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Rocky Road Tavern.
WoodyFest 2024 will include camping, poetry, Children’s Festival and more
WoodyFest 2024 will include two longstanding traditions that raise money for the Huntington’s Disease Society of America: Mary Jo’s Pancake Breakfast at 8:30 a.m. July 13 at the Rocky Road Tavern and the event-closing Hoot for Huntington’s at noon July 14 at the Crystal Theatre.
This year’s free WoodyFest Children’s Festival from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 13 at Okemah City Park will include harmonica instruction, a water slide, games, storytelling and a children’s stage. The Red Dirt Rangers and the winners of the Children’s Festival songwriting contest will perform.
Also on July 13, the Woody Guthrie Poets will perform at 11 a.m. at the Okfuskee County History Center, while the Native Spirit Collection Art Show, hosted by the Thlopthlocco Tribal Town, will be on view from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. inside The Grind coffee shop.
WoodyFest is famous for its campfire jams. Camping will be available at the Okemah Round-Up Club Arena starting at 3 p.m. July 5. All sites are first come, first served, and limited camper hookups are available.
What panels and workshops will be presented at WoodyFest 2024?
WoodyFest annually includes a slate of free educational panels, with experts and activists covering timely topics as well as Guthrie’s life and legacy. This year’s sessions include:
- “Something to Say: Making Music that Matters,” with Barry Ollman
- “Legends and Legacy — Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame Induction,” with Deana McCloud
- “Secrets from the Woody Guthrie Archive,” with Guthrie granddaughter Anna Canoni and Rafael
- “Lead Belly’s Contributions to American Roots Music,” with Alvin Singh
- “Struggles and Victories: United Mine Workers of America,” with Tom Breiding
- “Native American Music of Oklahoma,” with Hugh Foley
- “I Didn’t Want to Tell You: Mental Health and Musicians,” with Chad Cochran
- “Growing Up with Woody,” with Tamara Logsdon Hawkinson
- “Arlo Guthrie’s Guthrie Center,” with Annie Guthrie and Shivadas (Mo) Guthrie
In addition, the festival will feature songwriting workshops with Paul and Canoni.
How will the free WoodyFest app and shuttle help attendees navigate the festival?
Last year’s debut of the WoodyFest mobile app was successful, especially when Oklahoma’s unpredictable weather forced organizers to move the event’s outdoor performances at the last minute, so the coalition is making the app available again in the Google Play store.
Plus, festivalgoers who have mobility issues or just want to beat the heat can catch a ride on the event’s new free daytime shuttle service, which will make continuous loops among the festival venues, stopping at each one in 30-minute intervals.
How much are WoodyFest tickets and how can people get them?
WoodyFest offers several free panels, activities and concerts, including all indoor daytime performances on July 11.
Tickets to the opening-night concert on July 10 are $30 in advance or $35 at the door of the Crystal Theatre.
Music lovers ages 17 and older will need wristbands to enter the Crystal Theatre and the Hen House’s Bound for Glory stage July 12 and 13 as well as to attend all evening performances at the Pastures of Plenty.
Attendees 16 and younger will be admitted free of charge at the Pastures of Plenty if accompanied by an adult.
Single-day tickets for July 12 or 13 are $60. Passes for the Pastures of Plenty on July 11 are $40.
Weekend and three-day passes range from $100 to $250.
All passes purchased in advance must be exchanged for wristbands at the all-ages festival.
Tickets and information are available at woodyfest.com.
The Tennessee Volunteers played one of their more important games of the college football season on Saturday night, as they played one of their most important and most beneficial home games of the season, as the Tennessee Vols played against the Oklahoma Sooners. This is a game that the Vols were expected to win, but that was not the case for the game outcome, as the Vols walked away from the game with a loss. The Tennessee Volunteers lost the game in front of their home crowd, and this was their second loss in program history with their black uniforms. This is something that hasn’t been very common, but even through those superstitions, things still can go south.
This team didn’t show up the way that many hoped they would, but even in that same breath, the Oklahoma Sooners didn’t either. However, the Sooners showed up more than the Vols did, as the Vols walked away with a loss.
This performance caught the attention of many, including one of the main players who used to play for the Tennessee Volunteers. That player is Daniel Bituli, who is known for not keeping his thoughts to himself, as he isn’t afraid of letting his thoughts be known. This is something that has been noticed throughout the season with Bituli, as he made it clear how he feels during the game.
Here is what the Tennessee fan and former player had to say about the Vols during the game against the Oklahoma Sooners.
Volsfootball1217 0180 / Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel, Knoxville News Sentinel via Imagn Content Services, LLC
“Respectfully, some of our guys are acting soft asf.”
While this team has lost three games it is safe to say that some expectations has still been exceeded. Let’s remember that the Vols lost a lot of players to the transfer portal. One of the players being Nico Iamaleava, who was all but confirmed to be the starting QB for the Vols this season.
The Vols have been looking to improve what they have built, but the real work has yet to be finished, as this is a young team with a llot of returning pieces. The Vols have an exciting future, but they will need to continue to get better, and in the opinion of former Tennessee Volunteers linebacker Daniel Bituli, the Vols need to fix some of these acts that they have been having such as acting soft.
This is a team with a lot of positives, and some negatives to go with it, but this season if far from over as the Tennessee Vols have three regular season games and a post season bowl game ahead of them.
Tennessee football didn’t need as many points as its high-scoring offense often produces at Neyland Stadium. But the Vols needed more than they got against an aggressive, turnover-forcing Oklahoma defense Nov. 1.
The upset result was disastrous for a team seemingly on course for back-to-back berths in the 12-team College Football Playoff.
The No. 14 Vols (6-3, 3-3 SEC) can forget the playoffs. And they might want to shelf those Dark Mode uniforms given the final score – 33-27 Oklahoma’s way.
The all-black look wasn’t even the oddest attire on this evening. Tate Sandell was wearing as tiny a pair of shorts as you will ever see on a football field when he helped kick Tennessee out of the playoffs with field goals of 55, 55, 51 and 40 yards.
Sandell kicked the longest. But Oklahoma’s elite defense kicked hard, too.
The No. 18 Sooners (7-2, 3-2), who lead the SEC in fewest points and yards allowed per game, intercepted two passes when usually reliable Joey Aguilar threw into double coverage. Those interceptions and returns set up two of Sandell’s field goals.
But Oklahoma’s first score was more memorable. Aguilar fumbled when struck by the Sooners’ fierce pass rush, and R. Mason Thomas returned the recovery 71 yards for a touchdown. The score was costly since Thomas apparently strained an hamstring and was unable to return.
That set the tone of a game in where the defenses frequently had the upper-hand even though both teams had to weather the loss of multiple defenders to injury.
Oklahoma needed every bit of its kicking and defense to keep its playoff hopes alive, because its offense little support for much of the game.
Never mind how many opponents rolled up so many points and so much yardage against UT’s usually vulnerable defense. That same defense wasn’t on its heels so much against the Sooners.
The Sooners’ pedestrian offense consisted mainly of Washington State transfer John Mateer scrambling, running and completing short passes.
That worked well in the first few weeks of the season before Mateer broke a bone in his throwing hand against Auburn. He rushed back to action just 17 days after surgery but hasn’t been nearly as effective since. But he managed to lead the Sooners on a touchdown drive in the third quarter.
That was enough the way Oklahoma defense was knocking the Vols around.
Coach Josh Heupel’s high-flying offense hasn’t run into a defense of this caliber all season. The Sooners repeatedly delivered jarring highlight hits even when they didn’t force a turnover. And they didn’t tire despite all the time they were on the field in the first half when Tennessee outgained Oklahoma 255 to 90 yards.
But yardage didn’t matter as much in this game as game-turning defensive plays. Finaly, Tennessee managed one of its own.
Linebacker Edwin Spillman intercepted an ill-advised Mateer pass with 4:18 to play, and Oklahoma threatening to run out the clock.
Aguilar ran and passed the Vols from their 45 to the Oklahoma 15 before throwing his third touchdown pass of the game – 15 yards to Mike Matthews. That left the Vols down by two points with 1:56 to play.
An onside kick took a tricky bounce, but Oklahoma recovered. One play later, Xavier Robinson ran 43 yards to the 1-yard-line, where he thought it would be a good idea to go down and run more clock. Mateer thought differently and ran over the goal line on the next play to clinch the victory.
The Vols left the field in their Dark Mode uniforms on the darkest regular-season night of the past two seasons. And, as what was left of the Tennessee crowd left, too, it probably was missing those traditional orange and white uniforms more than ever.
John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com.
The margin for error is gone for both Oklahoma and Tennessee.
The No. 14-ranked Volunteers host the No. 18 Sooners on Saturday with both teams looking to stay alive in the College Football Playoff race.
Both programs are 6-2 overall. All losses have come in SEC play, meaning the winner on Saturday night at Neyland Stadium will still need help to get to Atlanta. But whoever emerges victorious will be in a great position when the season’s first CFP rankings drop on Tuesday.
Brent Venables’ defense will have its hands full yet again, this time facing Josh Heupel’s offense one week after matching wits with Lane Kiffin.
If the Sooners win these three matchups, they’ll have a great chance to notch another legendary win in Knoxville.
Tennessee’s defense isn’t quite Alex Grinch’s “Speed D”, but Tim Banks’ unit will look familiar to OU fans.
Given time to work in the pocket, opposing quarterbacks have shredded the Tennessee secondary.
The Vols are allowing 266.3 passing yards per game this season, which enters the week ranked 122nd in the FBS.
Teams have been able to throw and score on Tennessee, but not due to a lack of pressure.
The Volunteers average 3.4 sacks per game, which ranks sixth in the country.
Dominic Bailey and Joshua Josephs have done most of the damage for Tennessee this year. Bailey leads the team with 4.5 sacks, and he’s closely followed by four sacks from Josephs.
True freshman Ryan Fodje performed admirably last week for the Sooners. When Derek Simmons went down, he bumped from guard to right tackle to make his first-career start after working for just two days at tackle.
Across from him, fellow true freshman Michael Fasusi protects John Mateer’s blind side.
Saturday night, Fasusi and Fodje will face a massive test.
Not only will they be tasked with blocking productive pass rushers, they’ll have to do it in a deafening environment.
Regardless of whether Heath Ozaeta or Eddy Pierre-Louis starts beside Fasusi, the Sooners will start a pair of underclassmen on the left side of the line.
If OU’s line can hold up on the edge, then Mateer should have a clear enough picture to take advantage of Tennessee’s secondary.
If not, it could be a long night for Oklahoma.
For their part, the Volunteer offensive line has kept quarterback Joey Aguilar clean.
The Vols are 20th in sacks allowed per game, which has helped the offense rank third in first downs per game, third in passing offense and second in scoring offense in 2025.
Oklahoma needs star defensive end R Mason Thomas to have a good night. Add in a strong showing from Taylor Wein, who continues to grow into the season, and the Sooners could put real pressure on Aguilar.
Wein ranks second in the SEC with 11 tackles for loss and he has 3.5 sacks through eight games.
Lance Heard has started every game at left tackle for the Volunteers this year, and while Venables moves his defensive linemen all over the field, Wein will get plenty of chances to battle Heard on Saturday night.
Tennessee defensive back Colton Hood missed time against Kentucky due to a reported calf injury.
He was not listed on the availability report this week, signaling he should be good to go on Saturday.
Isaiah Sategna, Deion Burks and Javonnie Gibson will hope to test Hood and see if there are any lingering effects from the injury.
Burks and Sategna’s speed could be crucial if Hood is half a step slow, assuming Mateer delivers the ball on time on Saturday night.
If the OU quarterback can’t shake off last week’s poor showing against Mississippi, it might not matter who the Vols have in the secondary.
Mateer missed plenty of open receivers in last week’s loss to the Rebels, something he hopes to make right at Neyland Stadium.
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