Oklahoma

Woody Guthrie Folk Festival draws musicians and fans back to folk icon’s Oklahoma hometown

Published

2 years ago

July 5, 2024

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.

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma’s dramatic literacy goals now up to elementary schools to implement

Published

8 hours ago

May 30, 2026

Press Room

Oklahoma’s dramatic literacy goals now up to elementary schools to implement

Andrea Eger
| Oklahoma Watch

The Oklahoma Legislature wants a dramatic turnaround in student literacy rates to rival the so-called Mississippi Miracle.

Now, every teacher of kindergarten through third grade, and every reading specialist, instructional coach and principal in elementary schools across the state find themselves on the frontlines of meeting a host of new requirements under the Oklahoma Strong Readers Act – and more importantly, will be trying to achieve measurable success where past efforts have fallen short.

They’ve got the summer break to digest new non-negotiables, as one state official over early literacy describes the new legislative mandates, and to prepare for heightened expectations come August to intervene with struggling readers and to communicate with parents about their child’s challenges.

At Jenks East Elementary School in South Tulsa, Mandy Shimp works by day as the Title I reading specialist for third and fourth grade. On evenings and weekends, she works as a private tutor for children with language-based learning disorders, including dyslexia, drawing on her advanced training as a certified academic language therapist.

When she heard talk of imposing a strict, new requirement to retain – or hold back – the vast majority of Oklahoma students who don’t pass the state reading test by the end of third grade, Shimp went into research mode. She ended up filling a binder with information about the decade-long investment of time and at least $100 million into teacher training that laid the groundwork for Mississippi student literacy rates to climb from second-to-last to top-tier between 2013 and 2024.

Now, she is questioning why Oklahoma lawmakers have imposed this key component of Mississippi’s law, referred to there as the third-grade gate, with just one year for educators to prepare.

“They’re expecting us to build this foundation in a year,” Shimp said. “Teacher training is not an extra — it is the foundation. We can pass laws, mandate screeners, and retain students, but if teachers are not deeply trained in how reading develops, how to teach phonological awareness, how to diagnose reading difficulties, and how to intervene effectively, the legislation will not produce the results people are hoping for.”

During 24 years in education, Shimp has attended more than 100 meetings with parents, teachers and administrators to help decide whether retention or probationary promotion to the next grade level is most appropriate for a child. That firsthand experience has her most troubled by the students who won’t qualify for so-called good-cause exemptions allowed under Senate Bill 1778.

“Students not on IEPs (Individualized Education Programs, which are customized for children with disabilities) can be retained up to two times – once in kindergarten, first or second, and then again in third grade,” Shimp said, shaking her head. “I begged, I begged, I begged, I reached out to legislators – `Please take that out.’

“That is an eighth grader driving,” she said. “That is a kid graduating when they’re 20 years old. It is not effective. If they are not on an IEP, there’s other issues going on.”

Rush to provide state guidance, support

The same person credited by State Superintendent Lindel Fields with devoting hundreds of work hours as the point person for the Oklahoma State Department of Education on SB 1778 as it moved through the legislative process is now leading the state-level work to implement the new law.

“We are going through this with a fine-toothed comb right now, making sure districts will have what they need to implement this in the fall,” said Melissa Ahlgrim, director of literacy policy and programs at OSDE. “A lot of this is not new.”

Because of the comprehensive overhaul of the Strong Readers Act, state education officials are busy updating the OSDE webpage on the subject, writing a special newsletter for statewide distribution, preparing two public webinars scheduled for July, and speaking at summer conferences for educators.

The most urgent requirements, Ahlgrim said, are for all schools to use screeners to identify students’ reading challenges early and to begin reporting to parents several times each school year about their child’s Student Literacy Intervention Plan beginning in August. She said there will also be literacy-related changes in how state funding is calculated in the 2026-27 academic year, but that is a concern for school district administrators.

“The biggest misunderstanding I see is third grade is too late,” Ahlgrim said. “We have to be helping them starting in kindergarten. It is still up to schools to decide how they will best meet the needs of their students, but they must better define the framework. We are defining those fences, so there is a lot of freedom left within those fences, but if you’re way off in another pasture, that won’t work. There are some new non-negotiables.”

Chief among those new non-negotiables is who will be allowed to move on to fourth grade – and who will not.

State test data for 2024-25 show that 21,300 third graders failed to score at basic or above, meaning that under the new law, they could have been held back unless they qualified for an exemption. But that part of SB 1788, as well as a new requirement for schools to give second graders the state’s third-grade reading test unless their parents opt out, won’t kick in until 2027-28.

That new testing mandate is the subject of the most questions and concerns Ahlgrim and her team at the state Education Department are reportedly receiving, and they don’t yet have all of the answers.

“We are still trying to figure that out because it was added later in the (legislative) process,” Ahlgrim said. “They (legislators) had been talking to Indiana, which has done a version of this, but they have an opt-in for second graders to take the third-grade test. One of the platforms the authors had was, `We need to stay the course. We’re not going to see a change in one year.’”

To support the overhaul of the Strong Readers Act, the state budget includes more than $43 million for reading instruction and interventions in schools, $5 million in supplemental funding for teacher training academies this summer, and $5 million in ongoing annual funding for teacher training programs. Additional funding will support reading-at-home initiatives and statewide math and reading screeners, helping educators identify students’ learning needs earlier.

Among those increases is a rapid expansion of Help Elevate Reading Outcomes for Every Student, which the legislature established as a pilot program three years ago.

Ahlgrim’s team is on a hiring spree to expand the literacy instructional team that will be working with 145 of the state’s approximately 1,000 elementary schools to implement science-based reading instruction through professional development and coaching for teachers and principals. They ended 2025-26 with 15 on the team, and are aiming to fill new positions to deploy a team of 30 across the state beginning in August.

HEROES team members said they are most concerned about schools that don’t already have well-articulated systems for identifying students reading below grade level and providing specialized, targeted instruction to help them catch up.

“Like in a car, that check engine light comes on,” said Classie Nolan, who worked 17 years as a teacher and instructional reading coach at Frederick before joining the HEROES team 3 years ago. “What skills are they missing? Where are we having roadblocks for this student? That’s where we provide a diagnostic assessment. We’re not going to ask for a tire when it could be a problem with our transmission. We have to diagnose it and get to the root of the problem.”

Lolly Cole, an Ada-based member of the HEROES team, said teacher training and buy-in by elementary school principals are key to improving student outcomes in reading.

“As a teacher, you get concerned you don’t have the time to balance it all out,” Cole said. “But the great thing I’ve seen from training or classes we’ve worked with, is the reaction of, `Wow, I never learned about phonics and phonemic awareness.’ I understand the concerns – there’s only so much time to balance between family and work. But this is a process. It’s not a quick fix. Most of the teachers I’ve come into contact with are excited. We are all here to make a difference for kids and our communities.”

Ripple Effects

Public school educators aren’t the only ones preparing for the implementation of SB 1778, according to Sandra Valentine, who teaches third grade at Trinity School, a private school in Oklahoma City dedicated to students with learning differences.

“My school will keep growing and more schools like it will keep popping up all around that state,” she said. “If I’m told three times a year my kid might be retained, I’m going to be a momma bear and say, `Where can I take my kid so they won’t be 19 when they graduate?’”

When Ryan Walters, a political lightning rod, entered office as state superintendent three years ago, Valentine walked away from public schools after teaching third grade for 12 years combined at Little Axe and Tecumseh.

Still, she thinks about returning to work in a public school one day, and she continues to visit the state Capitol to advocate for public school policies she feels are best for the public school students in her own family, her youngest daughter and six grandchildren.

“I have thought about it, but Ryan Walters’ policies are still there,” Valentine said. “We have not changed anything, really.”

Her school is growing so rapidly that its kindergarten-through-third-grade classes now require a larger building. That means working through the start of summer break. Sorting through the contents of her classroom this week, Valentine said the tote bags, stickers and large painted poster emblazoned with her personal motto, “Literacy is non-negotiable,” will all certainly make the move to her new classroom.

“We have a lot of state officials tour here, wanting to know what we’re doing. (State Senator) Adam Pugh, when he came to my room, asked where my painted poster is – because he had heard of it,” she said, with a laugh.

The difference-makers, Valentine said, are that all teachers must have specialized training or certification in reading instruction, every student attends reading therapy class daily, and Trinity students aren’t subjected to the state’s high-stakes standardized test.

“We are meeting them where they’re at,” she said. “Not third-grade level, but working backward to where they are. Now, I’m no longer teaching to a test and freely teaching to the needs of my students. Why can’t we just put this in a public school?”

Valentine previously worked as a consultant to help improve schools’ academic results by targeting students who were just shy of meeting the benchmark for reading proficiency with state test prep.

“It’s all a numbers game,” Valentine said. “When our lawmakers say our kids in public schools are not proficient in reading, it’s not like a third-grade child is not reading Dick and Jane. It is an 8- or 9-year-old having to listen to 15 minutes of instructions right off the bat, then be on a computer for two to three hours, navigating passages that are 200-300 words long – sometimes on subject matter they have no familiarity with – and answering 60 questions. If they’re not passing after all that, then that’s considered not reading on grade level.”

Oklahoma Watch, at oklahomawatch.org, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that covers public-policy issues facing the state.

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Oklahoma

President Donald Trump endorses an Oklahoma gubernatorial candidate

Published

19 hours ago

May 29, 2026

Press Room

President Donald Trump endorses an Oklahoma gubernatorial candidate

President Donald Trump posted a statement on Truth Social:

“It is my Great Honor to endorse MAGA Warrior, Mike Mazzei, who is running for Governor of Oklahoma, a State which I love, and WON BIG — All 77 out of 77 Counties in 2016, 2020, and 2024, and with the Highest Popular Vote Count, EVER!

As a successful Businessman, and former Chairman of the State Senate Finance Committee, and later, as Oklahoma’s Secretary of Budget, Mike knows the AMERICA FIRST Policies required to Grow our Economy, Create GREAT Jobs, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Promote MADE IN THE U.S.A., and Unleash American Energy DOMINANCE. As your next Governor, Mike will fight tirelessly to Support our Amazing Farmers and Ranchers, Keep our Border SECURE, Stop Migrant Crime, Ensure LAW AND ORDER, Strengthen our Military/Veterans, and Defend our always under siege Second Amendment.

Mike Mazzei has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Governor of Oklahoma — HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma State Live Score for NCAA Baseball Regional Opener vs. USC Upstate

Published

1 day ago

May 29, 2026

Press Room

Oklahoma State Live Score for NCAA Baseball Regional Opener vs. USC Upstate

The Oklahoma State Cowboys and the USC Upstate Spartans meet in the first game of the Tuscaloosa Regional on Friday.

The Cowboys (37-20) and the Spartans (33-28) have never met on the diamond. Both enter the game on hot streaks. Oklahoma State didn’t win the Big 12 Tournament, but the Cowboys have won 11 of their last 14 games. The Spartans won the Big South Conference Tournament champions and have won 14 of their last 16 games.

The game is the first of two in Tuscaloosa. The second game features the host school, Alabama, facing Alabama State. The winners of the first two games will meet Saturday for a trip to the regional final on Sunday.

Oklahoma State fans can keep up with the game here, including lineups and inning by inning details on the game. Check out Oklahoma State On SI’s NCAA Tournament Central for everything related to the Tuscaloosa Regional.

Game Details

Oklahoma State head coach Josh Holliday. | STEVE SISNEY / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Oklahoma State vs. USC Upstate

Time: 1 p.m. central

TV: ESPN+ (Derek Jones & Jared Mitchell on the call). NOTE: TV is subject to change without notice. Game times and TV for games played after Friday will be announced.

Radio: Cowboy Radio Network & The Varsity Network App/93.7 KSPI-FM or okla.state/GetVarsity (Rex Holt on the call)