8-10 pm

Location: The Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106

Concert, presentation, Q&A, book signing, CD signing

In advance: $20 (First Person Arts members) / $25 (general public) – $25/$30 after 10/25

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The songs of Woody Guthrie became the soundtrack for one of the most tumultuous periods in American history — times that were never more relevant than they are right now. Guthrie’s granddaughter Sarah Lee Guthrie and her husband Johnny Irion, along with the storytelling folk duo Kim and Reggie Harris, present a concert of songs that inspired and empowered common folk through the hardest of times. An introduction by historian Julia Foulkes and author/scholar Morris Dickstein (Dancing in the Dark: A Cultural History of the Great Depression) and a multimedia presentation bring to life the rich documentary culture that came of age during the 1930’s. Hosted by Gene Shay.

Sarah Lee Guthrie is granddaughter of Woody Guthrie, daughter of Arlo Guthrie, and her husband/partner, Johnny Irion, also comes from a family of artists. The two have appeared together at the Newport Folk Festival; the Philadelphia Folk Festival; and in theaters, listening rooms, performing art centers, and schools nationwide. They tour nationally with Arlo Guthrie, recently accompanying him at a Carnegie Hall concert with Pete Seeger and The Dillards.

Kim and Reggie Harris are Philadelphia born singers, songwriters, storytellers, educators, historical interpreters and cultural advocates.

Morris Dickstein teaches literature and film at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York. He is a Distinguished Professor of English at Queens College and at the Graduate Center, where he is also a senior fellow of the Center for the Humanities. He is a contributing editor of Partisan Review.

Julia Foulkes is the Chair of the Social Sciences department at The New School in New York City. She has served as an advisor for the PBS documentary “Free to Dance” (2001) and has been a recipient of a Rockefeller Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Center for Black Music Research, Columbia College Chicago. She was Scholar-in-Residence at the Rockefeller Archive Center and a Fulbright Senior Scholar affiliated with University of Potsdam.

Gene Shay produces XPN’s weekly folk show and is the founder and original emcee of the Philadelphia Folk Festival. Gene has been deemed “the dean of American folk DJs” by the Philadelphia Daily News and “the grandfather of Philadelphia Folk Music” by The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Jenny Jacobs (director) earned her MA in Theatre from Villanova University and works as a choreographer, director, dramatur, performer, and teacher. She is the Founding Artistic Director of Iris Theatre Company.

An XPN Welcomes event

This project has been supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage
through the Heritage Philadelphia Program.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

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