KEXP Celebrates 75 Years of Woody Guthrie’s Columbia River Songs
On Wednesday, May 25, KEXP will pay tribute to the 75th anniversary of Woody Guthrie’s Columbia River Songs project with live performances, exclusive interviews, and a special edition of The Roadhouse.
Starting at noon PDT, Cheryl Waters will host a live in-studio session with Bill Frisell, Gerald Collier, and John Doe, each performing selections from Guthrie’s Columbia River songbook, which the folk icon wrote as a commissioned songwriter for the Bonneville Power Administration in Portland, Oregon in 1941. These performances will be open to the public and streamed live at KEXP.ORG.
This will be followed at 3:00 p.m. by Kevin Cole interviewing The Roadhouse host Greg Vandy about writing his new book 26 Songs in 30 Days and Guthrie’s experience in the Pacific Northwest.
KEXP’s Guthrie celebration will culminate on The Roadhouse from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Vandy will present the story of the Columbia River project through songs, exclusive interviews, and audio rarities, including the original, minor-key version of “Pastures of Plenty.”
There are a handful of other Guthrie-related events in the Washington area over Memorial Day weekend, including:
- May 26: A Tribute to Woody Guthrie live at Benaroya Hall at 7:30 p.m.
- May 28: Woody Guthrie Day at Grand Coulee Dam, starting at 1:00 p.m.
- May 28: Governor Inslee declared May 28 as “Woody Guthrie Day” in WA.
- May 30: Greg Vandy screens and discusses The Columbia (1949) at SIFF
- May 30: Folklife Guthrie tribute on Fisher Green stage at 3:00 P.M.
