Viv Lees in association with Melbourne Festival and Philip and Caroline Cornish presents
On the 100th anniversary of Woody Guthrie’s birth, Billy Bragg brings the songs of the folk music pioneer to life in a rare acoustic show.
When the first Mermaid Avenue album was released in 1998 it introduced a whole new generation to the songs of Woody Guthrie, the US folk singer-songwriter who has been hailed as one of the most important and influential musical artists of the 20th century. Comprised of never-before-heard songs plucked from Guthrie’s lost manuscripts, the Mermaid Avenue project saw Billy Bragg and country rockers Wilco gave riotous life to this man and his passionate, mischievous, political and romantic music.
In honour of Guthrie’s 100th birthday, these lost songs from the ‘dust bowl troubadour’ are brought to life by Billy Bragg – the rightful heir to Guthrie’s alt-folk tradition. Playing acoustically and drawing from the Guthrie archive, Bragg creates an intimate portrait of this curious, beguiling and sometimes contradictory icon.
Celebratory, honest and for one night only, this is an unmissable tribute to a songsmith whose works have left an indelible imprint in music history.
