Whoo-hoo! We are bound for WoodyFest, the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival from July 14th through the 18th.

The Music Fog crew hits the road to Okemah, OK for immersion in the 13th Annual Tribute event dedicated to Woody in his hometown. From what we hear, it is a low key affair, free to the public, with lots of bonding happening around the music and that wonderful small town ethos which makes everyone feel welcome.

The line-up is awesome, what with Arlo Guthrie leading the charge, along with Jimmy Lafave (and Rad), Stonehoney, John Fullbright, Sam Baker, and David Jacobs-Strain, among lots of others.

When the festival was founded in 1998, the Woody Guthrie Coalition commissioned a local Creek Indian to sculpt a bronze statue of Guthrie and his guitar with the well-known inscription: "This machine kills fascists." It now proudly stands on Broadway, the main drag in Okemah. The Music Fog crew is always looking at the stickers and slogans on the gig bags, caps and road cases of the musicians that come to our environs to be videoed. Duly noted when we taped David Jacobs-Strain at the Cherokee Creek Music Festival in May. If I might say, Woody would have approved.

David grew up in a progressive community, Eugene, OR, where the twin thrusts of cultural change and environmental consciousness were seemingly part of his birthright. He sees a direct correlation between his upbringing and the democracy inherent in folk music. He comments, “I’m really into hand-made culture—and real people making real music. The voice. One guitar. Even at its simplest, folk music, like the blues, has always been a vehicle for expressing your own situation, whether as an individual or a community. There’s such power in that.” Again, Woody would approve.

David's third CD is Terraplane Angel, produced by the legendary Ray Kennedy. It lives in a potent booyah of blues, roots rock, fingerstyle guitar work and slide, which is nothing short of mesmerizing to watch. He has been touring again with Boz Scaggs, wow-ponder that! What a simpatico night's entertainment! Here is David, with Bob Beach on harp, and Chris Ayer with back up vox on the tune "Neon Star," from his latest album.

- Jessie Scott