Woody Guthrie traveled through the grimiest saloons and alleyways to tell the truth with ballads sung with his acoustic guitar, scattering his messages to people who needed it during the Depression and through WWII, leaving the marks of legend behind him.

All that started in Okemah, Oklahoma, Guthrie's hometown, and the site of this year's eighth annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival. Guthrie inspired the music from generations of greats. Wednesday through Saturday folk musicians new and old (Peter Yarrow from Peter, Paul and Mary) from across America will come to Okemah to pay tribute to Guthrie.

Jimmy LaFave, Austin singer/songwriter, helped pioneer Stillwater's Red Dirt music scene and is a Guthrie scholar. He will be headlining Saturday at the festival. LaFave has been playing the festival every year, even when plans to start the festival raised eyebrows from the local city council.

"Everyone was trying to figure out the ramifications of it and it turned out to be this beautiful thing where the town came together to celebrate Woody," LaFave said. "He's one of the greatest Americans of all time. Talking to people around the town I got the feeling they had been wanting to start the thing for a long time, but the powers that be said he was a communist. But since his daughter Nora took over his archives, she kind of opened Pandora's box. There are so many writings and philosophies and his spiritual songs and people starting seeing he was a great human being, he had love for all humans."

LaFave noted that when Guthrie would be asked to check a religion box, he checked "All."

LaFave credited Guthrie as the first singer/songwriter, one who had visions of equality before the 1960's counterculture. He said when Woody's mother's unmarked grave was found in Norman, he attended the proper ceremony with the family, and felt Woody's legacy was coming alive.

"Without Woody there's no Dylan, no union organizing," LaFave said. "Maybe the universe is finally opening up to his legacy. He got the ball rolling on many sides of things, fighting the KKK in Florida, he was on the front lines of so many things in American history. Woody Guthrie is the most famous Oklahoman in the world."

Sarah Lee Guthrie, Woody's granddaughter and Arlo Guthrie's daughter, didn't think to pick up music until musician Johnny Irion sat a guitar in her lap.

Now Guthrie and Irion are touring on the success of their debut collaboration Exploration and will stop in Okemah for their fifth time.

"I love it. I think it's one of the best festivals I've ever been a part of," Guthrie said. "I love that everyone's there because they want to be there. No one's getting paid. It's such a great feeling when people are there because they want to be and they didn't buy a ticket like a month in advance. You're not obligated because you bought a ticket; it's like, 'You know what? c'mon down and have some fun' and it has that attitude."

Admission to the festival is free save for the "Woody Sez" tribute night at the Crystal Theater Wednesday night.

Guthrie and Irion just finished recording the Woody song "Still House" for a documentary, and on their way to Okemah look back on Guthrie's music.

"It's really amazing to know the musicians and regular folks who Woody represents," Guthrie said. "Woody represents such a huge amount of hope and voice, so much of everything we want. It's amazing when I go overseas and people over there love Woody Guthrie. It's like wow, he's gone this far. I know that Pete Seeger, Ramblin' Jack Elliot and Bob Dylan have traveled to those parts and played his songs."

During its time, Guthrie's music would've landed him on the House of Un-American Acts Committee's now famous "blacklist" of communist Americans if he hadn't been stricken with Huntington's disease.

Irion said Exploration draws inspiration from Guthrie in its music and its political messages.

"I think it's been really good," Irion said. "Not sure so many people want to hear the political stuff, but it's just something we thought needed to be done. Some people don't want their entertainment to go there, but there's a lot of people who wanted it. It's a fairly political record I think, as time goes on that's something we wanted."

In his early New York years, Woody Guthrie walked out of Rockefeller Center when told by executives to dress up as a clown while playing his guitar, and said he didn't want to sing anything phony. Contemporary artists suffer the same compromises in today's music industry.

Sarah Lee and Johnny's record has yet to see any airplay on any of Clear Channel country radio stations but has received play on non-commercial radio and praises from critics.

"AAA and stations like that go to a lot of people," Irion said. "I think Sarah Lee's song 'Holdin' Back' is a grand slam hit and whether songs like 'Dr. King', 'Gervais' or "Exploration" are keeping it from being played, I don't know. And you would think the radio would play 'Dr. King.' What's wrong with these people?"

Irion said the record came naturally, even if Woody-like bits of social commentary crept in.

"I definitely felt that making the record we wanted to take our hats off to Woody and Cisco (Houston) and Pete (Seeger) to let them know that all is well," he said. "On the other hand, the songs weren't forced. It was all very organic."

Guthrie said coming down to Okemah for the festival is like a family reunion and that Woody's spirit is still carried in the state.

"When you get down to Oklahoma you can almost taste it," Guthrie said. "Woody really represents everything, it's almost like his spirit is growing even over the past five years and I don't even know what it is. I think it's the lack of someone like him today that makes us all kind of hold him in our hearts and make it to where we put that spirit out there as much as we can."

"It's hard to define it," she said. "He represents everything!"

LaFave said he believes a sense of Oklahoma pride is coming to realization with the growth of Woody Fest, last year almost 900 people showed up as opposed to the first years' 100-200 person attendance.

"Even Dylan used to like to brag about being from Oklahoma, even though he wasn't," LaFave said. "We have a music scene that's more vital than many and I think Oklahomans are finally saying 'we are proud of our state. This is a beautiful place to live. It's like a best kept secret: the sunsets, the integrity of the people."

"I would rather be in the July heat in Okemah with the common folk than any beachside resort you could ever offer me," he said. "It's the most rejuvenating experience I have had in my life."

The Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in Okemah is free to the public. For more information on events and concerts visit www.woodyguthrie.com.
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