Housatonic — You needn’t be a Guthrie descendant to participate. You don’t even have to be of Scottish-American heritage. All you have to do, if you want to join descendants of clan Guthrie at their gathering in Great Barrington on the final weekend of June, is buy a ticket. It will be three days of music, panel discussions, workshops, crafts, a silent auction, food, drink, and a display of Guthrie Castle artifacts. The event will benefit the nonprofit Guthrie Center.
The Guthrie clan traces its roots to the 15th-century Guthrie Castle in Scotland. (As it turns out, there are quite a lot of Guthries in the world besides Woody and Arlo.)
Event highlights include a Saturday afternoon panel session with Arlo Guthrie, Friends of the Guthrie Castle, and other Clan Guthrie USA members from around the country who will talk about their Scottish-American heritage.
Vendors will offer crafts, food, and drinks:
- North Plain Farms (June 24 only)
- Fire King BBQ (June 25 only)
- Highland Ledge Farm
- Gray Raven Farms (June 24 and 25 only)
- Sheri M. Hupfer, artist, designer, jeweler
- Margaret Buchte (June 24 and 25 only)
- Margaret Bower Avenia, artist (June 24 and 25 only)
- Of this earth CLAYWORKS
The headline act on Friday is Bobby Sweet and the B Sweet Band. Bobby’s travels with Arlo Guthrie have taken him to Carnegie Hall, the New Orleans Jazz Fest, Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion, and many other venues. Most recently, Bobby played guitar on Arlo’s tour of the 50th Anniversary of “Alice’s Restaurant.”
Saturday’s headliner is the Krishna Guthrie Band (KGB), a group fronted by Arlo Guthrie’s grandson. While always hewing to his family’s musical roots, Krishna Guthrie has turned up the volume a bit, incorporating rock, blues, and modern influences into his songs.
Headlining the show on Sunday and closing the festival will be the Guthrie Family Apples (Arlo’s Kids: Abe, Cathy, Annie, and Sarah Lee). That would seem to be a sufficient number of on-stage Guthries to meet the moment, but there is no guarantee that other Guthries will not appear.
Here is a brief video of Arlo talking about the Guthrie Family Gathering:
“My daughter Annie thought it would be time to maybe host an event that would bring together all of these diverse people and family members and see if we can’t in some way continue the traditions that were held, first at Guthrie Castle and then at the Guthrie Center.”
Join the Guthrie family in Great Barrington June 23 through 25 to celebrate the clan’s Scottish heritage and American journey. Full schedule and tickets ($125 for single days; discounted to $300 for a three-day pass) are available here or by calling (413) 528-1955. All outdoor performances (and there will be many) are free and open to the public. The Guthrie Center is at 2 Van Deusenville Road, Great Barrington.
