ROCKINGHAM — Fresh from a nation-wide tour to celebrate folk legend Woody Guthrie's 100th birthday, Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion will kick off an all-acoustic “Summer Sunday Social” series at the Rockingham Meeting House on Sunday, July 22.
The series at the 200-year-old landmark Meeting House will be presented by Vermont Festivals LLC in association with Flying Under Radar and Kicking & Screaming.
Guthrie, granddaughter of the late Woody Guthrie, and her husband, Johnny Irion, have toured nationally with the extended Guthrie family this year to celebrate one of America's greatest folk icons. Their performance in Rockingham comes after the conclusion of this tour with performances in New York and New Jersey.
The duo has worked together for the past six years. Between the release of their 2005 debut album Exploration, and their new, full-length Bright Examples they've undertaken a busy tour schedule both as a duo and as part of the “Guthrie Family Rides Again” tour, along with Sarah Lee's father, Arlo Guthrie, and her siblings Abe, Annie, and Cathy.
They've also released the children's album Go Waggaloo (Smithsonian Folkways) and a live DVD, Folk Song, a solo album by Irion.
Their new album features harmonies and a country-rock sound they're known for, but leans in the direction of colorful, dreamy songs with a retro '60s flair.
Doors for the show open at 1:30 p.m., with showtime at 2 p.m. The Rockingham Meeting House is located on Meeting House Road, north of the village of Bellows Falls, just off Route 103, a half-mile west of Exit 6 of Interstate 91. Free parking is available.
Tickets are available at Village Square Booksellers and Fat Franks in Bellows Falls, Turn it Up! in Brattleboro, Misty Valley Books in Chester, as well as online at www.brattleborotix.com.
The series at the Meeting House continues on Sunday, August 19, with Billy Wylder, and on Sunday, Oct. 7, with JATOBA. A September offering will be announced.
The Meeting House is a National Historic Landmark built between 1787 and 1801, and features unique “pig-pen” pews, no electricity, and superb acoustics. For more information, call Vermont Festivals at 802-463-9595.