WoodyFest 2025 Day 3
Day 3 of the 2025 Woody Guthrie Folk Festival was already under way as I rolled into Okemah around noon Friday. I made my over to catch the last half of Shawna Russell’s 12:30 set at The Hen House, before making my was over to the Crystal for Annie Guthrie’s set that also featured another appearance from Sarah Lee Guthrie for an impromptu Guthrie Girls performance. Friday marked the start of the popular “song swap” sets that began in the last few years. These pairings are always special, and often provide some of the most magical moments of the festival. Each of the three song swaps I took in on Friday were phenomenal. Following the Guthrie’s set, I made my way back over to The Hen House for Betty Soo, Chris Buhalis and Jaimee Harris’s song swap. I’ve always enjoyed Betty Soo’s festival appearances, whether solo, or with other artists. Her songs and sense of humor are unique and right up my alley. Over the years that I’ve covered the festival, I’ve only been able to catch snippets of Chris Buhalis, so it was a real treat to get a chance to really sit and listen to his songs the first two days. He’s a gifted songwriter. Festival good-will ambassador, Jaimee Harris, rounded out the group. Harris is always on my list of don’t miss performances, and this first song swap of the day featuring her before her mainstage performance was a no-brainer.
Next, I made my way back to the Crystal to see Maestro David Amram & Friends just in time to see the Board of Director’s President, Randy Norman present Amram with the WoodyFest Legacy Artist Award, an award also received this year by Butch Hancock as well as Mary Reynolds and Louise Goldberg for Miss Brown To You. Amram will turn 95 later this year, and he has been a constant presence at the festival for two decades plus. His performances are always vastly entertaining and informative, and his band always features some of the festival’s best. I always feel privileged to be in his presence, and I remain in awe of his stamina. The last several years David has also been joined by his son Adam Amram, a gifted songwriter in his own right.
With the Amram set wrapping up, I quickly made my way back over to The Hen House for a song swap featuring one of my favorite musical discoveries of the past several years. My Politic made their first appearance three years ago now, and not only have they become one of my favorites, but also a festival favorite. Made up of Kaston Guffey and Nick Pankey, the duo just released their newest effort, Signs Of Life (see my review here: https://americanahighways.org/2025/05/21/review-my-politic-signs-of-life/), and it’s still the early pick to be my album of the year. Joining the duo in the song swap was Oklahoma songwriter Peggy Johnson who is always a treat and this time was no exception. The final piece of this swap was Adeem the Artist, a songwriter I’d heard a lot of, but hadn’t actually heard before. It was a fabulous experience, and one of my favorite sets, which by the end, Peggy Johnson had pledged to adopt all three of them.
I made my way back over to the Crystal to see Branjae, an artist who debuted at the fest a few years back with her band at the time, Count Tutu. Her performances are just electric. Her voice and a guitarist accompanying. It all has the feel of performance art, and I always enjoy it. Next, I walked back over to The Hen House for Bonnie Whitmore who might have got the building shaking with her bass playing. It was great. Following Whitmore’s set, I was back down at the Crystal for the next to last song swap of the day with Kierston White, Kyshona and Pat Byrne. I’ve always been fortunate to see Kierston White play a lot around the OKC area, and I’ve been happy to see her sets at the festival the past couple of years. Both Kyshona and Pat Byrne debuted at the fest in the last few years, and I’ve really enjoyed their performances. Another great song swap.
Now the final swap of the day was one that I’d circled on the schedule early, and wasn’t to be missed.
A song swap featuring Butch Hancock, Carter Sampson, Michael Fracasso and joined by Rory Hancock on guitar. What a line-up, and boy did they deliver. One of my highlights was Rory adding fills to Carter’s songs, and the intense 4/4 version of “Rattlesnake Kate” that Carter pulled off instead of having her song cut. She might not agree, but I loved hearing the faster arrangement. I lingered around a bit afterwards, chatting with Carter and Butch, right up to the time that Mallory Eagle started her set. I’m so glad I did. I’d only seen a song from Eagle here and there in previous years, and plus she had the talented Mike Satawake playing guitar with her. In hindsight, it was one of the best decisions I made all weekend. Another hot band, a great songwriter and performer, and Mallory Eagle’s performance was another of my stand-out performances of the weekend.
I headed back over to the Crystal to make sure I caught Ellis Paul, and I was glad I did. Radoslav Lorkovic was sitting in, and it was a beautiful set. I love Ellis’ songs and guitar playing, and look forward to every chance I get to see him. Next, I walked back over to The Hen House for the final daytime performance, another chance to see Pat Byrne, who I’d seen in the earlier song swap with Kierston White and Kyshona. First of all, I’m a sucker for Irish singer-songwriters. Secondly, I’m a native Texan and Byrne lives in Austin now. We have to stick together. Lastly, I’ve always enjoyed his songs. He was joined by Jaimee Harris, and Brian Patterson on guitar and it was the perfect ending to the daytime performances.
I’d definitely been looking forward to the evening performances out at the Pastures of Plenty, as each night featured some of my absolute favorite songwriters and performers. The Pasture is also a beautiful setting. The shows start at 7:30pm, and the sun sets magnificently stage right. I look forward to it each and every year. Starting off the evening was Aaron Lee Tasjan who took the stage solo, just a guy and an electric guitar. What happened next was a slow build, but by the time he sang “I Love America Better Than You,” his performance was honest-to-God, rock show. Tasjan owned that stage for the next hour. I’d seen him once before, coincidentally, opening for John Moreland who’d be up shortly. Tasjan wasn’t done though, he’d be all over the place in Saturday’s report.
Next though, was Jamiee Harris. Every single performance I’ve seen Harris do has been remarkable. I’ve probably seen Jaimee play at WoodyFest more than any other artist, even counting Butch Hancock. I’d already seen her in a song swap earlier in the day, but seeing her solo, or in a swap is a completely different experience from seeing her play a full band performance. Tonight she was joined by Brian Patterson, Jesse Aycock, Jason Weinhammer and Paddy Ryan for an absolutely jaw dropping, great set.
Shortly after moving to Oklahoma from Texas, I got lucky and discovered John Moreland. I’d been a big follower of the Texas music scene for many years, but I didn’t really know squat about the Oklahoma songwriter scene. Someone, I wish I remember who, recommended In the Throes. Then I discovered High on Tulsa Heat and Big Bad Luv. I’ve been hooked ever since, and I will always try to see John any time I’m able. I’d been excited about this performance from the minute it was announced. It’s one of those situation where your expectations are exceeded beyond belief. John sounded great and the night sky was the perfect backdrop. Tonight was extra special as John Calvin Abney joined in on accompanying guitar for several songs It was the first time the two had played together in a couple of years. It was about as cool a moment as you can imagine, and just part of the magic that is WoodyFest. http://www.woodyfest.com
