SOMERS, N.Y. - The 23rd annual “Hootenanny” drew a lively crowd to landmark Mt. Zion Church in Somers in July where performers and attendees celebrated the life, legacy, and era-defining music of folk legend Woody Guthrie.
Host Scott Urgola, a resident of Yorktown, has a deeply personal connection to Guthrie, having once worked for the late singer-songwriter’s daughter Nora. He helped her to decipher, transcribe and digitize her late father’s handwritten notes, lyrics, and scribblings.
True to the spirit of the traditional gathering featuring music, singing, and dancing, this year’s event was highly interactive. There were lots of new faces in the crowd as well as those of faithful regulars, he said.
Folks were encouraged to bring their own acoustic instruments and to sing along to timeless Guthrie standards such as “At My Window Sad & Lonely,” “Do Re Mi,” and “This Land is Your Land.”
That’s not to say that the concert was “a strict tribute to Woody Guthrie,” said Urgola.
There were songs by other artists, such as “Learning to Fly” by Tom Petty, “My Back Pages” by Bob Dylan, and “Seven Nation Army” by the White Stripes.
(Urgola’s sons, John and Jacob, performed “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley and The Wailers and “Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchell respectively.)
“The idea is to keep playing songs of that nature, songs that are in his spirit, and to be in the moment and let it take shape and form,” Urgola told Halston Media.
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