Woody Guthrie hootenanny returns to Somers

SOMERS, N.Y. - One usually doesn't put Ozzy Osbourne and folk music together, but that pairing made perfect sense to Scott Urgola.

The Yorktown resident recently hosted his 22nd annual hootenanny celebrating one of the most influential voices in American folk music, the late great singer, songwriter and activist Woody Guthrie.

Held in Somers’ historic Mount Zion Church, it was a lively yet casual gathering where folks played, sang, or just listened to everything from Guthrie’s “Hard Travelin’,” “At My Window Sad and Lonely,” and “This Land is your Land” and Paul McCartney’s and John Lennon’s “Yesterday” to John Denver’s “Leaving on a Jet Plane” and “The Water is Wide,” a love song of endless variations that has its roots in Scottish ballads.

Then, in honor of Ozzy -- aka the Prince of Darkness and former hellraising frontman for Black Sabbath -- “Dreamer.”

The icon of British heavy metal died on July 22 at the age of 76.

Released in 2001, the melodic song was his vision of a better world where his children were happy and safe.

A massive fan of The Beatles, Ozzy considered it his version of Lennon’s “Imagine,” a call for unity, peace, and understanding.

And so it fit right into a program of songs of hope in “the spirit of Woody and Pete Seeger,” said Urgola, who multi-tasked on guitar, banjo, mandolin, and harmonica.

The hootenanny was, as usual, a real family affair.

Urgola’s dad, John, played and sang. Also taking the stage were his wife, Rachel; sons John and Jacob; and sister Christine Carpenter and her two little ones: Cole, who chimed in on the harmonica, and Rylan, who contributed an impromptu bit of drumming.

Among those jamming along were Bernie Witek of Mount Kisco and Dan Hocker of Carmel, formerly of Somers.