Johnny Irion

Sarah Lee Guthrie, born in Massachusetts on February 17, 1979 (1979-02-17) (age 33), and Johnny Irion, born in Columbia, South Carolina on February 3, 1969 (1969-02-03) (age 43), are a musical duo. Guthrie and Irion were married on October 16, 1999 and began performing together as an acoustic duo in the fall of 2000. Their music combined Irion's love of rock and blues with Guthrie's roots of folk and country.

Guthrie is the youngest daughter of folksinger Arlo Guthrie and the granddaughter of Woody Guthrie. As a third generation singer/songwriter Guthrie released her first self-titled album on the family owned and operated Rising Son Records in 2002. As a child she was involved in theater and dance. Her interest in music was sparked when she worked as her father's road manager on the 1997 Further Festival tour and saw other members of the tour group having fun at late-night hootenannies. She picked up an acoustic guitar and started playing as a way to join in on the fun. "I always wrote poems, so it wasn't that far off for me to turn that into songs."

"My dad was absolutely thrilled, of course, and would teach me stuff every day when we were on the road together. That was a really cool way to get to know my dad, because I'd never known him that way. And that's another thing that made it easy: my dad was so supportive."

Irion originates from a family of artists. His uncle is author Thomas Steinbeck, his grand-uncle is author John Steinbeck, and his grandmother, Rubilee Knight is a classical violinist. His late grandfather, Fred Knight sang tenor in numerous venues. Irion and Guthrie met through a mutual friend (Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes) while the two were working together in Los Angeles. In 1999 Guthrie and Irion joined guitarist Tao Rodríguez-Seeger, grandson of Pete Seeger, and performed as a trio under the name RIG.

Guthrie and Irion have appeared at the Newport Folk Festival, the Philadelphia Folk Festival, as well as nationwide theatres, listening rooms, performing art centers, and schools. When not performing their own shows they tour nationally with Arlo Guthrie, opening the show, then joining him onstage in their family concert series, recently accompanying him at Carnegie Hall with Pete Seeger and The Dillards.

Go Waggaloo, their first children's CD, was released in October 2009 on the Smithsonian Folkways label. Sarah Lee Guthrie is joined by Irion and their two daughters, as well as numerous friends and family members including Arlo Guthrie, Pete Seeger and Tao Rodriguez-Seeger. The album includes three songs featuring lyrics by Woody Guthrie never before put to music and eight songs written by Sarah Lee and family. The Parents' Choice Foundation awarded Go Waggaloo a Gold Medallion. The Parents' Choice Awards program honors the best material for children in the categories of: books, toys, music and storytelling, magazines, software, videogames, television and websites.

In 2011, Sarah Lee and Johnny signed with Berkeley independent record label, Ninth Street Opus, and released LP Bright Examples. The collaborative project features producers Andy Cabic (lead singer/songwriter in the band Vetiver (band)) and Thom Monahan (Devendra Banhart, Vetiver (band)).

In the centennial year of Guthrie's birth another album of newly composed songs on his lyrics has been released: New Multitudes. On March 10, 2012 there was a tribute concert at the Brady Theater in Tulsa, Oklahoma. John Mellencamp, Arlo Guthrie, Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion, the Del McCoury Band and the Flaming Lips performed.

Jeff Tweedy will produce Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion’s forthcoming album. The project, which is slated for release in 2013, was recorded in Tweedy’s Chicago hometown. Wilco has a long connection with the Guthrie family. The group worked with several volumes worth of Woody Guthrie songs for the Mermaid Avenue albums in the ’90s, and Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion recently toured with the Wilco side-project Autumn Defense. The musical couple also regularly cover Wilco’s “Airline to Heaven” live.

Read more about Johnny Irion:  Discography

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