This Frontier Needs Heroes

Sarah Lee Guthrie’s lineage is undeniable. But if you close your eyes and forget that her last name is synonymous with the river-legacy of a widening current of Americana folk music, you’d still be drawn to the clarity and soul behind her voice. There is a gentle urgency to her interpretations of the songs she sings and the classic music of her heritage. It flows from the continuity of her family, her vital artistic life today, and the songs that have guided her to where she now stands. It’s been hinted at since she first stepped on the stages of Wolf Trap and Carnegie Hall as a teenager in 1993 singing Pete Seeger’s “Sailin’ Down My Golden River” for sold-out audiences.Decades down the road, Sarah Lee Guthrie is in full bloom. On 2009’s Go Waggaloo she created a family album of original songs (and a few with Woody’s lyrics) that won a Golden Medallion from The Parents' Choice Foundation. The tour that followed in 2010, The Guthrie Family Rides Again, brought it all together as she found herself surrounded by generations of family and friends all celebrating the music of her family. Sarah Lee Guthrie now ventures on her own path, the rich culture of her family running through the warmth of her own bloodlines. In early 2023, the singer-songwriter, settled in Austin, TX, went into the studio with a notebook full of brand-new songs and older material she’d been saving for the perfect moment. Born out of these sessions, debut single “Honey and the Dew” is a charming love story brimming with western swing fiddle and lap steel. “I wrote ‘Honey and the Dew’ probably about 10 years ago and as the world would have it, it took all this time to be in the right hands at the right time and believe me it was worth the wait!” A follow-up single is on the horizon. In addition to her budding solo career, Guthrie collaborates with her sister Cathy as Guthrie Girls, a 6-piece honky tonk band featuring some of Austin’s finest instrumentalists. In a few short months, local buzz and the strength of their debut EP First Season carried Guthrie Girls to prominent slots at HIPNIC, Kerrville Folk Festival, and Kate Wolf Music Festival, among others. Guthrie also performed solo at last year’s Newport Folk Festival and 30A Songwriters Festival. Sarah Lee Guthrie has the kind of range that only a precious few career-artists command. Armed only with her voice and a Gibson acoustic, she brings festival crowds to a hush. Under her joyful spell, children audiences squeal with delight—clapping, singing, and learning through song. In the dim sway of the late-night honky tonks, old-guard cowboys and Austin two-steppers old and young stand side by side and dance to the songs of the Guthrie Girls. Pick your moment. This is a rare opportunity to witness the growth of one of America's finest young folk singers.