MARTIN CARTHY: "Will Kaufman knows that civilisation is a constant effort, a notion for which people must continually fight - so did Guthrie. His songs are as important now as they ever were."
CHRISTY MOORE: "Will—Solidarity to the cause of bringing Woody's songs to a wider audience."
STEVE TILSTON: "Will does it all so well! You can taste the dust and hear the freight train whistle blow."
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VIDEO CLIPS FROM "WOODY GUTHRIE: HARD TIMES AND HARD TRAVELLIN'"
"How Can You Keep Movin'?"
"Vigilante Man"
"I Ain't Got No Home"
"Jesus Christ"
VIDEO CLIPS FROM "'ALL YOU JIM CROW FASCISTS!' WOODY GUTHRIE'S FREEDOM SONGS"
RALPH McTELL: "I am paraphrasing Woody Guthrie when I say, 'Anyone spreading the word about the music, writing, art and humanity of Woody Guthrie sure is a true friend of mine!' Keep up the great work, Professor Will!"
TOM PAXTON: "No one can understand the American people without listening to Woody Guthrie. Will Kaufman's doing important work here."
PETE SEEGER: "I thank Will Kaufman for introducing a new generation of Europeans to 'the other America'. It's a wonderful job he's doing."
Listen up all you Jim Crow fascists and you race-hate mongers too: Will Kaufman is a-comin' and he's got his eye on you. Won't brake for no excuses,
Won't stand no messin' round;
Your bigot ways can't save you 'cause
Will Kaufman's gonna run you down!"
-- RY COODER
Will Kaufman's WOODY GUTHRIE: HARD TIMES AND HARD TRAVELLIN', is a captivating 'live documentary' that sets the songs of Woody Guthrie in the context of the American 1930s - the Dust Bowl, the Depression, the New Deal and the state of popular music itself. Such hard-hitting Guthrie songs as 'Vigilante Man', 'Pretty Boy Floyd' and 'I Ain't Got No Home' are brought into conversation with other relevant songs - from Joe Hill's 'The Preacher and the Slave' to 'Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?'. Altogether the show highlights the blending of music and radical politics that marks Guthrie's most powerful work.
From Folk North West reviews: "Had me and everyone else in the audience hooked. Labelling this a 'Lecture, Concert, Presentation, Documentary or Show' would not do it justice. It was all of these things and more ... a crowd pleaser that is quite unique".
Will's second presentation, ALL YOU JIM CROW FASCISTS! WOODY GUTHRIE'S FREEDOM SONGS, explores Guthrie’s anti-racist songs and activism - the legacy of his own personal transformation from a casual Oklahoma racist to a committed civil rights activist working and singing with the likes of Lead Belly, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee and Paul Robeson.
WILL KAUFMAN is a singer, multi-instrumentalist and Professor of American Literature and Culture at the University of Central Lancashire, England. He has given his Woody Guthrie presentations at such major events as the Bath International Music Festival, the Big Session, the British Library's 'Taking Liberties' programme and the Piacenza Blues Festival in Italy. He has also performed at countless European universities, trades clubs, folk clubs and union halls.
In 2008 Will was awarded the BMI-Woody Guthrie Research Fellowship. His book, Radical Guthrie, will be published by the University of Illinois Press in 2011.
CONTACT Will Kaufman on wkaufman@uclan.ac.uk or (in the UK) 0779 1226071
