Arlo Guthrie was born with a guitar in one hand and a harmonica in the other in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York in 1947. He is the eldest son of America's most beloved singer/writer/philosopher, Woody Guthrie, and Marjorie Mazia Guthrie. His mother was a professional dancer with the Martha Graham Company and founder of The Committee to Combat Huntington's Disease. He grew up surrounded by dancers and musicians: Pete Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert, Fred Hellerman and Lee Hays (The Weavers), Leadbelly, Cisco Houston, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee, all of whom were significant influences on Arlo's musical career.

Arlo gave his first public performance at age 13 and quickly became involved in the music that was shaping the world during the 1960s. Arlo practically lived in the most famous venues of the "Folk Boom" era. In New York City he hung out at Gerdes Folk City, The Gaslight and The Bitter End. In Boston it was Club 47 and in Philadelphia he made places like The 2nd Fret and The Main Point his home.

Arlo witnessed the transition from an earlier generation of ballad singers like Richard Dyer-Bennet and blues-men like Mississippi John Hurt, to a new era of singer-song writers such as Bob Dylan, Jim Croce, Joan Baez, and Phil Ochs. He grooved with the beat poets like Allen Ginsburg and Lord Buckley, and picked with players like Bill Monroe and Doc Watson. He learned something from everyone and developed his own style, becoming a distinctive, expressive voice in a crowded community of singer-songwriters and political-social commentators.

Arlo Guthrie's career exploded in 1967 with the release of his album, Alice's Restaurant, whose title song premiered at the Newport Folk Festival and helped foster a new commitment to social consciousness and activism among the '60s generation. Arlo went on to star in the 1969 Hollywood film version of Alice's Restaurant, directed by Arthur Penn.

Though Arlo’s definitive rendition of Steve Goodman's "City of New Orleans" may have been his only “hit” song in the traditional sense, he has never the less achieved international stature. The 18 minute "Alice's Restaurant," while too long for radio airplay, has become an American classic. The song "Coming into Los Angeles," though banned from many radio stations when first released, had become a favorite by the time he played it at the 1969 Woodstock Festival and it remains a favorite today.

Over the last four decades Arlo has toured throughout North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia winning a broad and dedicated following. In addition to being an accomplished musician—playing the piano, six and twelve-string guitar, harmonica and a dozen other instruments—Arlo is a natural-born storyteller whose hilarious tales and anecdotes are woven seamlessly into his performances.

Not to be confined to the world of folk and rock, Arlo created An American Scrapbook, a program of symphonic arrangements of his own songs and other American classics. Between 1998 and 2004 Arlo performed over 40 concerts with 27 different symphony orchestras throughout the US. The show at Boston's Symphony Hall, conducted by Keith Lockhart, was recorded and aired on PBS' Evening at the Pops. In 2001, the Fourth of July celebration with the Pops was broadcast live by A&E and attracted an audience of over 750,000.

Arlo and his family rode the Amtrak City of New Orleans train in December 2006, from Chicago to New Orleans, stopping along the way to perform benefit concerts. Arlo Guthrie & Friends, Ridin' on the City of New Orleans (Benefiting Victims of Katrina) has raised over $140,000 and contributions are still coming in.

His daughters Cathy (Cathyaliza) and Annie head the business office in Austin, Texas, and main office in Washington, Massachusetts. Together they provide the business and logistical support for the various Guthrie family enterprises.

In 1983, alongside his thriving performing career, Arlo launched his own record label, Rising Son Records which holds his complete catalogue. Over the years, the RSR catalogue has grown to include works by Abe's band, Xavier, Sarah Lee's self-titled debut album, Johnny Irion's recording, Unity Lodge, and Sarah Lee and Johnny’s joint projects, Entirely Live and Exploration. Arlo is also heard alongside the voice of his father, Woody Guthrie, on the 1997 re-release of This Land is Your Land. The album won several awards and a Grammy nomination for Best Musical Album for Children.

Rising Son Records has not limited itself strictly to members of the Guthrie family. Arlo and Hans Theessink co-produced Banjoman as a tribute to their late friend Derroll Adams, enlisting the help of Donovan, Dolly Parton, Billy Connelly, Ramblin' Jack Elliott and others. In addition to these projects, Arlo has recorded an album of his orchestrated material and released a live album, recorded in June 2004 in Sydney, Australia.

Arlo's diverse artistic endeavors have included acting roles on the ABC series Byrds of Paradise and the USA network series Renegade. He has written and published a popular newsletter, The Rolling Blunder Review, since 1986 and is the author of an award-winning children's book Mooses Come Walking, illustrated by Alice May Brock.

Other projects include the November 2003 Tribute to Harold Leventhal at Carnegie Hall with Arlo and family, The Weavers (Pete Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert, Fred Hellerman and Erik Darling), Peter, Paul and Mary, Theodore Bikel and Leon Bibb, which was released to theatres in late 2005.

Guthrie’s undertakings include community projects as well as artistic pursuits. In 1991, Arlo purchased the old Trinity Church—the very location where events took place on Thanksgiving 1965 that inspired Arlo to write the song "Alice's Restaurant." The church is home to The Guthrie Center, named for his parents, and The Guthrie Foundation.

The Guthrie Center is a not-for-profit interfaith church foundation dedicated to providing a wide range of local and international services. Programs include everything from providing HIV/AIDS services to baking cookies with a local service organization, from an HD walk-a-thon to raise awareness and money for a cure for Huntington's Disease, to simply offering a place to meditate. The Guthrie Foundation is a separate not-for-profit educational organization that addresses issues such as the environment, health care, cultural preservation and educational exchange.

If you’ve been to an Arlo Guthrie concert in the past 20 years it’s likely you’ve seen Abe’s great smile, heard his adept and tasteful keyboard accompaniment along with his powerful supporting vocals. In a recent interview Arlo was quoted: “Abe is a great musician and covers the bass for me, and what ever else I need.” It is rare to see an Arlo show with out Abe by his side.

Having natural talent, at age 3 Abe traded another neighborhood boy his Big Wheel for a keyboard. At age 11 he was kicked out of a piano lesson for playing Rock music! Abe’s first paying job at 15 was as David Bromberg’s guitar tech. Abe started performing professionally with his father in the early 80’s, playing transformational rock-ish keyboard solos during his father’s concerts with Shenandoah.

In the 80’s, he founded XAVIER with fellow band mates Randy Cormier and Timothy Sears. Various forms of Xavier have been found backing up Arlo on the road. Their first full-length CD, Full Circle, was released on Rising Son Records in 2000 and is now available at risingsonrecords.com and on Apple iTunes. Xavier is currently at work on a follow-up album.

Against his will and better judgment, Abe has also found himself performing with his sisters Cathy, Annie, and Sarah Lee as the G Babes (www.g-babes.net) . This unique family ensemble can be found at the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in Okemah, OK for their annual performance (www.woodyguthrie.org).

A multi-faceted artist, Abe Guthrie has demonstrated his versatility by having a hand in many music projects worldwide. His varied roles have ranged from performance & studio musician, engineer, producer, graphic artist, and of course, Arlo’s right hand man on-stage and off.

Abe Guthrie is in great demand working with artists including David Bromberg, Rory Block, Bobby Sweet, Folk Uke (Cathy Guthrie and Amy Nelson’s band), Johnny Irion, Sarah Lee Guthrie, David Grover among many more.

Sarah Lee was two years old when she made her singing debut as part of a children’s chorus on Arlo’s 1981 album, Power of Love, but she had little subsequent interest in making music herself, although she was surrounded by it.

"I think it was in me," she says, "but I wasn’t ready for it." After graduating from high school in 1997, Sarah Lee agreed to tour-manage her father, who was emceeing the Further Festival, on which members of the Grateful Dead were joined by the Black Crowes.

She got on so well with the Crowes and Chris Robinson that, when the tour ended, she made what proved to be a life-altering decision: "I knew all these cool rock & roll guys, so I decided to move to L.A."

Irion came out of the vibrant Carolina indie-rock scene of the early ’90s, first as a member of Queen Sarah Saturday and later with Dillon Fence. He, too, got friendly with Robinson while Dillon Fence was on the road with the Crowes. Robinson convinced Irion to come out to L.A. and join Freight Train, a band he was producing. That was in the fall of ’97, just after Sarah Lee arrived in town. Whether by serendipity or cosmic intervention, the two were on a collision course; they met at an L.A. club and began dating a week later.

Their relationship was musical as well as romantic, although tentatively so at first. Johnny provided melodies for Sarah Lee’s Dylan-influenced poetry and played guitar while she sang. One night in his Santa Monica apartment, he handed Sarah Lee an acoustic and taught her a couple of basic chords. As she strummed, he started playing licks over the top, "so that it sounded kinda good, for like a second," Sarah Lee recalls. Noticing a growing smile on her face as she plucked the strings, Johnny turned to her and said, "It’s fun, huh?" Johnny’s words echoed in her head for days afterward. "I thought, ‘Gosh, it is fun,’" she remembers. "I’d never known that side of it; music was like a business to me." It was then that Sarah Lee realized she’d discovered her true calling.

Sarah Lee had just applied for college when word of her musical epiphany reached the family; she got a call from her mother urging her to forget higher education and join her father on tour. So she went out on the road with her dad – "I’m the comic relief in the show," she says with a laugh – but she always came back to Johnny. A year and a half into their relationship, he proposed. "It totally sideswiped me," says Sarah Lee, "but I’ve always been a one-person person. He solidified me and believed in me and my art." They married in 1999 and soon thereafter moved from hectic L.A. to Irion’s birthplace, Columbia, S.C.

Two years later they simultaneously released solo albums on Arlo’s Rising Son label. Since setting out on the road together in 2001, they’ve averaged 180 shows a year. The next step was obvious – it was time to make an album together. Louris was at the top of their producer wish list, and they double-teamed him in Amsterdam late in 2003, while the couple was on the Blue Highways tour and the Jayhawks were headlining one of their own. They convened last February in Ackerson’s Minneapolis studio; inspired and brimming with positive energy, the principals knocked off the record in 12 productive days. After New West’s Peter Jesperson caught an extraordinary live show in Ventura, CA, he offered the duo a deal.

We've already had an American in Paris, but a Dutchman in Vienna? And one who has dedicated himself, body and soul, to American blues and roots music? Okay, Hans Theessink (pronounced Tay-sink) did not pick the easiest way to do this, but he has done so with a certain degree of single-mindedness.

Like others of his generation, in the early 1960‘s a love of the Blues took hold of the man whom Bo Diddley described as "one helluva guitar player", and it has not let go since. Above all, the country blues with its earthy and heartfelt sound impressed Hans Theessink and played a major role in his development as a musician. His roots are unmistakenly in the blues, but has also been influenced by countless other aspects of roots music. This musical variety has become a trademark of Hans Theessink, who as a songwriter has succeeded in building bridges to the present in addressing issues which reflect the reality of the here and now.

Hans is probably Europe's bluesexport Nr.1 - one of the top blues and roots musicians worldwide who has entertained audiences around the globe during a musical career that spans over more than 35 years. The world's leading bluespaper - US magazine Blues Revue wrote: "Hans Theessink is an international blues treasure. He is one of the world's pre-eminent country pickers and his warm baritone expresses blues". Theessink's first recording was an EP in 1970. Since then his music has continually developed and so far Hans has released 20 albums, a songbook, a blues-guitar instruction video and a DVD. His CDs are guaranteed award winners. "Banjoman", the tribute project to Derroll Adams, that Hans produced with Arlo Guthrie, was recently nominated for a Grammy.

In 2004 Hans got the Austrian Amadeus award for "Songs from the Southland", a tribute to the music of the American South - a constant source of inspiration and companion on his musical journey. A Danish Music Award for best bluesalbum followed in 2005. His most recent CD "Bridges" - a recording with the new Hans Theessink Band, is again nominated for the Amadeus in the category best Blues-, Jazz-, Roots-, Folk-album. Hans' latest work is a DVD "Live in Concert" - "A Blues & Roots Revue" - it shows the Hans Theessink Band in action + lots of other special features. Hans' productions are known for their excellent sound quality and are also in big demand in HiFi circles.

Through his unmistakable guitarwork, sonorous baritone voice and stage presence, Hans has attained a status which is unique for a European. He has performed at many of the most prominent North American music festivals such as the "New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival", the "Chicago Blues Festival", the "Kerville Folk Festival", the "Toronto Soul & Blues Festival", the "Kansas City Blues & Jazz Festival", the "Edmonton Folk Festival", the "St.Louis Blues & Heritage Festival", the "King Biscuit Blues Festival", the "Woody Guthrie Festival" and the "Ultimate Rhythm and Blues Cruise" to name a few.

Hans Theessink has become one of the most sought-after artists of the international blues scene. He is more or less constantly "on tour" and plays an average of 200 concerts a year - a modern day troubadour and entertainer who keeps on spellbinding audiences all over the world with his rich and emotional sounds.

With an uncle coming from the family of literary giant John Steinbeck and having married into the first family of folk music, Johnny Irion has slowly gained a following for his country-folk style. In 1993, at the tender age of 15, Irion formed Queen Sarah Saturday, an alternative rock band based out of Columbia, SC. The group signed a record deal to Thirsty Ear, Sony Music's alternative label at the time.

The band's song "Seems" appeared in the motion picture Empire Records. After opening and touring with the Black Crowes with a new band, Dillon Fence, the singer met Sarah Lee Guthrie, daughter of folk singer Arlo Guthrie and granddaughter of legendary Woody Guthrie. In 1999, they formed RIG, a country-folk band. In March 2001, Irion released his solo debut album, Unity Lodge, on Rising Son Records. He is also involved in film, participating in Ghost World produced by John Malkovich. Irion's music has been compared to early Gram Parsons and Neil Young.

One of the most exciting things about the music business is when you get to work with people that helped to shape your playing! Here are some of Gordon's thoughts on the matter: "When I was a kid, I used to pore over the credits on the jackets of the old 33 r.p.m. records, soaking up the names of all the studio musicians that were mezmerizing me with their magical stuff. I've been incredibly lucky to work with many of them since then. I've never stopped being blown away when one of the people that was an influence on me was on the other end of the phone asking me to do a session or a gig"....G.T.

"My good friends Bill Keith & Eric Weissberg are probably two of the most recorded people in history! They both not only have recomended me to producers when they could not do the session, but have used me on their own projects! I owe them both a great debt of grattitude.".....-G.T.

Pete Seeger was famous for playing old hobo country banjo folk songs and socially aware narratives of working-class folks. His union anthems and famous five-string banjo playing has influenced every hootenanny crooner from Greenwich Village to North Beach.

Toward the end of the 1930s, he joined forces with the late, great Woody Guthrie and a handful of other musicians to form Almanac Singers. Their aim was to promote unions and come down hard on fascism.

In the late 1940s, Seeger formed the Weavers, a folk group who made famous such hits as "Tzena, Tzena, Tzena," Leadbelly's "Goodnight Irene," and "On Top of Old Smokey" before McCarthy-era paranoia put an unceremonious end to their bookings and recording contracts.

Today, his contributions to old standards live strong in the interests of folk enthusiasts and anyone who has ever been moved by songs such as "We Shall Overcome," "If I Had a Hammer," and "Turn! Turn! Turn!" a Seeger penned ditty that became a gigantic radio hit when the song was covered by West Coast Folk Rockers, the Byrds.

Folk Uke is the musical collaboration of Cathy Guthrie and Amy Nelson. The band was born in the year 2000 when Amy took Cathy to buy her first ukulele in Leucadia, CA. Once armed with instruments, these girls became a force to be reckoned with.

Most of the time, Amy plays guitar and Cathy plays uke. If you’ve seen them live, you know that they like to joke about their musical abilities or lack thereof, but don’t let them fool you. Not only are they clever lyricists, but, they’ve been known to switch instruments from song to song. Each mistake is carefully crafted to make the audience think they aren’t very skilled, but I think we all know better… Those girls are amazing! - Chickenaliza (cub reporter for F.U.N.)

Annie Hays Guthrie has been playing the guitar and writing for 20 years. It all started while taking piano lessons as a young girl. Annie was practicing for her lessons when her mother Jackie (Mrs. G) handed her a guitar and taught her a few chords… Piano lessons soon turned to guitar lessons.

While in high school, Annie hit the road with her dad, Xavier, and her sisters. After having two kids and running Rising Son Records along with Cathy, Annie got a bass and has been playing for 5 years now with the G’Babes