Woody Guthrie (1912-1967) was one of the greatest voices of Americana and folk music. His songs of protest and socialism came from a deeply personal place, and he was famous for playing a guitar with the words “This machine kills fascists” written on it. His song This Land is Your Land, is known even by those who don’t know his work, and his 1940 album Dust Bowl Ballads, was named one of the “100 records that changed the world” by the influential Mojo magazine. 

Cal Williams Jnr. is an award-winning blues singer, guitarist, songwriter, and guitar teacher, who usually puts on several fantastic performances for Fringe Festival, along with his other commitments. He understands the intersection between blues, country, and folk, so he is well-placed to give us A History of Woody Guthrie. 

Walking in playing This Land is Your Land, Williams got the audience singing along with little prompting. Up on stage he gave a brief intro to Guthrie for those not so familiar with his work, before delivering a great rendition of Do Re Mi. From there he easily and affably segued from song-to-song, pausing to tell tales of Guthrie’s extraordinary life, or to explain, in simple but not patronising terms, some of the technical intricacies of the music itself. The first half included such bangers as Dust Bowl Blues, Worried Blues/ I Ain’t Gonna be Treated This Way, and Guthrie’s version of the old standard, House of the Rising Sun. 

After a short break, Williams gave us New York Town, Which Side Are You On, Tear the Fascists Down, and the scarily relevant Old Man Trump/I Ain’t Got No Home, which was literally written about Donald Trump’s father, who happened to be Guthrie’s landlord at one stage. The set finished with a rousing reprise of This Land is Your Land. 

Cal Williams knows how to put on a show, managing to keep everything personal and cosy, yet still giving big energy from the stage. His musical knowledge, along with his almost inhuman talent, mean that he has more than enough to keep an audience very, very happy. 

As well as two more shows of Woody Guthrie, Williams is also putting on shows this Fringe on Nick Drake, Bob Dylan, John Martyn, Mississippi Slide Blues, and Mississippi Devil Blues. Click here for details. https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix?event=cal+williams+jnr&event_id=&commit=Search

Clearly the man never sleeps!