A tour aboard Amtrak's "City of New Orleans" benefits victims of Hurricane Katrina
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Pictured performing onstage at Tipitina's (l-r) John Flynn, Willie Nelson and Arlo Guthrie. |
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Johnny Irion and Sarah Lee Guthrie performing. |
For 12 days in December, Arlo Guthrie & Friends traveled on the Amtrak City of New Orleans train, performing along the way to benefit the small venues in the train's namesake city that were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Arlo was the first to record Steve Goodman's song, "City of New Orleans" and make it a national hit. The song is based on a version of the train prior to the creation of Amtrak. The group of performers started at The Vic Theatre in Chicago on December 5th and arrived in New Orleans to perform at Tipitina's in New Orleans on December 17th. Arlo, his son Abe with his band, Xavier, and daughter Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion, held seven concerts along the route, joined by many musical friends along the way. At the final performance at Tipitina's in New Orleans, Guthrie was joined on stage by Willie Nelson.
Focusing on small clubs and venues, Arlo and friends worked with manufacturers and arranged to bring donations to New Orleans that will help to facilitate the restoration of the musical infrastructure in New Orleans and the surrounding area. MusiCares, The Recording Academy's safety net of critical assistance for music people in times of need, also helped to distribute "the gear," along with Tipitina's Foundation. Gibson Guitar partnered on the effort with instruments and tour support.
Arlo Guthrie formed The Guthrie Foundation, a not-for-profit educational foundation, housed in the Old Trinity Church, Great Barrington, Mass, to help provide local cultures with the means to preserve traditional music, stories, medicine, dance and spiritual practices in the face of an ever-encroaching globalization. For information visit www.GuthrieFoundation.com.
