Sarah Lee Guthrie

While she may not have envisioned it early on, Sarah Lee Guthrie, the daughter of Arlo Guthrie and granddaughter of Woody Guthrie, ended up answering the call of family tradition, releasing her self-titled debut on the family-owned Rising Son Records in 2001. Careful observers will notice that her first recorded appearance was as a toddler vocalist on dad's 1981 album Power of Love. As an adolescent, she would also sing with her dad on the Grammy-nominated children's album Woody's 20 Grow Big Songs. In high school, however, she was more prone to listening to punk albums than thinking about a career as a folksinger. Nevertheless, she spent the years directly after high school on the road with Arlo, initially as road manager and then as part of the band. Her live debut was with family and friends at Carnegie Hall. In 1997, she met her future husband, Johnny Irion, once a member of North Carolina alt rockers Queen Sarah Saturday (as well as one-time touring member of Dillon Fence). In 1999, Sarah Lee teamed up with Irion and Tao Rodriguez-Seeger to form the folk trio RIG (Rodriguez, Irion, and Guthrie). In 2001, besides releasing respective solo albums, Guthrie and Irion toured extensively as a duo, and in 2004, they entered the studio to record an album together. Produced in part by Gary Louris of the Jayhawks and featuring a number of alt-country luminaries lending support, Guthrie and Irion's Exploration was released by the roots-friendly Yep Roc label in the spring of 2005, followed by Go Waggaloo on Smithsonian in 2009. ~ Erik Hage, All Music Guide