Joel Underwood: “That Ribbon of Highway”
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Join Joel Underwood on a journey telling the story of Woody Guthrie’s time in the Pacific Northwest and his WWII adventures in the Merchant Marine. This two act event will feature 8 of Woody’s songs during this “part folk music concert, party history lecture, and part theater performance.”
Details:
Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026
Doors: 6 p.m. CT
Show Start: 6:30 p.m. CT
Woody Guthrie Center
102 E. Reconciliation Way, Tulsa, OK 74103
Tickets:
$10 Woody Guthrie Center members
$15 general public
Free for Veterans
About ‘That Ribbon of Highway’
Woody Guthrie composed 26 songs in 30 days while riding along the Columbia River and touring the Grand Coulee Dam Project in 1941. With his unique, authentic voice, he chronicled both the grandeur and the perils of what he called “The Greatest Thing That Man Has Ever Done” as an employee of the Bonneville Power Administration. His time here in the Pacific Northwest inspired a swell of patriotism that led Guthrie to enlist in the U.S. Merchant Marine in World War II, after which he returned home to fame and notoriety, but also to tragedy and tremendous personal loss. Underwood’s evening features such beloved tunes as “Roll On, Columbia,” “Rueben James” and, of course, “This Land Is Your Land” while relating the stories behind the songs.
About Joel Underwood
Currently on the history faculty of Pierce College in Western Washington, Underwood is the 2022 recipient of the Woody Guthrie Fellowship and was granted access to the Guthrie Archives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to research Guthrie’s time in the World War II Merchant Marines while writing his graduate thesis. A Humanities Washington speaker in their most recent cycle, Underwood travels far beyond his Olympia home, throughout the Pacific Northwest, with his performances.
This project was funded in part by the Oklahoma Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Oklahoma and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Details:
Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026
Doors: 6 p.m. CT
Show Start: 6:30 p.m. CT
Woody Guthrie Center
102 E. Reconciliation Way, Tulsa, OK 74103
Tickets:
$10 Woody Guthrie Center members
$15 general public
Free for Veterans
About ‘That Ribbon of Highway’
Woody Guthrie composed 26 songs in 30 days while riding along the Columbia River and touring the Grand Coulee Dam Project in 1941. With his unique, authentic voice, he chronicled both the grandeur and the perils of what he called “The Greatest Thing That Man Has Ever Done” as an employee of the Bonneville Power Administration. His time here in the Pacific Northwest inspired a swell of patriotism that led Guthrie to enlist in the U.S. Merchant Marine in World War II, after which he returned home to fame and notoriety, but also to tragedy and tremendous personal loss. Underwood’s evening features such beloved tunes as “Roll On, Columbia,” “Rueben James” and, of course, “This Land Is Your Land” while relating the stories behind the songs.
About Joel Underwood
Currently on the history faculty of Pierce College in Western Washington, Underwood is the 2022 recipient of the Woody Guthrie Fellowship and was granted access to the Guthrie Archives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to research Guthrie’s time in the World War II Merchant Marines while writing his graduate thesis. A Humanities Washington speaker in their most recent cycle, Underwood travels far beyond his Olympia home, throughout the Pacific Northwest, with his performances.
This project was funded in part by the Oklahoma Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Oklahoma and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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Where is it happening?
102 E Reconciliation Way, Tulsa, OK, United States, Oklahoma 74103
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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Host or PublisherWoody Guthrie Center
