Tom Morello announced as the recipient of 2024’s Woody Guthrie Prize
On May 30th, the very same day that he celebrated his 60th birthday, it was announced that Rage Against the Machine guitarist and staunch political activist Tom Morello will be the latest recipient of the prestigious Woody Guthrie Prize. The New York-born musician joins the ranks of previous winners, including the likes of Norman Lear, Joan Baez, and Public Enemy’s Chuck D.
Morello will officially be awarded the prize on September 25th, at a ceremony in Tulsa, Oklahoma at Cain’s Ballroom. The evening will include a Q&A with the Rage Against the Machine guitarist as well as an acoustic performance. The prize is organised by the Woody Guthrie Center, which was set up to celebrate the life and work of the truly iconic folk musician.
The Center shared, “This prestigious award recognises Morello’s outstanding contributions to music and activism, embodying the spirit of Woody Guthrie’s social consciousness and musical legacy”.
Rage Against the Machine were, of course, an uncompromising political outfit, calling out issues of racism, police brutality, and capitalism among various other things. In that way, Morello is a fitting recipient of this award, as Woody Guthrie was similarly dedicated to calling out the dangers of right-wing politics and authoritarianism.
For his part, Morello shared, “Woody Guthrie was a fearless agitator, a six string instigator, a poetic truth teller and a harmonising hellraiser. He was the original punk rocker whose life, music, art and lyrics were beacons of justice and liberation for the downtrodden and oppressed.”
The guitarist also explained Guthrie’s influence on his career, claiming the late folk icon “has been an inspiration to tell it like I see it without compromise or apology and to play my songs (and his songs) on the picket line and at the barricade whenever and wherever people are taking a stand”.
Tickets for the award ceremony are set to go on sale via The Woody Guthrie Center on June 3rd, with various VIP packages available – which, admittedly, seems contrary to the egalitarian principles of both Morello and Guthrie.
Meanwhile, Morello recently heaped praise upon rapper Macklemore for his defiant protest song, ‘Hind’s Hall’, which celebrated the ongoing pro-Palestine student protests across campuses in the United States. The Rage Against The Machine guitarist described the track as “the most Rage Against The Machine song since Rage Against The Machine”.
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