Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion

Sarah Lee Guthrie (born in Massachusetts on 17 February 1979) and Johnny Irion (born in Columbia, South Carolina on February 3, 1968) were married on October 16, 1999[1] and began performing together as an acoustic duo in the fall of 2000. Joining his love of rock and blues with her roots of folk and country, they have developed an original sound graced with entertaining stories and the traditional songs their music echoes.

Sarah Lee is the youngest daughter of world-renowned folksinger Arlo Guthrie and the granddaughter of the legendary Woody Guthrie. She has embraced the music and lifestyle of her roots, hanging on to the traditional stories and poetry of her past, while defining her own unique elegance in the spotlight. As a third generation singer/songwriter Guthrie released her first self-titled album on the family owned and operated Rising Son Records in 2002.

Guthrie was a latecomer to music. As a child she was involved in theater and dance. Her interest in music was sparked when she worked as her father's road manager on the 1997 Further Festival tour and saw other members of the tour group having fun at late-night hootenannies. She picked up an acoustic guitar and started playing as a way to join in on the fun. "I always wrote poems, so it wasn't that far off for me to turn that into songs." [2]

"My dad was absolutely thrilled, of course, and would teach me stuff every day when we were on the road together. That was a really cool way to get to know my dad, because I'd never known him that way. And that's another thing that made it easy: my dad was so supportive."[3]

Irion originates from a family of artists. His uncle is author Thomas Steinbeck and his grandmother, Rubilee Knight is a classical violinist. His late grandfather, Fred Knight sang tenor in numerous venues. Irion and Guthrie met through a mutual friend (Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes) while the two were working together in Los Angeles. In 1999 Guthrie and Irion joined guitarist Tao Rodr?guez-Seeger, grandson of Pete Seeger, and performed as a trio under the name RIG.[4]

Guthrie and Irion have appeared at the Newport Folk Festival, the Philadelphia Folk Festival, as well as nationwide theatres, listening rooms, performing art centers, and schools. When not performing their own shows they tour nationally with Arlo Guthrie, opening the show, then joining him onstage in their family concert series, recently accompanying him at Carnegie Hall with Pete Seeger and The Dillards.[5]