Arlo Guthrie: An “Alice’s Restaurant” Renaissance

It is somehow fitting that, instead of touring for the 50th anniversary of the release of his seminal 18-minute-long folk monologue, “Alice’s Restaurant,” Arlo Guthrie is actually touring the 50th anniversary of the event that inspired the tune. Delivering the lyrics with a rambling dialect reminiscent of Bob Dylan, John Prine, and his father Woody, “Alice’s Restaurant” has carved a unique place for itself in folk music history as one of few songs that revolves around Thanksgiving and as an anti-war protest song that remains as relevant to soldiers fighting overseas today as it did in 1967. Guthrie and his band, which includes Terry Hall (drums), Bobby Sweet (guitar, vocals), and Darren Todd (bass), as well as his two kids Abe and Sarah Lee Guthrie, will be touring the country for the next six months, including stops at Carnegie Hall on Nov. 28 and NJ Performing Arts Center on Nov. 29.