Seven Days: Vermont's Independent Voice

Okie From . . . Boston?

Noted universities granting honorary degrees upon celebrities is fairly commonplace. But what about honorary citizenship from small Oklahoma towns? Not so much. So to be named an (adopted) native son of Okemah, OK, the birthplace of Woody Guthrie, is a rare honor indeed. A Guthrie acolyte long before Billy Bragg and Wilco made it cool, that distinction was given to Boston-based songwriter Ellis Paul, in gratitude for his tireless efforts in keeping the legendary folk icon’s spirit alive. This Sunday, Okemah’s second favorite son — who also claims a pretty remarkable canon of his own — appears at the Higher Ground Showcase Lounge with local folk-pop siren Mia Adams and North Carolina’s Marc Marshall Brisson.