Reg Meuross’s third song cycle – commissioned and produced by Pete Townshend and created by Reg, ‘Fire & Dust: The Woody Guthrie Story’ is a journey into the heart and soul of one of America’s finest folk musicians.
“Reg’s terrific songs tell Woody’s life story with respect and affection, but also truth.“ Pete Townshend
Album release: Friday 14th March 2025 – BUY HERE
GIGS – band and solo HERE
- “A stunning new tribute from one great folk artist to another.” Morning Star
- “What an absolute pleasure to hear Reg’s songs alongside some of Woody’s originals…his outstanding Woody Guthrie project Fire & Dust… this album deserves attention and plaudits. Joyful.” Ralph McTell
- “A true homage… beautiful lyrics sharing social history that is still highly relevant today.” RnR 4★
- Mixing narrative songs and covers of a few of Guthrie’s finest, it’s an excellently performed and conceived set. Songlines (Tim Cumming, 4★)
- “Meuross might have woken us up to a prophet who sang from an alternate hymn book.” Irish Music Magazine:
- “Not imitating Guthrie… an intelligent, well-judged commentary on Woody’s life.” Essex Folk News
- FATEA Magazine “The depth of historical research… astounding.”
- “A brilliant tribute… Red Shoes moved me to tears.” Unicorn Folk
- “A loving and outstanding tribute to the American folk icon.” Folk Wales (5★):
- “16 tour de force tracks that capture the spirit of his American folk music.”Record Collector:
- “Connects history, people and now.” The Arts Culture (Lee Morgan):
- “Excellent album, played constantly over the last few weeks.”Folk Friday (Ian Freedman):
- “The magnificent storyteller and songwriter Reg Meuross.” For Folk’s Sake:
- “Commissioned by Pete Townshend… a remarkable tribute.” Spiral Earth:
- “Reg Meuross is one of our most important songwriters… another 10 out of 10 album.” FATEA (single review):
- “An album full of musical joy and passionate singing & playing… a wonderful album.” Get Ready To Rock (Jason Ritchie, 4★)
The breadth and depth of Reg Meuross’s material is unparalleled in contemporary folk: songs about forgotten heroes, famous names, folk legends, the climate emergency, tales from the kitchen sink and news from the world stage. If something needs to be sung about then Reg Meuross has a song for it and with Fire & Dust another important chapter of impeccably researched story-telling has begun.
Seeded by Townshend in 2019, this new work shows how the impact of Guthrie remains and how Meuross was the right man to tell this story through music and song. When Townshend called Reg to suggest the idea he saw how the project would “draw a direct line from Woody, through Bob Dylan, to Reg Meuross” and pledged his full support to realise this vision both as a studio album (which he co-produced and played on) and a series of live tours across the UK and beyond.
“In addition to his inspirational musicianship, Reg Meuross has an ear tuned to history, justice, and the everyday human struggle to find a place in this world. It is only natural that he should write and sing with the angel of Woody Guthrie on his shoulder.” Will Kaufman Professor of American Cultural History at the University of Central Lancashire.
Highlighting racism, bigotry, corruption and inequality this incredible new song-cycle is focused on the life and times of the ‘Dust Bowl’ American folk musician and political activist Woody Guthrie – whose work remains so influential today. Drawing important parallels between Guthrie’s time and our own, each song shows Meuross at his absolute best – sharing stories from social history that are still highly relevant today.
