Billy Bragg w/ Darren Hanlon

For 30 years, English songwriter Billy Bragg has recorded some of the most political folk music of his time, positioning himself as his generation’s Pete Seeger or Woody Guthrie. That’s not to say he’s a folk traditionalist, though. He’s collaborated with artists as diverse as R.E.M., Natalie Merchant and Less Than Jake. Two of his best albums were born of similar collaborative efforts: On the Mermaid Avenue records, he recorded original songs based on unpublished Guthrie lyrics with Wilco as his backing band. Bragg released two versions of his latest album, Mr. Love & Justice, one with lavish, full studio arrangements, and another performed solo and acoustic.