Turner Hall Ballroom's GuthrieUNCOVERED concert isn't until Friday, but you don't have to wait until then to hear one of the night's reinterpretations. Josh Evert of The Fatty Acids has shared a studio recording of his digitalized update of Guthrie's “Jolly Banker,” one of the folk icon's angriest, most populist songs—which, if you're even passively familiar with Guthrie's music, you know is really saying something.
Singing from the perspective of a lender whose helping hand comes at a considerable cost, Evert nails the song's passive-aggressive outrage. “When the bugs get your cotton, the times they are rotten,” he sings, “I'll come down and help you, I'll rake you and scalp you.” Cold stuff. You can stream the track below, and hear more at Friday's concert.
