Folk songs get handed down a lot like an old jacket. Somebody wears it for a while, then passes it along, and the next person takes it in at the waist or swaps out the buttons so it fits the times they’re living in. Woody Guthrie did that all the time. He borrowed old melodies and wrote new words on top of them, and nobody called it stealing. That was just how the music moved from one generation to the next.
So there’s something fitting about Bette Midler picking up the Woody Guthrie Prize for doing the same thing to one of Guthrie’s own songs.
A Night at Cain’s Ballroom
The Woody Guthrie Center held its 2026 prize celebration Friday night at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa. Midler was this year’s honoree, and before the award was presented, she sat down on stage with music journalist Rona Elliot for a conversation about art and activism.
Then she sang. According to the center, Midler surprised the crowd with her version of “All You Fascists (Bound to Lose),” the protest song Guthrie wrote in the 1940s, and the room ended up on its feet.
Rising country artist Bryan Andrews closed out the night with a solo acoustic set. He played a handful of his own songs, including “Man in Black,” “Backwoods Backwards,” “Daughter’s Plea,” and “Yeehaw,” and then led the audience in a sing-along of “This Land Is Your Land.” That was a good twist. Most people know that song from school assemblies, and most people never learned the verses Guthrie wrote about private property signs and hungry people lined up at the relief office. Those verses were a big part of why he wrote it but got cut from the mainstream release.
New Words for an Old Fight
Midler’s remarks leaned hard into the idea of the song as a hand-me-down. She told the crowd that justice doesn’t always come from a courtroom, and that sometimes the law shows up late and on the wrong side. Sometimes, she said, it comes from a beat-up guitar instead. When she wanted to say something about what she sees happening in the country right now, she took Guthrie’s song and gave it new lyrics, because the old fights keep coming back wearing different clothes.
She called the rewrite her small contribution to the resistance. She also described the current moment in pretty stark terms, comparing it to a war where everyone gets drafted whether or not the notice ever shows up in the mail. She thanked the audience for noticing that she reported for duty.
None of that will surprise anyone who’s followed Midler. She’s been outspoken about politics for years, and the Guthrie Center clearly wasn’t looking for someone who keeps quiet. The center says the prize exists to recognize artists who share Guthrie’s belief that music can be a force for social justice and change. That’s also why an award like this lands differently depending on who’s listening. Guthrie painted “This machine kills fascists” on his guitar, and he wasn’t trying to make everyone comfortable either.
Carrying the Torch and Paying the Bills
Guthrie’s granddaughter, Anna Canoni, said Midler’s version of the song shook things up this year and brought Woody back to protests and rallies. She said the family is honored to count Midler among the artists who have carried his words and music into the fight.
Cady Shaw, senior director of the Woody Guthrie Center, pointed past the glamour, the voice and the sense of humor. She said Midler understands something Guthrie believed all along, which is that each of us has a responsibility to leave the world a little better than we found it. According to Shaw, the prize is meant for artists whose work goes beyond the stage and who are willing to speak up and turn what they believe into action.
Like most award galas, this one also raised money. Proceeds support the center’s educational programs, public concerts, and exhibitions. A silent auction ran through the night with a signed ukulele from Midler’s personal collection and other items from her archive, a signed Bob Dylan lithograph and rare prints of Dylan and related artists, a premium ticket package from the Oklahoma City Thunder, and tickets to one of Garth Brooks’ upcoming Tulsa shows.
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