Fire & Dust

The Woody Guthrie Story

Commissioned by Pete Townshend and created by Reg Meuross, Fire & Dust – The Woody Guthrie Story is a journey into the heart and soul of one of America’s finest folk musicians.

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 realize 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.

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.

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.

Joined by Welsh pianist and accordionist Geraint Watkins (Nick Lowe, Van Morrison, Mark Knopfler, Paul McCartney, Status Quo, Bill Wyman, Peter Green to name but a few) as well as renowned string player Marion Fleetwood (TRADarrr, IOTA, The Sandy Denny Project and Fleetwood Cave) plus Phil Beer (The Albion Band, Johnny Coppin, Show of Hands) the album is scheduled for release March 2025, with full band, trio and solo shows planned.

In addition to the incredible line-up on the album and tours, Who legend Townshend not only co-produced the album but also features on two of the album tracks and will be appearing at the full band launch gig in the spring.

“Reg Meuross is a purist…he sings in the neutral accent of an Englishman who travels the entirety of the British Isles, and tastes all its flavours, influenced by all its most profound national colours. In this he reminds one of Roy Harper or Ewan McColl, recent greats who went before him.”
Pete Townshend