Duncan Phillips never wanted to play the guitar, at least not as a kid. In his young mind it was the thing that kept his father, legendary folk singer/activist/storyteller Bruce “Utah” Phillips, away from him. “It’s hard to say what I thought at the time,” says Phillips. “I just knew he was a singer out on the road, out there somewhere doing what he was doing.”
Phillips often went many years without seeing his father, but when, as a grown man, he decided to find Utah, it was to let him know he had no hard feelings. “I kind of searched him out,” says Phillips. “I told him, ‘I wanted to let you know that I grew up all right and that I’m not bitter or mad about anything.’”
Their reunion rekindled their relationship, and the younger Phillips started accompanying his father on the road as often as he could. “Dad called me his manager,” says Phillips, “but we all know that no one could manage my dad.”
Throughout their time together, Utah encouraged his son to take up the guitar. It wasn’t until after Utah’s passing in 2008, however, that Duncan decided to give music a try.
Now, nearly three years later, Phillips has organized a Utah Phillips tribute album. Long Gone features musicians based in and around Utah, where the younger Phillips lives and the elder Phillips worked, agitated, earned his nickname and always called home. The players, including Kate MacLeod, Anke Summerhill and many more, including Phillips, all played Utah’s guitar on their tracks—a classic folk touch that reflects the spirit of the whole project. “Dad used to say, ‘The ultimate folk fest is one where no one shows up because everyone is at home playing their own music,’” says Phillips with a laugh.
“What we’re doing is really simple but honest. I think that people really like that simplicity.
“Dad really was a man of the people,” he continues. “If he talked about unions or homelessness, then when he was offstage, that’s what he was doing. Some people rally the flags and talk about what we should do, then go to the next town and do it again. They don’t walk the walk, they just talk the talk. My dad did both.
“Now it’s up to the rest of us to pick up where he left off. It’s our turn.”
UTAH PHILLIPS TRIBUTE with Duncan Phillips and Kate MacLeod
Sunday, 7pm
Don Quixote’s, 6275 Hwy 9, Felton
Tickets $10
www.donquixotesmusic.info
