Help me find this Arlo Guthrie performance!

June 24, 2022 11:39 PM

I'm looking for a specific video of Arlo Guthrie performing "This Land is Your Land" with an orchestra, possibly the Boston Pops.

I think the concert was televised on PBS, although I viewed the video a few years ago on YouTube. I've looked again and cannot find the video I remember watching. Specifically, I recall the camera panning across the audience, showing that several members had been moved to tears.

The concert probably took place between 1990-2005. The BSO Archives has a list of all the orchestra's performances of "This Land is Your Land". The two performances I'm most interested in are the ones from 5/26/1998 and 7/3-7/4/2001.

I can't find videos of these specific concerts. I know I saw the video on YouTube, but it appears to have been removed. At this point, I don't even care about the performance, I just want confirmation that I actually saw what I remember seeing!

Any suggestions?

posted by easy, lucky, free to Society & Culture (3 answers total)

Response by poster: Responding to myself to say that this video of Arlo performing "City of New Orleans" with the Boston Pops feels familiar. I believe this is from the 2001 performance, and "City of New Orleans" was the song immediately preceding "This Land is Your Land".

I'm not sure why I can find this but no other videos from either performance.
posted by easy, lucky, free at 11:44 PM on June 24, 2022

I was at the 7/3/01 concert (it was my first date with my now husband). It was the rehearsal for the Boston Pops July 4th Esplanade Concert. Performances on the 3rd were pretty casual, and not as moving as you describe. I haven't seen video of This Land is Your Land from the 4th, but I did find a Cyndi Lauper song on YouTube from that night. It's professionally recorded and has audience reactions, so I bet full concert footage exists somewhere.
posted by terooot at 7:56 AM on June 25, 2022

Response by poster: Yes, I've found the Cyndi Lauper video, and I've seen the 2019 performance as well as the one from the 80s without Arlo. So strange that there are so few videos available of this specific song. It doesn't seem likely that it's a copyright thing, all things considered. I know I saw the video, and I know it was Arlo, but that was probably 10 years ago.

Thank you both.
posted by easy, lucky, free at 9:46 AM on June 25, 2022