The Klezmatics featuring Sofia Rei Cover Woody Guthrie

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Photo Adrian Buckmaster, design Anna Nikolaenko

Unfortunately, Woody Guthrie's iconic "Plane Wreck at Los Gatos (Deportees)" is becoming a very popular song to cover. The latest is from The Klezmatics featuring Sofia Rei. This new version is trilingual, with lyrics in English, Spanish, and Yiddish. Eighty years later it's still a timely song, giving the names and dignity back to migrant workers, it may even be more so now. The Klezmatics are also one of the more diverse sounding bands around today, with their bio naming Yiddish soul, punk, gospel, jazz, and folk as their genres. All of those are present in this cover, and the musical diversity only adds to the message of the song. Despite the somber message of the song, this version of "Plane Wreck at Los Gatos (Deportees)" is a true celebration of life and music.

Vocalist, accordionist, pianist, and guitarist Lorin Sklamberg says of the new single:

“I’ve been singing Woody’s songs since I was a kid, since my mom won a copy of one of his albums of children’s songs in a radio contest. I’ve known ‘Deportee’ for a long time - I never imagined that an 80-year old song would mean so much more in these challenging times.”

You can watch the video for "Plane Wreck at Los Gatos (Deportees)" below. We Were Made for These Times is due out May 1 on Shamus Records. For more on The Klezmatics, check out the band's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the video and include a May 28 date at City Winery Boston.


May 16            Washington, DC @ Theatre J
May 20            St. Louis, MO @ The Sheldon Concert Hall and Art Galleries
May 21            Chicago, IL @ City Winery Chicago
May 28            Boston, MA @ City Winery Boston
June 2             Philadelphia, PA @ City Winery Philadelphia
June 6             Los Angeles, CA @ TBD
June 7             San Francisco, CA @ Jewish Community Center of San Francisco
June 20           Brooklyn, NY @ Crown Hill Theatre
June 21           Marlboro, NJ @ The Falcon
July 12             Amherst, MA @ Yidstock: The Festival of New Yiddish Music
August 14-15  Fort Ann, New York @ JetLAG Festival

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