A collaborative follow-up to Wilco and Billy Bragg’s 1998/2000 Mermaid Avenue double-volume, in which previously unpublished Woody Guthrie lyrics were adapted to new original music, will finally see the light of day next January via Rounder Records. As originally reported back in ‘09, former Uncle Tupelo co-leader Jay Farrar joined My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, Centro-matic’s Will Johnson, and Anders Parker for the forthcoming set, titled New Multitudes.

What’s more, the official Woody Centennial site reports (via American Songwriter) that his estate will honor what would have been the folk pioneer’s 100th birthday next year with yet another tribute record: Note of Hope, a 12-track compilation of songs adapted from archival Guthrie writings by bassist Rob Wasserman with Lou Reed, Jackson Browne, Nellie McKay, Tom Morello, Pete Seeger, Madeleine Peyroux, Van Dyke Parks, and others.

Meanwhile, Mermaid Avenue will get the box-set treatment — composed of both previous volumes, an outtakes disc, and the making-of documentary Man In The Sand — next spring. You can hear samples of Note of Hope (due in September) here and check out the tracklist along with a stream of Jackson Browne’s cut, “You Know the Night,” below.

I mentioned this last week, before TwentyFourBit took off on our road trip, but a story that involves Woody Guthrie, Wilco, and Jay Farrar certainly deserves its own post. In an interview with the Austin Chronicle (via The Daily Swarm), Centro-matic’s Will Johnson revealed some huge news about his involvement in the next installment of unreleased Woody Guthrie lyrics set to music composed by a living artist: Jay Farrar, of Son Volt and formerly of Uncle Tupelo, has taken the torch from Wilco and Billy Bragg, helming the recording of the next volume in the Mermaid Avenue series.

What’s more, My Morning Jacket’s Jim James is also performing on the album, according to Johnson. There’s no release date set yet, but the songs have already been put to tape and are currently in the mixing stage.

My initial reaction to this news was that Farrar trying his hand at the same Guthrie project as his former estranged band mate and songwriting partner Jeff Tweedy could permanently burn the Uncle Tupelo bridge, but now I’m thinking the promotion of this volume could make for a pretty awesome reunion tour. I suppose it’s going to take a few more chance encounters in Mexico for that to happen though.

When Wilco released a studio recorded cover of Woody Guthrie’s prescient “The Jolly Banker” a little while back, they offered three payment options to the recipient of the optionally free MP3: a suggested donation of $2 or more to the Woody Guthrie Foundation and Archives, a free download (provided you “make it up to [them] later”), or you could check the box next to this snarky bit: “I am/was a banker/hedge fund manager/credit default swap trader. I know times are tough, but I’m just fine thank you. (Suggested minimum donation $100.00)”

As it turns out, not everyone pretended to be “otherwise broke” and the band has raised $10,000 to date for the Guthrie archives. “Wilco’s decision to make it available online to raise some bucks for the Archives - and raise the bucks they have! - came as a total heart-warming surprise,” Guthrie’s daughter Nora posted on the official Wilco site. “In one fell download swoop, Wilco wiped the smirk off that Jolly Banker’s face and put the biggest smile on mine.”