In his life, Utah Phillips was many things - soldier, hobo, activist, pacifist, union organizer, storyteller, songwriter. He was an oral historian who documented the events of the working class and turned them into stories and songs. And in the folk tradition, he passed them on to others.

This two-CD set that celebrates the music that Utah sang and loved. Included are performances from Emmylou Harris and Mary Black, Pete Seeger, Tom Paxton, John McCutcheon, Rosalie Sorrels, Gordon Bok, Ani DiFranco, Magpie, Jean Ritchie and many others - folksingers whose music springs from the same rich vein of the people's history that Phillips chronicled throughout his life.

Schatz, who performs at folk festivals, coffeehouses and concerts while serving full time at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship on Street Rd. in Warrington, sees the project as closely tied to ministry. "Unitarian Universalists value freedom, truth-seeking, social justice and human dignity - these were the values Utah worked for and sang about his entire life. He was a poet who lifted up the poor and the dispossessed. That's worth singing and preaching about."