Tom Morello, founding guitarist of Rage Against the Machine, has been announced as the recipient of this year's Woody Guthrie Award.

The Woody Guthrie Award is named after the late legendary musician, considered to be one of the leading voices in American folk music, Guthrie was known for depicting his strong socialist and anti-fascist views in his songwriting, and is citied by Bob Dylan as a key influence.

The award sets to embody the spirit of Gurthie by awarding those who give a voice to the less fortunate through music.

Morello joins previous honourees such as Bruce Springsteen, Pussy Riot, Kris Kristofferson, Joan Baez, Mavis Staples and Pete Seeger.

The Woody Guthrie Centre, who organise the reward said in a statement, "This prestigious award recognises Morello's outstanding contributions to music and activism, embodying the spirit of Woody Guthrie's social consciousness and musical legacy."

Morello and Rage Against the Machine are renowned for their left-wing political lyricism, which often contained slogans against corporate America. The guitarist describes himself as a nonsectarian socialist and credits his mother's for shaping his left-leaning political views.

"Woody Guthrie was a fearless agitator, a six-string instigator, a poetic truth teller and a harmonising hellraiser," Morello said in a statement.

"He was the original punk rocker whose life, music, art and lyrics were beacons of justice and liberation for the downtrodden and oppressed. In my work, Woody has been an inspiration to tell it like I see it without compromise or apology and to play my songs on the picket line and at the barricade whenever and wherever people are taking a stand."

Morello will receive the award on September 25 at Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he'll also give a Q&A as well as an acoustic performance.