- This event has passed.
Country & Midwestern: Chicago in the History of Country Music
August 25, 2025 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Budlong Woods Library, 5630 North Lincoln Avenue
Before the Grand Ole Opry, Chicago was Home to the National Barn Dance!
Country & Midwestern: Chicago in the History of Country Music and the Folk Revival is the first book to fully document country music’s long evolution in Chicago. Our big Midwestern city made a huge contribution to the national scene in the early days of radio. Chicago also had an important role in the folk music revival of more recent years.
Join us as author Mark Guarino shares the result of 10 years of writing and research for a look at country music history from a distinctly Chicago point of view.
Chicagoan MARK GUARINO writes about culture, national news, and all points between.
As a contributing writer to The Washington Post, his work covering Chicago and the Midwest appears frequently. He also writes for major Chicago newspapers, magazines and other outlets. Mark was the Midwest Bureau Chief for The Christian Science Monitor for six years, and the pop music critic for The Chicago Daily Herald for 11 years.
He is a frequent media guest on outlets including the BBC, CBC, National Public Radio (NPR), Al-Jazeera television, WTTW Chicago’s “Chicago Tonight.” and has taught journalism at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
We are delighted to add him to the roster of our Living History series speakers. Living History Programs are free and open to all. Registration helps us plan our events.