Free Concert Celebrates Illinois's 200+-year History

Chris Vallillo is known as a folk singer, songwriter and roots musician who makes the people and places of “unmetropolitan” America come to life in song. He spent several years collecting and documenting the music of rural Illinois, which deeply influenced his own work. The result of this effort is a compilation of the Prairie State’s best-loved authors, songwriters and poets that gives voice to the story of Illinois.

On Sunday, August 16, 2020 at 2:00 p.m., the Elmhurst History Museum presents a concert streaming live from Vallillo’s studio, “By Thy Rivers Gently Flowing, Illinois In Her Own Words.” Vallillo, who has been described as “Illinois’s pre-eminent prairie-poet singer-songwriter,” will perform songs, poems and stories to commemorate Illinois’s 200+-year history. This program, which is supported by the Illinois Arts Council, Illinois Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), will be accessible on the Elmhurst History Museum’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/elmhursthistorymuseum/. The program is free, and no reservations are required.

Be sure to join the Elmhurst History Museum for a musical celebration of the Prairie State with Chris Vallillo on August 16th. For more information, please visit www.elmhursthistory.org or call (630) 833-1457.