America's Music: Film and Concert Series Headed to the Oak Park Public Library

A major series of events showcasing music's unique influence on American culture will be staged during February and March at the Oak Park Public Library.

The national program, America’s Music: A Film History of Our Popular Music from Blues to Bluegrass to Broadway, will offer 25 events, all taking place at the library's main branch, located at 834 Lake St.

The series will include documentarys and "pitch perfect" film screenings, concerts, lectures and special evening events for teens and artists. Each will feature a uniquely American musical genre.

Covering blues and gospel, Broadway, jazz, bluegrass and country, rock n’ roll, mambo and hip hop, popular music's deep connections to the history, culture and geography will be explored. Older and younger folks will learn how the current cultural landscape has been created by popular music.

Some of the highlights for February include:

• Yankee Doodle Dandy. This 1942 film stars James Cagney, who earned an Oscar playing brash, composer, dancer and singer George M. Cohan in this biopic. The showing starts at 7 p.m. Feb. 4.

• From the Roots to the Fruits: The Musical and Racial Legacy of Memphis and the Mississippi Delta. Explore the musical and racial legacy of the Mississippi Delta with Prof. Janice Monti, creator of the Annual Blues Symposium at Dominican University. The program, which starts at 7 p.m. Feb. 7, explores the relationship between racial identity and American music through words and pictures. Special emphasis will be placed on the genres of gospel, blues and R&B.

• Help kick off America's Music in Oak Park with an evening of live jazz at an after hours Big Band concert featuring the Glen Ellyn Jazz Ensemble. The band will perform traditional Big Band music mixed with contemporary songs. This program starts at 7 p.m. Feb. 9. 

• Terry Abrahamson, author and photographer of In the Belly of the Blues: Chicago to Boston to L.A. 1969 to 1983 will share photos and stories of his years taking photos of blues musicians Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Koko Taylor and more. This event is presented in collaboration with the Oak Park Photography Club and kicks off at 7 p.m. Feb. 11.

• The American Musical, Episode 2: Syncopated City (1919-1933): Narrated by Julie Andrews, this film to be shown at 7 p.m. Feb. 19 focuses on the 1920s and Broadway’s most prolific era. It features on-camera commentary by historians as well as performers, writers and critics. 

• Do you sing, dance, rap, play an instrument, or do a little comedy? You're so talented, you deserve an audience! Come out and show us what you can do, or just sit back and prepared to be amazed. The Teen Open Mic Night will be held at 7 p.m. Feb. 15.

America’s Music: A Film History of Our Popular Music from Blues to Bluegrass to Broadway is a project of the Tribeca Film Institute in collaboration with the American Library Association, Tribeca Flashpoint and the Society for American Music.

The complete schedule is available on the Oak Park Public Library's website or as a PDF.

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