Miscellany and Mirth of the Midwest

Award-winning musician and storyteller, Dave Martin, takes us on a good-natured romp through the Midwest which explores the culture and storied history of the region, performing original songs while infusing quixotic anecdotes about his family’s place in America’s heartland.

Beginning at seed-time on the Fertile Crescent, (where history began, after all) with the cleverly written A History of the World in Six Glasses, a song that conveys important historical developments through a unique frame, (namely the advent of six particular beverages) Martin sets up the humorous and historical basis for his show. From that launchpoint he takes us on a clockwise trip around the Great Lakes via a travelogue that details endearingly peculiar facts; listeners will get a lesson in agricultural industrialization and a tender ode to his grandfather, an Iowa farmer. "The General" reflects the increasingly reconsidered historical legacy of Ulysses S. Grant, recognizing his progressive-mindedness on civil rights. We hear tales of true crime and focus our imaginations so that we can conceive of ourselves as 21st century pioneers. Martin’s writing sensibility is driven by both his background in journalism and his profession as a high school history teacher. His musical and performing influences include Chicagoan Steve Goodman, folk-singer Greg Brown, and Irish balladeers.