Our Land Between the Rivers, Illinois in Story & Song

Barry Cloyd is an award winning songwriter as well as a full-time touring musician with a special love for the history and music of our own Midwest. This newly commissioned program begins with a whirlwind trip back through time to the early days of the origins of our State and where it's name came from, the Illiniwek Nation of Native Americans. Some of the “stops along the way” include Abraham Lincoln's appearance in Illinois, The Black Hawk War, the creation of the Illinois & Michigan Canal, The Lincoln-Douglas Debates and The Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant's contributions, The Great Chicago Fire, the First Skyscraper, The Columbian Exposition, The Pullman Strike, Frank Lloyd Wright's genius, the Springfield Race Riots, “Lucky Lindy” in Illinois, Al Capone, Everett Dirksen, Carl Sandburg and a whole lot more. All this amazing history will be presented with songs that are germane to the period, traditional and original performed on guitar & 5-string banjo. Our state has been witness to, and a participant in, many of our nations most important events. The 2026 Coffee Talk Series is generously supported by Village Bank & Trust.