Creative Commons license: Feliciano Guimarães
Set your calendar alert now for Thursday night at 7 p.m. at Church Street, where we’ll be hosting a night of music and storytelling — the event is free and everyone is welcome.
Michael Streissguth, author of Outlaw: Waylon, Willie, Kris and the Renegades of Nashville, is swinging through town, and he’s promised to spend the evening with us. Carrie with lead a Q&A, Mike will tell stories, and everyone who comes will have a chance to ask questions (Mike’s explored his subjects extensively, including writing Johnny Cash: The Biography and producing two documentaries on country music, so he’ll be a great resource).
The book, Outlaw, tells the stories of Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson as they changed the face of music and the course of Nashville, refusing to bow to the whims of record producers and instead insisting on making art the way they believed was best. The changes they made in the music industry are still effecting musicians today — and, of course, their music is loved and performed all over the world.
But what’s a discussion of music without, well, music? That’s what we thought, so we’re bringing in local musician John Burke to play songs from Waylon, Willie and Kris. Click here to listen to some of John’s music before the show.
Mike’s biography has been praised by the likes of Rosanne Cash and Kinky Friedman. He’s an expert on the topic and a professor in the Department of Communication and Film Studies at Le Moyne College, so you can be sure he’ll be a compelling speaker. Outlaw is a great read, and it’s also a fantastic gift for a music fan — come by to have the hardcover book personalized for your dad, mom or cousin, and we’ll wrap it up for you before you leave (that’s a night of good music and a gift crossed off your Christmas list). Can’t make it Thursday? Stop in to Church Street any time this week to buy your book, and leave us whatever message you want personalized inside. We’ll get it signed for you and you can pick it up after the event.
We at Church Street love storytelling and creativity in all its forms — books, of course, but also music and other kinds of art — and this is exactly the kind of event we want to put together, connecting the community with art and story. We hope you feel the same, and we’re looking forward to seeing you Thursday, October 10 at 7 p.m. at Church Street. You can find the event on Facebook, and we’d love it if you’d share it with your friends and help us spread the word.