Registration is required to attend “Woody Guthrie, Dustbowl Troubadour” and for all Coffee Talks moving forward. To register, please call 847-391-5399 or email contact@desplaineshistory.org. Any day-of availability will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

The life, times, and rough and tumble story of America’s balladeer, Woody Guthrie is brought to life by Barry Cloyd in this privately commissioned one-man original presentation. Guthrie’s stories and songs chronicle America’s human history of struggle, work, and the hard-driving spirit that saw our country through the Dust Bowl, the Depression, WW II, and the McCarthy era with its Black List. Cloyd is a consummate folk musician who brings all the passion of the man who wrote “This Land is Your Land”, and hundreds of other songs that have become such a significant part of our national heritage, to life. In this piece, Barry portrays a box-car riding hobo/friend named Gypsy Davey, in order to tell Woody's entire life story from the point of view of someone who knew him before his rise to international notoriety, and followed his career. Filled with well-known, beloved folk songs, a fine time is guaranteed for all!

This program is free thanks to our generous sponsors: Village Bank & Trust and Kiwanis Club of Des Plaines.