Please Note:  the April 7 art contest reception has been cancelled.

Finale featuring The Red Dirt Rangers, April 13 at 7 p.m. at the Community Center

 

"One Book, One Community: Stillwater Reads Woody Guthrie" concludes with its finale event, "Time Changes Everything," on Saturday, April 13, at the Stillwater Community Center at 7:30 p.m.  Doors open at 7 p.m. and refreshments will be sold by the Stillwater Community Center Foundation.  The program is free and no tickets are required.

 

"We are excited to debut in Stillwater this one-act play and mini-concert starring the Red Dirt Rangers," said library director Lynda Reynolds.  "It is a wonderful finale to a very successful 'One Book, One Community' series that has brought over 400 community members together to discuss and learn more about Woody Guthrie."

 

Written by John Wooley and Thomas Connor, "Time Changes Everything" highlights Oklahoma music icons, Bob Wills and Woody Guthrie, in a "what if they had met" story. 

 

"Both Woody Guthrie and Bob Wills were men of the people, heroes to the hardscrabble farm families and blue-collar workers of America," says Wooley.  "And while it's slightly possible that they actually met, family members and historians indicate that they never really talked with one another but what if they had? That's the premise of this show."

 

Following the play, the Red Dirt Rangers will play a mini-concert celebrating the songs of Guthrie, Wills, and the Red Dirt style they influenced.  Red Dirt music has a unique sound defined by some as "country music with an attitude."  It has been described as a mix of folk, rock, country, bluegrass, blues, Western swing and honky-tonk, with even a few Mexican influences.  The long-lived Red Dirt Rangers are widely recognized as one of the first and most influential acts of this musical movement which blends the happy abandon of Bob Wills' music with the social consciousness of Woody Guthrie's.   

 

"Each year we have visitors that come to Stillwater specifically just to experience Red Dirt music live," said Cristy Morrison, Stillwater Convention & Visitors Bureau Executive Director.  "Bob Wills and Woody Guthrie helped shape part of Stillwater's identity by influencing the musicians that went on to create Red Dirt music, like the Red Dirt Rangers."

 

The finale event received financial assistance from the Oklahoma Arts Council and the Stillwater Convention and Visitor's Bureau. 

 

The Monica Taylor Trio will play at 6 p.m. on April 4 at the OSU Student Union Little Theater prior to the 7 p.m. showing of "Bound for Glory."

A special evening of Oklahoma music will be held at the OSU Student Union Little Theater on Thursday, April 4, beginning at 6 p.m.  A performance by the Monica Taylor Trio will be followed by a 7 p.m. showing of the Academy Award winning film, "Bound for Glory."  

 

Musician Darden Smith will instruct students on the art of songwriting April 2 at 7 p.m.

Critically acclaimed singer-songwriter, Darden Smith will hold a songwriting workshop on April 2 at 7 p.m. at the Stillwater Public Library.  Smith, who has released 13 albums with labels from Epic Records, Columbia and CBS Records, will lead a workshop on using everyday life and real stories as the basis for songwriting.  Though the focus of the workshop is on the medium of songwriting, the techniques can be applied to all forms of writing.  "Everybody has a story to tell. That's the heart of songwriting- telling stories and relaying emotion," says Smith.  "Whether it's love or loss, joy or fear, good times gone bad or bad times getting worse- a song has the power to communicate it all. It's what I've spent my life doing, both on my own and with other musicians."

The songwriting workshop, sponsored by the OSU Institute for Creativity and Innovation, is for ages 14 to adult and seating is limited to 40. To register, contact the Help Desk at the Stillwater Public Library by calling 405-372-3633 ext. 106 or askalibrarian@stillwater.org

Expert panel sheds light on Guthrie's life and legacy March 25

"One Book, One Community: Stillwater Reads Woody Guthrie" events continue with a panel discussion on "Woody Guthrie's Life and Legacy" on Monday, March 25 at 7 p.m. at the Stillwater Public Library. 

Panelists for the presentation include Dr. Guy Logsdon, speaking on Woody Guthrie's childhood and adolescence, Dr. Davis Joyce discussing Oklahoma politics and its influence on Guthrie's life and Stanton Doyle with the George Kaiser Family Foundation sharing the story of the relocation of the Woody Guthrie Archives to Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Read the book, Watch the movie! Two viewings of the Academy Award winning film "Bound for Glory": Thursday, March 21 at 6 p.m. at Stillwater Public Library and Thursday, April 4 at 7 p.m. at the OSU Student Union Little Theater.

 

Meet Woody Guthrie's granddaughter, Anna Canoni, at events March 11 in the library or March 12 at the OSU Edmon Low Library.

 

Second week of Woody Guthrie series includes documentary from award winning series and a children's music program with storyteller and musician Caroline Johnson.

 

Kick-off event on Feb. 28 features Dr. Hugh Foley, professor Professor of Fine Arts at Rogers State University, author of "Oklahoma Music Guide" and founding board member of the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. (Photo courtesy RSU Public Information)