Popular folk musician Chris Vallillo, described as “Illinois’s pre-eminent prairie-poet singer-songwriter,” presents a combination of Carl Sandburg’s poetry paired with his own original music and several selections from Sandburg’s American folk song collection. Vallillo’s style is often compared to Sandburg’s, and he is known for evoking the people and places of rural America.

“For years people have been telling me my work reminded them of Sandburg’s poetry,” said Vallillo. “When I began to explore the possibilities, I was struck by just how powerful the combination was.” Much as Sandburg himself, Vallillo spent several years collecting and documenting the music of rural Illinois, much of which influenced his own work.

ABOUT CARL SANDBURG: Carl Sandburg’s legacy as a poet, writer, and folk musician is a source of pride for the Prairie State as well as the City of Elmhurst. Through his vivid, honest, and often gritty depictions of American life, the Prairie Poet had a knack for colorful imagery that connected with the masses earning him wide acclaim and eventually three Pulitzer prizes.

sandburg was born in Galesburg, Illinois and eventually settled with his family in Elmhurst in 1919 during a prolific time in his career. The Elmhurst History Museum is commemorating the 100th anniversary of Sandburg’s settling in Elmhurst—where he lived from 1919 for nearly a decade—and his first Pulitzer Prize win in the same year with a special folk concert in his honor.

The Elmhurst History Museum is a department of the City of Elmhurst supported by the Elmhurst Heritage Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization.