In Country and Midwestern, veteran journalist Mark Guarino tells the epic story of Chicago's influence on sounds typically associated with regions farther south. Guarino reveals a forgotten history of music, migration, and rural culture infiltrating urban communities through radio, the automobile, and the railroad. The Midwest's largest city was the place where rural transplants could reinvent themselves and shape their music for the new commercial possibilities the city offered.

Oak Park native Mark Guarino covers national news and culture from Chicago for The Washington Post, ABC News, The New York Times, and other outlets.

The event is free to Museum members. Regular admission rates apply for the general public. Autographed copies of the book will be available for purchase.