WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29TH, 7:00 PM

FREE TO ATTEND, WITH DONATIONS APPRECIATED!

SOLD OUT! TO JOIN THE WAITLIST, EMAIL INFO@HISTORICNORTHAMPTON.ORG

Rhythm & Rails, a multimedia performance written and directed by local public history playwright Trudy Williams, draws to the stage some of the Valley’s most talented musicians and actors to animate aspects of the complex social history of railroads in America. At the center of Rhythm & Rails is Northampton’s railroad history, but the performance takes us to other parts of New England and the country using a blend of railroad-themed music, narration, theatrical cameos, and archival images. The arrival of the railroad in the United States in the mid-nineteenth century profoundly affected the nation’s history. Here in Northampton and across the country, railroads changed the pace of life, the perception of space and time, the movement of people and goods, and the country's economic, technological, and social history. The impact of railroads on the lives of people across America was recorded in letters, photographs, literature, and in thousands of songs—from American roots, folk and rag time to blues, jazz, pop, and rock.

Musicians and performers include: Jim Armenti, Jerry Bryant, Joe Blumenthal, Bill Cutler, Tracy Grammer, Indë, Rose Jackson, Evan Kos, Mark Roberts, Dan Scott, Tom Scott, Adrienne Wade, Shirley Van Kanin, and Rebecca Weiss. Also included: special appearance by Maryliz Maldanado and Will Messier of the Children's Corn Stalk Fiddle Choir, directed by Cindy Naughton, as well as Ella Elliot, Indë , MawuLisa Thomas-Adeyemo and Min Tyrone Bowie Jr. of the Ujima Singers, directed by Indë Francis.

Trudy's prior shows about American history and culture have been performed at: Library of Congress, Lincoln Center Public Program Series / NY Public Library for the Performing Arts, the Smithsonian affiliate Long Island Museum of Art and History , A.R.T Oberon Special Program Series / Harvard Houghton Library, Yale University, Emily Dickinson Museum and Hadley Public Library sponsored by Hadley Historical Society and Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum, and Forbes Library, Northampton. Williams plays electric-acoustic bass in the Fiddle Orchestra of Western Massachusetts/ Valley String Band and the Machine Shop Jam Band. She is a recipient of the American Antiquarian Society’s Baron Fellowship for Creative and Performing Artists and Writers.