CANCELED: Greg Garing: An Afternoon of Words and Music with Alex Hall, Brian Wilkie, and Marc Edelstein

Greg Garing, who Johnny Cash once called “the best country singer I heard in 30 years."

Greg will be in conversation with journalist Mark Guarino to talk about his long and remarkable career, followed by a full band performance featuring Alex
Hall (the Flat Five) on drums, Marc Edelstein (Special Consensus) on bass, and Brian Wilkie (the Hoyle Brothers) on pedal steel guitar.

A native of Erie, Pennsylvania, Greg Garing was barely out of his teenage years when he
apprenticed in bands by masters such as bluegrass wildman Jimmy Martin, mountain music
queen Wilma Lee Cooper, cosmic cowboy Peter Rowan, and others. He also played alongside
every country and bluegrass superstar on the scene, including John Hartford, Bill Monroe, Roy
Acuff. 

Greg surfaced on Lower Broadway in Nashville in the 1990s, when it was still a grimy and
dangerous area to visit, and, amid Nashville’s commodification, resurrected hope for the genre
from the bones of country music greats. With an outstanding band, including renowned
guitarist Kenny Vaughan, he drew crowds of celebrities, working class irregulars, and tried-and-
true music lovers and helped lead a revival of Nashville’s downtown core. In 1997, the New
York Times named “Alone,” his debut solo album, the #6 album of the year.

Greg recently moved to Chicago where he is performing and recording new music. Visit greggaring.net. 

Mark Guarino is a veteran Chicago journalist. His book, “Country and Midwestern: Chicago in
the History of Country Music and the Folk Revival” (The University of Chicago Press) was named
2024 Book of the Year by the International Country Music Conference at Belmont University in
Nashville and the 2024 History Book of the Year by the State of Illinois. Visit
countryandmidwestern.com and mark-guarino.com.