Dust Bowl Stories – Kelly Luck, Fringe Reviewer

Some time back, Grant Maloy Smith wrote a song that got him thinking about the Dust Bowl, the multi-year drought that ravaged the midwest during the 1930s. He dug into its history, and over time created an entire album’s worth of songs on the subject. It is this album that forms the core of his Fringe presentation.

Combining the songs from the album with live performance and video footage, Mr. Smith has turned it into a sort of multimedia history of the Great Plains, those who settled there, the things that happened, and the trials that they faced.

The music spans the genres: songs of love, of loss, of survival. One particular highlight is a song about the Trail of Tears, the forced migration of Native Americans from their homes; this number includes some quite haunting lyrics and effective use of native instruments.

This show is suitable for all ages, and will be enjoyed by fans of country music and those with an interest in American history, particularly as pertains to Oklahoma and environs.