Rik Palieri will bring to life songs, stories and hobo poetry that he first heard while sitting around the glow of hobos' campfires during August 22's humanities project performance at Coffeyville Community College. Palieri will take the stage at 10:30 a.m. in the Spencer/Rounds Peformaning Arts Theatre. Admission is free and the public is invited.

In this fascinating program, Palieri explains the history and lore of The American Hobo. He will share many old hobo and railroad songs accompanied by his banjo and guitar. Songs like “The Big Rock Candy Mountain”, "Going Down the Road”, “Hobos Lullaby”, “Way Out There”, “Wabash Cannonball” as well as classic hobo songs by well-known hobos such as Woody Guthrie, Utah Phillips and many more.
 
In addition to the music, Palieri will teach you the hobos' secret code and tell you a story about the old carved hobo nickels. Palieri first learned about the hobos through his friendship with his mentor Utah Phillips. He then traveled to hobo gatherings across America, was given his road name "Totem Pole" and dubbed a "Grand Duke of New England Hobos" by the kings and queens of the Britt Iowa National Hobo Convention. Palieri spent years learning from the old hobos, interviewing them for his TV show The Song Writer’s Notebook. His collection of interviews with many of the steam train era hobos is now archived at The American Folk Life Center in The Library of Congress in Washington D.C. 
 
To learn more about Palieri, please visit his web page at www.banjo.net.

For more information about the humanities project, please call 620-251-7700, ext. 2166.