Liz Carroll & Mike Austin

World-class Irish fiddler Liz Carroll talks with friend and bodhran player Mike Austin about the Irish music community in Chicago, Liz's ideas about learning music, and her time teaching at the Old Town School of Folk Music in the 1980s....

The Great Thanksgiving Listen w/ James Epperson

In this Interview with my grandfather, James Epperson, we talked about his childhood and upbringing. He came from a very intricate family, where he mainly depended on himself and faced a variety of hardships.

Laura Doherty & Karen Banks-Lubicz

A conversation between Laura Doherty & Karen Banks-Lubicz. This conversation was recorded at the school on May 10th, 2017. Go to www.oldtownschool.org/StoryCorps to hear selected excerpts from interviews collected as part of the StoryCorps-Old Town School partnership.

The Great Thanksgiving listen

This interview was mostly me just asking Ms. Jackson some random question. About her life, growing up, Job, and etc.

The life of Robert E. Larson

This is the life of my dad who has lived 76 years in Vermont and lived a humble, hardworking life!

Steve Rosen & Mareva Lindo

Old Town School teaching artist Steve Rosen talks with his coworker and one-time fiddle student Mareva Lindo about his long tenure at the school. Steve is a member of long-running string band The Volo Bogtrotters, winner of the Midwest Fiddle...

Uncle Lou

My Uncle Lou grew up in the 40’s on the South Side of Chicago and was a school teacher for Chicago Public schools. This is a brief account of his childhood and pieces of his career as told by him.

Gus and Sarah Hutchinson discuss preparing for the climate emergency

This interview covers topics of preparing for climate change-induced disasters within the scope of a large city, and how precious experiences may or may not have helped to shape those behaviors

John: "This is my neighborhood."

John Ford, a long-time client of EZRA's, sits down with a member of EZRA's Social Action team to discuss his experiences growing up as a Black man in Chicago, working with EZRA, and gentrification in Uptown, Chicago.

The Life of Joseph Wilcox

In my interview with Joseph Wilcox (my father) we discuss many different topics from many different points in my life. We talk about things from what parks he used to play at, to how our family was almost not even...

Rebecca Armstrong & Mareva Lindo

A conversation between Rebecca Armstrong & Mareva Lindo. This conversation was recorded at the school on July 13th, 2017. Go to www.oldtownschool.org/StoryCorps to hear selected excerpts from interviews collected as part of the StoryCorps-Old Town School partnership.

The Acceptance of Jesus Christ

My grandmother and I talked about her story and her acceptance of Jesus Christ as her savior. Growing up she never really was religious however she had an experience where she started to believe in Jesus Christ. Her religion means...

War Can’t Destruct Love

“My childhood was actually great!” In November of 2018, ninth grade student, Olivia Foxman interviewed her grandmother, Shelly Foxman. Olivia learns about Shelly’s admirable  childhood post World War ll. Shelly’s story starts in 1951 in Chicago, but her family's story originates...

Lynn shares her personal and Davis family history of the 1960s and 1970s "What I know now what I didn’t know then is…"

Lynn shares with Sarah her experience of going to the 1965 Presidential Inauguration, of attending Northwestern in Chicago in 1965-1969 during the campus uprisings, and recognizing the importance of living in diverse places with water roots.

Skip Landt & Rick Sherry

Sometime in the late 1970s, Skip Landt walked into the Old Town School on Armitage to sing in the community chorus. Today he's been teaching harmonica at the school for over 30 years. Here he talks to student-turned-teacher Rick Sherry,...

Barb Silverman & Jess McIntosh

Old Town School teachers Barb Silverman and Jess McIntosh talk about teaching at the school, experiences as women in a male-dominated music community, and reflections on their friendship over the years. Barb is a clogger and multi-instrumentalist who performs in...

1968 from a Chicagoan’s Perspective

An overview of major events my grandmother remembers while living in Chicago in 1968. She was twenty years old and witnessed many of the terrible and iconic events on the news.

Eric Zorn & Mary Schmich

Friends and Chicago Tribune columnists Mary Schmich and Eric Zorn talk about their memories at the school, from taking lessons to co-founding the long-running holiday showcase and singalong, Songs of Good Cheer. This interview was recorded at the Old Town...

Making an Impact

In this interview, conducted on November 26, 2017 in Chicago, IL. Najabelle Oscar (16) interviews her mother, Magalie (47) about her teenage years and making an impact. She shares how she loved school as a teenager and how her life...