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American Songbag “The American Songbag is a ragbag of strips, stripes, and streaks of color from nearly all ends of the earth." - Carl Sandburg In 1927, Carl Sandburg published a collection of songs and wrote that: "These songs come from the hearts and voices of thousands of men and women. They made new songs, they changed old songs, and they carried songs from place to place.”
Drawing on Sandburg’s premise that “songs tell our story” Michael J. Miles has created a decade by decade musical portrait of America in the 20th century.
In this musical documentary for the stage Michael performs songs made famous by some of America's greatest 20th Century singers and songwriters including Billie Holliday, Woody Guthrie, Cole Porter, Buddy Holly, George Gershwin, James Taylor and others. The performance of this one-man stage show features virtuoso guitar, banjo, and vocals.
In addition to music, American Songbag presents a wealth of spoken content that illuminates the fiery politics, rich literature and amusing popular culture of 20th Century America by weaving the words of the day into its dramatic narrative.
American Songbag Menu While American Songbag generally covers 1900-1975, the production has a unique modular format that allows Michael to customize the performance to emphasize specific periods or historical themes. A few examples of how American Songbag can be tailored:
Historical Periods • Vietnam Era • 1930’s, 40’s, 50’s or 60’s
Historical Themes • Civil Rights • Songs of Protest and Struggle • Great American Composers
American Songbag is designed to be staged in a variety of ways, from elegantly simple lighting-only presentations to more lavish productions involving stage dressing. "Just to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free, silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands...let me forget about today until tomorrow." - Bob Dylan |
Jack of Diamonds with audience participation. |
About Michael J. Miles
• Musician
• Composer
• Performing Artist
• Musical Playwright
• Educator
When Pete Seeger first heard Michael Miles, he sent a letter to Michael saying that "in all my 70 years this is among the most beautiful recordings I’ve ever heard...it is enough to make me want to learn the banjo all over again.”
Michael Miles is one of America’s most inventive clawhammer banjo players. Add guitar, vocals, jazz instruments, orchestras and complex historically-themed theatrical presentations to the mix and, two decades later, Michael has a critically acclaimed catalog of original compositions, stage performances, music CD’s and music instruction books.
Michael Miles performance credits include the Kennedy Center, Smithsonian Institution, Ravinia Festival, Harris Theatre in Chicago, American University in Beirut, and the Royal Opera Theatre in Marrakesh.
From 1984-1998, Michael served as the Program Director at the Old Town School of Folk Music bringing the school to international acclaim. Under his guidance the student population grew from 200 students to over 4000. From 2005-2007, Michael was honored as the school's first ever Artist-In-Residence. He remains as active member of the faculty teaching clawhammer banjo and fingerstyle guitar.
With an MA in Music Performance and Pedagogy, Michael is also a music educator whose work ranges from introducing kindergarten students to their earliest musical experiences to leading postgraduate study for professional musicians and music teachers.
Current projects include new fingerstyle guitar arrangements of the Great American Songbook and the works of Stevie Wonder; new compositions for the banjo and expanded ensemble; and new stage productions.
