“Woody Guthrie in the Pacific Northwest: That Ribbon of Highway” will be presented on Sunday, Aug. 31, at 2 p.m. at the Odd Fellows Hall on Orcas by Joel Underwood.

Folksinger and activist Woody Guthrie composed 26 songs in 30 days while riding along the Columbia River and touring the Grand Coulee Dam Project in 1941. With his unique, authentic voice, he chronicled both the grandeur and the perils of what he called “The Greatest Thing That Man Has Ever Done” as an employee of the Bonneville Power Administration. His time here in the Pacific Northwest inspired a swell of patriotism that led Guthrie to enlist in the U.S. Merchant Marine in World War II, after which he returned home to fame and notoriety, but also to tragedy and tremendous personal loss.

Historian, teacher, folksinger and actor Joel Underwood performs an hour that is part concert, part theatrical drama and part lecture. Sing along to “Roll on Columbia,” “Pastures of Plenty” and, of course, “This Land is Your Land,” and learn the —sometimes hilarious, sometimes tragic — stories behind the songs.

Underwood will then offer “The Music and History of America’s Most Influential Songwriter: Bob Dylan” at the Odd Fellows Hall on Monday, Sept. 1, at 7 p.m.

He will deliver a performance featuring the music and history of America’s most influential songwriter: Bob Dylan. Come sing along with a dozen Dylan favorites. In addition, Underwood dives into the stories of the Nobel Prize-winner’s early years in Minnesota and New York, and lays out what really happened the fateful night he “went electric” in Newport. Sometimes poignant, often funny, occasionally infuriating, Dylan’s story adds depth and understanding to a unique treasury of music, and Underwood mines those narrative veins with his voice, guitar and a master storyteller’s touch.

Underwood is an actor, teacher, musician and historian. After 25 years of teaching high school history, Underwood got his master’s degree in American history with a focus on folk and protest music. A recipient of the Woody Guthrie Fellowship, Underwood was granted access to the Woody Guthrie Archives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to research Guthrie’s time in the World War II Merchant Marines. Underwood continues to tour as a musician, both solo and with his daughter. His performance series on Guthrie, Dylan and Hank Williams has garnered rave reviews and critical acclaim. Underwood is currently on the faculty of Pierce College, where he teaches early and modern American history.

This event is sponsored by the Washington Humanities Speakers series. Donations toward the upkeep of the Odd Fellows Hall are welcome. More information here: https://www.humanities.org/speaker/joel-underwood/.