The Idaho Humanities Council announces the release of The Idaho Songbag, a CD of more than two dozen historically based songs inspired by Idaho people, places, and events from the mid-19th century to the present. Performed by musicians as diverse as folk music icon Pete Seeger and Salmon River loner “Dugout Dick” Zimmerman, The Idaho Songbag features songs about mining, murder, labor disputes, politics, protests, and cowboy laments, and comes with an illustrated 72-page booklet of lyrics and stories behind the songs.

The CD selections are the work of Nampa resident and “song catcher” Gary Eller, who several years ago began traveling around the state, thanks to an IHC grant, to search archives large and small, scour the internet, meet with musicians in public “song swaps,” and gather recordings of musicians both well known and unknown who have either written original music or passed along old songs they’ve learned from others. The Idaho Songbag is a compilation of polished studio recordings, wax cylinder, reel-... (more)