Lawn Songs

Laura Ingalls Wilder lived it, and anyone who has read her memoirs knows it: A settler’s life on the Kansas prairie was often tempered by hardship and heartache. Pioneers, homesteaders and fortune seekers around these here parts faced locust storms, fever and ague, and lost love. On the plus side of such adversity: Hardship and heartache often made for compelling stories. Throw a fiddle into the mix, and you’ve got the beginnings of American roots music, a genre that includes country, bluegrass and jug band. Hear Kansas-grown American roots music when the folksy Oriole Post performs on the lawn of the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art (12345 College Boulevard in Overland Park, 913-469-3000) as part of this summer’s free Light Up the Lawn concert series. Another Kansan making an appearance is Margo May, a singer-songwriter known for her soulful ballads. Like any good American roots singer or band, she and Oriole Post have stories to tell. Listen up from 7 to 9 p.m.— Lorna Perry

Fri., Aug. 20, 7-9 p.m., 2010