On Friday evening, July 7, at 7 pm, author (and musician!) Howard Marshall will sign copies of his new book (with companion CD), “Fiddler’s Dream” (University of Missouri Press) at The Book House in St. Louis.

“Fiddler’s Dream” is the sequel to Marshall’s “Play Me Something Quick and Devilish” (2012). It continues the saga of traditional fiddle and dance music, focusing on the period from the 1920s to the 1960s, and such topics as radio fiddlers, early fiddlers contests, oprys, swing, early Missouri bluegrass, and old-time fiddling.

The 540-page book incorporates oral history and archival research, numerous photograph, and 24 transcriptions of fiddle tunes.  The book comes with a CD with 30 recordings from 1939 to 2015.  Marshall is Professor Emeritus of Art History and Archaeology at the University of Missouri (Columbia) and former director of the Missouri Cultural Heritage Center (and yes, he plays a bit of fiddle, himself).

The event will include live music by some of St. Louis’s finest musicians — Geoff Seitz (violin), Dave Landreth (banjo), and Jim Nelson (guitar).

​The Book House is located at 7352 Manchester Road (in Maplewood), tel. (314) 968-4491, www.bookhousestl.com.  ​