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Little Boxes Meets Spoon River

August 23, 2025, 9:00 pm

rows of suburban homes with mountains in background

Malvina Reynolds was inspired to write "Little Boxes" by rows of tract housing in California. (Photo credit: Biff.Martin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

The birth anniversaries of Illinois poet Edgar Lee Masters and activist songwriter Malvina Reynolds coincide in a fascinating playlist featuring John Gorka, Deidre McCalla, Kate Macleod, The Malvinas, Michael Smith and many more.

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The Midnight Special is made possible, in part, by Mr. and Mrs. Norman Bobins, The Robert Thomas Bobins Foundation, an anonymous donor, and the generous support of WFMT members.

Meet the Host

Marilyn Rea Beyer hosted her first concert in junior high as the school band emcee. She got on board The Midnight Special listening to WFMT as a Chicago teenager. She has had careers in arts education, PR and high tech. In 1995, Marilyn became on-air host and music director at Boston’s premiere folk station, WUMB-FM where she was best known for the daily "Live at Noon" show, conducting more than 1,000 artist interviews on the air. She also served on the board of the legendary Club Passim and emcee'd countless concerts in greater Boston. Returning to Chicago, Marilyn joined WFMT in 2020 as host of The Midnight Special and now Folkstage. She says that judicious risk-taking, nurturing artists, falling in love with new music, and engaging with the lively Folkstage audience make the job fun. Marilyn was inducted into the 2023 Folk Alliance International Folk DJ Hall of Fame.

Get in touch at [email protected].

Through the Night with Peter van de Graaff

Through the Night with Peter van de Graaff

Little Boxes Meets Spoon River