MARQUETTE, Mich.—Two acts specializing in historical songs and stories will be featured Saturday, Oct. 6, as part of the Beaumier Coffee House Series at Northern Michigan University. The concert by Escanaba performer Bill Jamerson and the Sault Ste. Marie duo Dave Stanaway and Susan Askwith begins at 7 p.m. in the Peter White Lounge of the University Center. Admission is free, with donations encouraged.

Since producing his first PBS documentary in 1992 on the Civilian Conservation Corps in Michigan, Jamerson has been collecting stories and turning them into films, books, articles and songs. His school assemblies and “History through Song” programs have been presented at diverse venues in 11 states. Jamerson went on to produce 10 more films for Michigan Public Television.

Dave Stanaway and Susan Askwith have been performing as a duo for more than a decade, focusing on writing and performing historical songs about the Sault Ste. Marie region. In addition to giving twice-weekly summer concerts at the John Johnston House, named for the subject of a CD they recorded they performed at the Historical Society of Michigan's 2005 Upper Peninsula History Conference. They have also brought history to life for 4th grade students at various Eastern Upper Peninsula elementary schools through a grant with the Chippewa County Historical Society. 

The concert is part of the Upper Peninsula Folklife Festival which is funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.