Picnic Theater: Agrimusic

Seth Hedquist combines his background in history and music to tell a unique story about Iowa agricultural musicians in the early 20th century, in an all original, twelve-song cycle at our late summer picnic theater. 

About the Performer
Hedquist earned a BS in History (2009) and an MA in History (2015), both from Iowa State University. His work focuses on rural Iowa musicians who played at state and county farm bureau events in the 1920s and 30s. He investigates who these musicians were, and what needs they fulfilled for the organization, and for themselves, by participating in those events. His work further examines to what extent the styles they played measured up to farm bureau and Country Life leaders’ expectations for rural music at that time. This topic explores themes of rural identity and nostalgia, and the complexities of playing music for organizations during trying times of heightened pressure, like the 1920s and 30s.

His master’s thesis The Chronicles of Agrimusic won the Iowa History Center’s “Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award” in 2016, and his article “Boost the Farm Bureau: Agricultural Leaders, Progressive Musicians, and Social Orchestration in Iowa, 1921 – 1937” appears in Agricultural History (Vol. 93, No. 2, Spring 2019). 

Hedquist works as a full-time musician in Des Moines, Iowa.