Chicago Tribune “Theater Loop” critic Chris Jones and entertainment reporter Mark Caro sit in for Dave Hoekstra, talking all things outdoor music, the original KFC recipe and more!

The Nocturnal Journey brings Dave Hoekstra to Des Moines, IA and the Iowa State Fair.  He meets a pair of participants in the Rooster Calling Contest, where kids and adults show off their best poultry calls; Pioneer Hall Superintendent Regina Pirtle talks about some of the Hall’s eccentric contests and highlights of the fair and Gretta Irwin, Executive Director of the Iowa Turkey Federation, explains the “Not Your Mama’s Taco” and creating new recipes and flavor combinations for turkey.  

The Nocturnal Journey brings Dave Hoekstra to Great Falls, Montana and the Sip n’ Dip Lounge, where he talks to Sandra Thares, GM and owner of the lounge, and the surrounding O’Haire Motor Inn.  They discuss the story behind GQ Magazine’s “#1 Bar on Earth Worth Flying For”, as well as the lounge’s signature trademarks, “Piano Pat” Sponheim and the “Mermaids” who swim in the lounge’s pool in view of bar patrons.  Mermaids Tracey and Alex also give some insight […]

Dave Hoekstra talks with Rob Sevier, co-founder of local record label Numero Group, which specializes in archival releases of lost and forgotten records, films and photographs.  Sevier discusses the label’s new release Eccentric Soul: Sitting in the Park, a tribute to late disc jockey and soul record collector Bob Abrahamian and his ongoing, meticulous search for, and curation of obscure soul records. Then, Dave sits down with the legendary John Lyon of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, who talks […]

Dave Hoekstra’s Michigan exploration shifts from the urban to the wild as he talks with Dennis Pace of the Michigan History Museum in Lansing, MI about the museum’s ongoing exhibit “Inventing the Outdoors”, which details the story of Webster Lansing Marble, an innovator and businessman who manufactured a wide range of tools for use in an outdoor setting, and how Marble’s innovations allowed for the shift in the public’s view of the outdoors as an exploitable set of resources, to […]

Songwriter Chris Ligon and artist Heather McAdams drop by the Nocturnal Journal to talk with Dave Hoekstra about their upcoming “Outa the Can: An Evening of Art, Music and Film” release party on August 6 at the Prop Thtr. Ligon talks about his latest album “Outa the Can” and composing music on the unique-sounding ‘Baldwin Fun Machine’; McAdams details her path to Chicago and finding an audience through her cartoons in the Reader, and compiling film material for the event from […]

Dave Hoekstra talks with Martha Bayne, editor in-chief of Belt Magazine, an independent, long form outlet of journalism for the Rust Belt cities, covering stories from the underbelly of the Great Lakes that otherwise wouldn’t be told.  She talks about the magazine’s effort to show that there is more to these communities than closing auto plants and steel mills. Also joining the conversation is Scott Atkinson, editor of Happy Anyway: A Flint Anthology, the latest in a series of Belt-published looks into […]

Dave Hoekstra visits with legendary singer/songwriter Rita Coolidge, who talks about her new book Delta Lady: A Memoir.  She recounts the origin of the song “Delta Lady” and her time with Joe Cocker and Leon Russell in ‘Mad Dogs and Englishmen”, getting shafted on a writing credit for “Groupie (Superstar)”, her time in Memphis and the Stax scene, working on prolific sessions like Stephen Stills’ “Love the One You’re With”, one unforgettable trip to Disneyland with Kris Kristofferson and Willie […]

Dave Hoekstra visits with radio legend Steve Dahl, promoter Mike Veeck and photographer Paul Natkin ahead of the release of Disco Demolition: The Night Disco Died, which tells the real story behind one of the most prolific promotions in major league (and music) history.  They talk about the genesis of “Disco Demolition” and some of the cultural and economic factors in play with the “Disco Sucks” movement; Dahl describes why he decided to tell the story in full now, and […]

Dave Hoekstra visits with singer/songwriter Curtis McMurtry at the American Music Festival at Fitzgerald’s Nightclub in Berwyn.  Curtis steps off stage and into Dave’s modified camper van “Blue Bird” for some music and conversation; they talk about the music scenes in Austin and Nashville, the tricky politics of co-writing songs, his personal songwriting process, and his connection to music and literature through his father James McMurtry and and grandfather, novelist Larry McMurtry.