Musical humorist Utah Phillips will perform the first night of his current Mid-Western tour in the New Prairie Cafe tonight at 8:30.

The admission-free concert, sponsored by NIU’s Campus Activities Board, is sure to bring smiles with Phillips’ songs and stories, said Robin Sullivan, coffee house coordinator of the cafe.

Phillips, “the golden voice of the Southwest,” has composed music previously recorded by celebrities such as Joan Baez, Flatt and Scuggs, and Rosalie Sorrello.

Lynn Van Matre of the Chicago Tribune said Phillips will entertain “with his songs about bums, brigands, railroads and union propaganda and his absurd stories that defy you to keep a straight face.”

Phillips’ show is a combination of music, jokes, tall tales and stories about himself and others in his personal experiences, said Jerry Reedy, CAB PR coordinator.

Sullivan said Phillips has a wealth of native American knowledge. “He makes the old west come alive,” she said. “He just has an old western look, with gray, shoulder-length hair and a pony tail.”