The Musical Storytelling of Dana Maragos

February 2, 2026

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Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Dana Maragos

Dana Maragos is a Chicago-based singer-songwriter whose music is rooted in storytelling, tradition, and a lifelong relationship with song. Her journey began early, when her grandmother bought her a $25 guitar in Chicago’s Old Town at just six years old. Growing up on the city’s South Side, Dana learned her first chords from a teenage neighbor, singing along to the songs of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Eric Andersen. Those early influences planted the seeds for a songwriting voice built on honesty, melody, and quiet emotional strength.

By second grade, Dana was already writing poems for her mother, and at fourteen she wrote her first song. Music quickly became more than a pastime — it became a way to make sense of the world and give shape to lived experience. After graduating from Libertyville High School and later the University of Illinois, Dana spent time behind the microphone as well, with stints at WPGU-FM that deepened her connection to music, storytelling, and community radio.

Her path after college was anything but predictable. Dana lived what she calls a “cable TV gypsy” life, moving through the South, the Northeast, and the West, gathering stories, perspectives, and influences along the way. Eventually, the pull of home brought her back to Chicago. A South Side native at heart, she settled on the city’s North Side, where she married her husband George and raised their two sons.

Faith and community have remained steady threads throughout Dana’s life. Singing in her Sunday church choir is still part of her weekly routine, grounding her voice in harmony, tradition, and shared purpose. That blend of personal history, spiritual connection, and classic folk influence continues to shape her songwriting today.

Dana Maragos writes songs the way she has always lived — thoughtfully, honestly, and with deep respect for the power of simple stories. Her music reflects a lifetime of movement and return, carrying the sounds of Chicago, folk tradition, and lived experience into songs that feel personal yet widely relatable.