Born Cody Diekhoff in Delavan, Chicago Farmer emerged onto Illinois’ music scene in 2003. Farmer’s sound is deeply rooted in traditional American Folk and reminiscent of iconic artists such as Bob Dylan and Neil Young. His lyrics are narrative vignettes of rural towns, dirt roads, green pastures and blue-collar workers.

The singer-songwriter sat down with The Grind before his performance tonight at Hangar 9 to discuss musical influences, upcoming releases and the duality of Illinois living.

Cody Diekhoff, also known as Chicago Farmer, will play with Greensky Bluegrass at 10 p.m. at Hangar 9. Diekhoff, a folk singer who got his start in 2003, sings songs of rural towns and blue-collar workers with an acoustic guitar and harmonica. Provided Photo

The Grind: You’re from Delevan, a small town in the center of the state. What was that like for you growing up and what effect has it had?

Chicago Farmer: Sometimes when you grow up in a small town, it’s kind of a drag and you want to get out of it. You want more things and you complain about it, but when I look back on it, (Delevan) was a really good place. A lot of families were farmers and, once I started learning how to play music, that was my way to venture out into the rest of the country.

TG: What first drew you to music?

CF: We had 1,900 people in our town. This one guy had an old guitar and he used to play a lot of Hank Williams’ songs. That was around the time I was getting into a lot of different music, mostly the heavier stuff like punk rock. Once I heard him playing that acoustic guitar, I knew that it was what I wanted to do.

TG: So, is Hank Williams your biggest musical influence?

CF: I think that guy Kenny Forbes would be my biggest musical influence. He was the first person I ever really sat down and heard play guitar.

TG: Were there any other folk artists you listened to early on?

CF: Not really. I was more into Nirvana, Pearl Jam, stuff like that. Once Nirvana went unplugged I mixed that with Hank Williams; that’s where I’m at now most of the time.

TG: I’m sure you get this question a lot, but how did you get the name Chicago Farmer?

CF: I lived in Tennessee for a while, but I’ve been in Illinois almost my whole life. And that’s kind of what Illinois is — Chicago and all the farm towns. Both my grandparents were family farmers, and in 2003 I moved to Chicago and fell in love with it. I’ve been in both, and love both. They’re two different worlds, but I’ve had the pleasure of being in the two and love them both.

TG: A lot of your music is about Illinois and those small towns outside of Chicago. What is your writing process for those songs?

CF: I live in Bloomington now, so I’m kind of between a bigger city and a small town. But I’m in both Delevan and Chicago all the time — I see my family, I play shows. Both of them are home. It seems like whenever I’m in Chicago I’m thinking about small towns and back roads, and then when I’m there I’m wishing I was in Chicago and catching a show or just hanging with friends.

TG: Sounds like the same situation for a lot of students here from Chicago.

CF: Yeah. It’s a pretty long haul driving between Carbondale and Chicago. You see a lot of Illinois in those five hours.

TG: Like a million pounds of corn.

CF: Yeah, for sure. I like  Carbondale, though. I always have fun when I’m in town. (Carbondale) has lot of good music down there and good people.

TG: What is it usually like when you perform here?

CF: It doesn’t matter if I do Tres Hombres, Hangar or Copper Dragon, it just seems like people really do appreciate the music and want to go out and hear some of it. There’s some really great musicians in Carbondale, and I think that’s what really keeps it going … the local music scene. For me to come down there to see them and play for them, it’s always a good time. I know a lot of people at Hangar 9 pretty well. We always have a lot of good times and sing-alongs, and I’m always happy to play them the new songs, too.

TG: Have you been working on a lot of new material?

CF: I’ve been in the studio the last few days, and I’ve been with some friends in there. We’ve been collaborating on some music and instrumentation. I’m working on a new album that has a lot more instrumentation, and some of the songs are really stripped down and just me. It’s definitely the most adventurous I’ve ever been. I’ve got all kinds of petal steals and organs, and (I’m) trying to experiment. It’s been really time- and money-consuming, but it’s been really nice to grow and branch out a bit.