Joe Goodkin's Odyssey is a 35 minute original musical composition for solo acoustic guitar and voice.  

Drawing on his Bachelor's Degree in Classics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his years as a professional musician, Joe's performance represents in a contemporary musical mode both the abridged plot and the performance circumstances of Homer's original oral composition of the Odyssey.

Part lecture, part musical performance, and part interactive discussion, the centerpiece of Joe's program is a 35 minute continuous performance of 24 original songs with lyrics inspired by Odysseus' famous exploits.

Joe has performed his Odyssey almost 400 times in all 50 U.S. states, Canada, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, The United Kingdom, and Ireland, and has been honored with multiple ASCAP Composers awards. Joe has adapted the performance for the Zoom/streaming learning environment

On July 31, 2026, Joe released a new and updated recorded version of the piece that you can find HERE on your favorite service. You can read articles Joe has written about being a modern bard at the journal Eidolon and Sententiae Antiquae.  He has also adapted the Iliad into a song cycle called The Blues of Achilles.

To inquire regarding booking a performance of the Odyssey (or anything else) please contact Joe at joe(at)joesodyssey.com

SEE THE ODYSSEY

HEAR THE ODYSSEY

Purchase the 2010 full-length CD recording at joegoodkin.com 
by clicking HERE 
Listen to the 2026 release on a streaming service by clicking HERE

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