For a touch of the musical side of life, escape to the Katharine Cornell Theatre in Vineyard Haven on Thursday nights. Experience America’s Music: A Film History of Our Popular Music from Blues to Bluegrass to Broadway. The film series, which started on Jan. 30 and runs every Thursday night through March 6, includes screenings of documentaries, or excerpts from them, followed by group discussions that depict the influence of popular music on American history.

Peter Boak, director of the Island Community Chorus, hosts the series. From gospel and the blues to swing, jazz, rock ‘n roll, bluegrass, Broadway, and hip hop, the series winds through all music genres.

The concert series was brought to the Island by way of the Vineyard Haven Public Library, which received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor. The Island library was one of two libraries in Massachusetts and one of 81 nonprofits selected to participate in the public program, a project of the Tribeca Film Institute in collaboration with the American Library Association, Tribeca Flashpoint and the Society for American Music.

The series is free and open to the public. Doors open at 7 p.m.