Ozark Highlands Radio

This week, More Voices. Another collection of contemporary folk singers with unique and authentic voices recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park. Ballad singing is a primary form of expression in folk music. Folk ballads merge melody and story to recount events but also transport the listener to an emotional space. How well a ballad can bring the listener into that space very much depend...

This week, a retrospective of the second season of Ozark Highlands Radio featuring a variety of outstanding performances recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park. Host Dave Smith and OHR producer Jeff Glover provide context and commentary for this captivating collection. Each year at the Ozark Folk Center State Park, we record many hours of live music. We cherish all of it, but some of th...

This week, a sampling of Ozark original stringbands recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park’s 2024 Stringband festival held annually in Mountain View, Arkansas. Each Fall, the Ozark Folk Center State Park holds its annual Stringband Festival featuring internationally touring musicians as well as local stringbands. In 2024, the headliners were The Lonesome Ace Stringband from Toronto and...

This week, musicians born into powerful family musical traditions recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park. Also, commentary from some of these living legacies. Legacy is something handed down from the past. The tradition of folk music and culture is rooted in legacy. Musical legacies can exist in the form of songs, melodies, musical instruments, styles of playing, and sometimes even peop...

This week, Louisiana old time and traditional Cajun music father-daughter duo the inimitable Dirk Powell with his daughter Amelia recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park in Mountain View, Arkansas. Also, interviews with Dirk. “Dirk Powell is known as a “musician’s musician” in the circle of American roots music and beyond. He learned banjo and fiddle from his Kentucky grandfather, James...

This week, North Dakota based 2023 SPBGMA International Bluegrass Band Champions the Waddington Brothers recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park. Also, interviews with eldest brother Seth Waddington. “The Waddington Brothers, a band of four brothers from rural North Dakota, perform what they live: music that is real to them, that takes listeners on a journey through the heart of the Amer...

This week, Toronto, Canada old time trio The Lonesome Ace Stringband recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park during our annual String Band festival. Also, interviews with Lonesome Ace founder and banjo player Chris Coole. “The Lonesome Ace Stringband bring grit, skill and abandon to Americana music, bridging old-time, bluegrass and folk traditions into a seamless hybrid of original mater...

This week, a special road trip episode. OHR visits Rogers, Arkansas’ Railyard Live Concert Series featuring Siloam Springs Ozark original Dominic Bryan Roy and his band, recorded live at Butterfield Stage in Railyard Park in historic downtown Rogers. Rogers, Arkansas’ Railyard Live Concert Series began in 2021. Held on the city’s Butterfield Stage next to Railyard Park in historic downtown Rogers,...

This week, a special road trip episode. OHR visits Rogers, Arkansas’ Railyard Live Concert Series featuring Ozark original indie-folk husband and wife duo National Park Radio, recorded live at Butterfield Stage in Railyard Park in historic downtown Rogers. Rogers, Arkansas’ Railyard Live Concert Series began in 2021. Held on the city’s Butterfield Stage next to Railyard Park in historic downtown R...

This week, a special road trip episode. OHR visits Rogers, Arkansas’ Railyard Live Concert Series featuring Eureka Springs post-folk Americana trio The Gary Lawrence Show, recorded live at Butterfield Stage in Railyard Park in historic downtown Rogers. Rogers, Arkansas’ Railyard Live Concert Series began in 2021. Held on the city’s Butterfield Stage next to Railyard Park in historic downtown Roger...

This week, a special road trip episode. Once again, OHR visits Rogers, Arkansas’ Railyard Live Concert Series featuring their Ozark Folk Jamboree, a compilation of bands recorded live over two days at the City of Rogers’ Butterfield Stage located next to Railyard Park in downtown Rogers. Also, commentary from Rogers Arts & Culture Coordinator Kinya Christian. Rogers, Arkansas’ Railyard Live Concer...

This week, in honor of Hispanic history month, OHR presents California based multi-instrumentalists, singers and purveyors of traditional Southwestern American folk music Frank Fairfield & Zac Sokolow recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park. Also, interviews with Frank & Zac. Music has the power to transport us to another time and place. Frank Fairfield loves to harness that power with a...

This week, old-time Appalachian multi-instrumentalists and educators Dan Levenson & Bob Carlin recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park. Dan and Bob acted as judges at our annual old-time fiddle & banjo contest where they also gave us this masterful evening performance. “Dan Levenson is an Appalachian native who has grown up with the music of that region. Today he is considered a respecte...

This week, a tribute to legendary singer-songwriter John Prine by his son Tommy Prine & longtime friend and co-writer Keith Sykes recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park. John Prine was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. Widely cited as one of the most influential songwriters of his generation, Prine was known for his signature blend of humorous lyrics about love, life,...

This week, Ozark original old time harmonica and guitar duo Seth Shumate & Roy Pilgrim recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park. Also, interviews with this dynamic musical duo. A feature performance by renowned singer George Hulsey this week as well. Ozark original Seth Shumate plays harmonica in ways that one does not hear too often anymore. His phrasing, technique and style go back to t...

This week, Ozark original singer, multi-instrumentalist and hit song writing powerhouse Shawn Camp recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park. Also, interviews with this #1 country song writing genius. Some careers can be described with a couple of words but Shawn Camp's isn't one of them. A bold and distinctive singer, a songwriter who's provided material for artists ranging from Ralph Sta...

This week, national champion hammered dulcimer Jedi and viral internet phenomenon Ted Yoder recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park. Also, interviews with this unique musical hammer wielding genius. “Ted Yoder is a world-renowned musician, known for his groundbreaking and innovative approach to the hammered dulcimer. In 2016, Ted gained widespread attention when his hammered dulcimer cov...

This week, Hindman, Kentucky writer, educator, vocalist and world champion mountain dulcimer Jedi Sarah Kate Morgan recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park. Also, a special performance by the 2024 Ozark Folk Center Mountain Dulcimer Contest winner Melinda McMillan of Martinsville, IN. “Born of Appalachian soil in Sharps Chapel, Tennessee, Sarah Kate Morgan sings, plays, and writes like s...

This week, here comes Dulcimer Jamboree once again! Each year, dulcimer players from all over come to the Ozark Folk Center State Park in Mountain View, Arkansas for a weekend of learning, listening, and loving all things dulcimer. Each evening of the event features concerts by world renowned dulcimer teachers and performers. We’ll enjoy highlights recorded from these live performances featuring b...

This week, Springfield, Missouri based Ozark original husband & wife duo The Creek Rocks recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park. Also, interviews with these genuine Ozark troubadours. A bonus offering of songs and interviews with Ozark original singer-songwriter and multiple ACMA winner Grace Stormont. The Creek Rocks from Springfield, Missouri are Cindy Woolf and Mark Bilyeu. Cindy Woo...

This week, unconventional folk-blues-Americana-bluegrass trio “The Howlin’ Brothers” recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park. Also, interviews with these folk music mavericks. “The Howlin’ Brothers are a Nashville based string band composed of Ian Craft, Ben Plasse and Jared Green. Anchored in a bed of old-time blues and bluegrass, their upbeat shows are heavy with original and tradition...

This week, an accidental masterpiece performance featuring three finger bluegrass banjo Jedi and Ozark original Adam Fudge & friends recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park. Once in a while, when things don’t go as planned, something happens that’s unexpectedly great. To quote famed artist Bob Ross, a “happy accident.” One such happy accident occurred on Saturday of the Ozark Folk Center...

This week, Kentucky Music Hall of Fame member and six time International Bluegrass Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year, Dale Ann Bradley, recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park. “Dale Ann Bradley is a Kentucky native who is proud of her state. Her music reflects that love as she often sings of the state’s multiple charms including sparkling streams, rolling hills and mountains...

This week, voices. A collection of contemporary folk singers with unique and authentic voices recorded live at Ozark Folk Center State Park. Ballad singing is a primary form of expression in folk music. Folk ballads merge melody and story to recount events but also transport the listener to an emotional space. How well a ballad can bring the listener into that space very much depends on the singer...

This week, Ozark original ACMA nominated and rising national bluegrass sensation The Casey Penn Band recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park. Also, an interview with Casey Penn. As a bonus, music and commentary from Ozark original prodigies and Mountain View’s very own Ozark Strangers. Based in Central Arkansas, Casey Penn is an Arkansas Country Music Award-nominated songwriter and a per...