Ozark Highlands Radio

In honor of Black History Month, OHR pays tribute to African Americans’ profound contribution to American music. Forged into the roots of blues, jazz, pop, rock, soul, hip-hop, country, old-time and traditional folk, the influence of African American culture on the American musical landscape cannot be overestimated. This week, we’ll present songs from a variety of modern world class African American performers of traditional American music, recorded live at Ozark Folk Center State Park in Mountain View, Arkansas. Featured on this special episode are Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton of PBS’ “American Epic,” Amythyst Kiah of Our Native Daughters (recorded live at Oxford American’s South on Main in Little Rock, AR,) Smithsonian Folkways recording artist Dom Flemons, blues and roots music legend Taj Mahal, Carolina Chocolate Drops and Our Native Daughters member Leyla McCalla, and Lela Mae Smith of the Jake Leg Stompers. In this week’s guest host segment, renowned traditional folk musician, writer, and step dancer A

More than a time, it’s a feeling, a style, and a sound. It’s “Oldtime.” In this special episode, OHR explores this rich international music genre. Sit a spell with Dave Smith and Mark Jones. Enjoy uncommon music performed by world class traditional Oldtime artists recorded live at Ozark Folk Center State Park in Mountain View, Arkansas. Featured on this episode are The April Verch Band, David Holt & Josh Goforth, Love Holler, Harmony, The Lazy Goat String Band with Dom Flemons, The Downhill Strugglers, Bruce Molsky, Jerron ‘Blind Boy’ Paxton, Lukas and Eden Pool, The Hogslop String Band, Betse Ellis & Clarke Wyatt, and The Ozark Highballers. In this week’s “From the Vault” segment, musician, educator, and country music legacy Mark Jones offers a 1978 archival recording of Ozark original Sam Younger and himself performing the song “Kicking Mule,” from the Ozark Folk Center State Park archives. In his segment “Back in the Hills,” writer, professor, and historian Dr. Brooks Blevins investigates historic

Ozark Highlands Radio is a weekly radio program that features live music and interviews recorded at Ozark Folk Center State Park’s beautiful 1,000-seat auditorium in Mountain View, Arkansas. In addition to the music, our “Feature Host” segments take listeners through the Ozark hills with historians, authors, and personalities who explore the people, stories, and history of the Ozark region. In this week’s special episode, OHR heads west. The Western United States encompasses a plethora of great musical traditions. We’ve saddled up a superb sampling of Western American music performed by various traditional artists recorded live at Ozark Folk Center State Park in Mountain View, Arkansas. Featured on this episode are The Jason Roberts Band, The Purple Hulls, Don Edwards, The Western Flyers, Dom Flemons, Frank Fairfield & Zac Sokolow, The Quebe Sisters, and Riders in the Sky. Let’s ride! In this week’s “From the Vault” segment, musician, educator, and country music legacy Mark Jones offers a 1976 archival

Ozark Highlands Radio is a weekly radio program that features live music and interviews recorded at Ozark Folk Center State Park’s beautiful 1,000-seat auditorium in Mountain View, Arkansas. In addition to the music, our “Feature Host” segments take listeners through the Ozark hills with historians, authors, and personalities who explore the people, stories, and history of the Ozark region. This week, five time Grammy Award winning traditional country, bluegrass, & Americana music legend Marty Stuart and his band, The Fabulous Superlatives, recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park. Also, interviews with Marty. Mark Jones offers an archival recording of himself & Marty Stuart performing the song “The Train That Carried My Girl From Town.” Marty Stuart is an American country music singer-songwriter & multi-instrumentalist, known for both his traditional style, and eclectic merging of rockabilly, honky tonk, and traditional country music. As a musical child prodigy, Marty grew up playing with some

Ozark Highlands Radio is a weekly radio program that features live music and interviews recorded at Ozark Folk Center State Park’s beautiful 1,000-seat auditorium in Mountain View, Arkansas. In addition to the music, our “Feature Host” segments take listeners through the Ozark hills with historians, authors, and personalities who explore the people, stories, and history of the Ozark region. This week, world renowned Grammy award winning musician, producer, writer, filmmaker, and founding member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, John McEuen with his String Wizards recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park. Also, interviews with this prolific creator and performer. “John McEuen has been a ‘professional performer’ since 1962, working as a magician in Disneyland’s Magic Shop as a teenager. Music soon came along, which led to his long and varied career first solo, then as a founding member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1966. Over 10,000 concerts and 300 television shows throughout more than 3 millio

Brooks Blevins gives a native’s view of the people, music, and colorful events that shape the Ozark region. In this episode of stories, the author and historian investigates historic outlaws of the Ozarks. Many famous outlaws including Bonnie & Clyde, Maw Barker, and Pretty Boy Floyd have hidden out in the Ozarks. Brooks guides us through this cult of criminality, recounting details of some of the nation’s most notorious crooks’ Ozark experiences.

Brooks Blevins gives a native’s view of the people, music, and colorful events that shape the Ozark region. In this episode of stories, the author and historian presents the story of the Ozark Jubilee, one of America’s first nationally broadcast Oldtime barn dance country music television shows based in Springfield, Missouri. As a bonus, Brooks also recounts the history of the Ozark Opry, one of the first Oldtime barn dance music stage shows also in Springfield.

Brooks Blevins gives a native’s view of the people, music, and colorful events that shape the Ozark region. In this episode of stories, the author and historian presents the tale of "Ghost of the Ozarks” about the infamous Connie Franklin murder trial of the 1930’s. The trial became a mysterious and worldwide spectacle involving a man who testified at the trial for his own murder.

This week, a special episode. Ozark Highlands Radio partners with Oxford American Magazine to bring Woodstock, New York based contemporary folk and Americana superstar Josh Ritter, recorded live at South on Main in downtown Little Rock, Arkansas. Also, an interview with Oxford American Literary Project executive director Ryan Harris. Mark Jones offers an archival recording of Ozark original Karen Bell performing the classic tune “Grandfather’s Clock.” “The Oxford American is a nonprofit organization with a mission to explore the complexity and vitality of the American South through excellent writing, visual art, and events programming. Our quarterly print magazine was founded in 1992, and, in addition to winning four National Magazine Awards, has helped launch the writing careers of such noted authors as Jesmyn Ward and John Jeremiah Sullivan, while publishing beloved writers like Charles Portis, Nikky Finney, Peter Guralnick, and many others. “Our concert series at South on Main in Little Rock is an ext

This week, Baltimore based Old Time string and Irish button accordion band Charm City Junction recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park. Also, interviews with these masterful Maryland musicians. “From dance inducing Old Time rhythms and foot stomping Irish melodies to hard-driving Bluegrass, Baltimore-based acoustic roots quartet Charm City Junction creates a fresh soundscape that keeps listeners on the edge of their seats wondering where they'll go next. Featuring fiddle, clawhammer banjo, button accordion and upright bass, this quartet isn’t afraid to take roots music to new places — but always with an eye on tradition. Formed in 2014, Charm City Junction has taken the acoustic music scene by storm performing around the country gaining high praise along the way for their high-energy, captivating and dynamic performances. Bobby Britt takes charge with his virtuosic, powerful and musical approach to the fiddle. Clawhammer banjo wizard Brad Kolodner adds his playful, driving, melodic and groovy

This week, blast off with the Matchsellers’ “Bluegrastronauts,” the world’s first outer-space bluegrass odyssey, recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park. Mixing elements of tall tales, theater, science fiction and bluegrass, the Bluegrastonauts show isn’t quite like anything you’ve ever heard. The Matchsellers are Warsaw, Indiana native Andrew Morris and Julie Bates of Kansas City, Missouri. Their exciting, gritty, and often hilarious stage show has been developed over six years of touring across the US and Europe. Performing at the Ozark Folk Center State Park, Andrew and Julie present their outer-space bluegrass odyssey with a four piece stringband, featuring Chad Graves of The Hillbenders on dobro, and Betsey Mae on bass. The group combines absurdity, authenticity, and excellent musicianship to create a performance that is representative of the present age: They are pleasantly stuck between the years gone by and those to come. The Matchsellers’ Bluegrastronauts is old-time in outer space.

This week, international Oldtime string band and Ottawa Valley step dance duo Newberry & Verch recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park in Mountain View, Arkansas. Also, interviews with this dynamic musical duo. “Joe Newberry grew up in a family full of singers and dancers. He took up the guitar and banjo as a  teenager and learned fiddle tunes from great Missouri fiddlers. April Verch grew up listening to her Dad’s country band play for dances in the Ottawa Valley. She started step dancing at age three and fiddling at age six. Both Newberry & Verch became masters of their traditions and tour the world with their respective bands and projects. Yet they never forget the roots of their music, that connection to the people in the audience, on the dance floor, to the community sparked by a good song. For these veteran performers who come from distinct traditions and parts of the world, their collaboration is fueled by their kindred passion for bringing people together to celebrate traditional m

This week, Baltimore based Old Time string and Irish button accordion band Charm City Junction recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park. Also, interviews with these masterful Maryland musicians. “From dance inducing Old Time rhythms and foot stomping Irish melodies to hard-driving Bluegrass, Baltimore-based acoustic roots quartet Charm City Junction creates a fresh soundscape that keeps listeners on the edge of their seats wondering where they'll go next. Featuring fiddle, clawhammer banjo, button accordion and upright bass, this quartet isn’t afraid to take roots music to new places — but always with an eye on tradition. Formed in 2014, Charm City Junction has taken the acoustic music scene by storm performing around the country gaining high praise along the way for their high-energy, captivating and dynamic performances. Bobby Britt takes charge with his virtuosic, powerful and musical approach to the fiddle. Clawhammer banjo wizard Brad Kolodner adds his playful, driving, melodic and groovy

This week, San Francisco based early 20th Century American music preservationist duo Meredith Axelrod & Craig Ventresco recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park. Also, interviews with these time traveling minstrels. “Delightfully engaging and unassumingly comic, Meredith Axelrod envisions the limitless potential of early twentieth century music, whether it be Ragtime, Music Hall, Pop Standard, Boogie Woogie, Tin Pan Alley, String band, Jazz, Country, Blues or even Jug Band music, and embodies the spirit that brought the music into existence. Her vocal style is unusual, probably because she learned to sing by listening to how folks did it a century ago – through the medium of cylinders and 78-rpm records. The dominant theme throughout Meredith’s expansive repertoire is that, whatever the genre, these are songs she learns from the original sources (records and/or sheet music) which were released between the 1890s and the 1930s. Part of the allure of old time music is hearing the original recording

This week, Bucksnort, Tennessee based old school Memphis style jug band the Jake Leg Stompers recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park. Also, interviews with this band of musical outlaws. A Jake Leg Stompers show is a truly unique experience. Like a Vaudeville party with all the bells and whistles. Literally, their show includes bells and whistles. With lively renditions of classic blues and jug band tunes from early 20th century American music and a theatrical sensibility, the Jake Leg Stompers will have you dancing in your seat. The band’s performers include leader Hambone Willie Nevil on vocals, banjo, and guitar, Lela Mae Smith on vocals, Horatio Algernon Whiplash on washboard, snare, bells, and whistles, Jersey Slim Hawkins with fiddle, mandolin, and guitar, and Ramshackle Jack Dunshee on old time jug. For more information about the Jake Leg Stompers… http://www.jakelegstompers.com/about In this week’s “From the Vault” segment, musician, educator, and country music legacy Mark Jones of

This week, San Francisco based early 20th Century American music preservationist duo Meredith Axelrod & Craig Ventresco recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park. Also, interviews with these time traveling minstrels. “Delightfully engaging and unassumingly comic, Meredith Axelrod envisions the limitless potential of early twentieth century music, whether it be Ragtime, Music Hall, Pop Standard, Boogie Woogie, Tin Pan Alley, String band, Jazz, Country, Blues or even Jug Band music, and embodies the spirit that brought the music into existence. Her vocal style is unusual, probably because she learned to sing by listening to how folks did it a century ago – through the medium of cylinders and 78-rpm records. The dominant theme throughout Meredith’s expansive repertoire is that, whatever the genre, these are songs she learns from the original sources (records and/or sheet music) which were released between the 1890s and the 1930s. Part of the allure of old time music is hearing the original recording

This week, award winning Ozark singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist duo The Whispering Willows recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park. Also, interviews with this progressive husband and wife folk duo. Also, a performance by singer and multi-instrumentalist Keith Symanowitz, backed by Ozark originals Lukas Pool, Sam Cobb, Danny Dozier, Gresham McMillon, and John Severs. The Whispering Willows is an Americana duo featuring warm and rich vocals, masterful songwriting, and the finely crafted fiddle work of Alaina Blake & Dylan Hawf. Alaina, originally from Lawrence, Kansas, has made her home with husband Dylan at Eureka Springs, Arkansas in the heart of the Ozarks. From a diverse musical background including old-time, Americana, classic country, bluegrass, Irish music, and rock, Alaina’s vocal style is at once unique and sincere with a subtlety that belies the emotional and powerful nature of her songwriting. One of her performances is featured in the Netflix original series “Ozark.” Dyla

This week, Grammy award winning Mississippi singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and Squirrel Nut Zippers co-founder Jimbo Mathus with his “Kinfolks” recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park. Also, interviews with this musical Mississippi maverick. Jimbo Mathus is a singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for his work with the swing revival band Squirrel Nut Zippers. Born in Oxford, Mississippi to Jimmy Mathus and Jeanella (Malvezzi) Mathus, his early life was filled with music as his father and relatives were skilled instrumentalists and singers. He began joining the family musical circle at an early age and by age eight was proficient at mandolin. By age fifteen, Jimbo had been taught the rudiments of guitar, piano and harmony singing. The family's repertoire consisted of hundreds of folk, bluegrass, country blues and pre-recorded songs passed down through the Mathus and Byrd families. “Jimbo Mathus & Kinfolks” is a project that takes Jimbo back to his earliest musical r

This week, a very special episode. Ozark Highlands Radio partners with Oxford American Magazine to bring Johnson City, Tennessee based up & coming contemporary folk and Americana superstar Amythyst Kiah, recorded live at South on Main in downtown Little Rock, Arkansas. Also, an interview with Oxford American Literary Project executive director Ryan Harris. In this performance, Amythyst is joined by Taylor Green on keyboard and Andrew Gibbens on drums. “The Oxford American is a nonprofit organization with a mission to explore the complexity and vitality of the American South through excellent writing, visual art, and events programming. Our quarterly print magazine was founded in 1992, and, in addition to winning four National Magazine Awards, has helped launch the writing careers of such noted authors as Jesmyn Ward and John Jeremiah Sullivan, while publishing beloved writers like Charles Portis, Nikky Finney, Peter Guralnick, and many others. “Our concert series at South on Main in Little Rock is an ext

Ozark Highlands Radio is a weekly radio program that features live music and interviews recorded at Ozark Folk Center State Park’s beautiful 1,000-seat auditorium in Mountain View, Arkansas. In addition to the music, our “Feature Host” segments take listeners through the Ozark hills with historians, authors, and personalities who explore the people, stories, and history of the Ozark region. This week, world renowned three-time Grammy winning singer, songwriter, film composer, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, founding member of the band “Rising Sons,” and Blues legend Taj Mahal recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park in Mountain View, Arkansas. Henry St. Claire Fredericks Jr, better known as “Taj Mahal,” is an American blues musician, a singer-songwriter and film composer who plays the guitar, piano, banjo, harmonica, and many other instruments. Taj incorporates elements of world music into his works and has done much to reshape the definition and scope of blues music by fusing it with nontradit