The Stringband Music & Arts Festival returns to the Ozark Folk Center State Park in Mountain View this Friday and Saturday, October 9 and 10, bringing a celebration of old-time music, dance, and crafts to the region.
The event will feature two evenings of concerts at the Ozark Highlands Theater, as well as daytime performances and artisan demonstrations in the park’s Craft Village. The festival’s headliner is Murphy Campbell, an acclaimed banjo player and singer from western North Carolina. Campbell, whose family has lived in the Blue Ridge Mountains for generations, recently released “Revenant,” a collection of traditional ballads passed down through her community. She will perform Saturday evening and in a free-with-admission matinee set in the Craft Village that afternoon.
Other notable performers include John Depew, a Kansas-based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist known for his “progressive old-time” style, and Salem Plateau, an Ozark string band led by husband-and-wife duo Joseph McCarthy and Grace Stormont-McCarthy. Stormont-McCarthy is the reigning Arkansas Old Time Banjo Grand Champion and a five-time winner at the Arkansas Country Music Awards. Rounding out the lineup are the Riggsville Ramblers, a Stone County string band named after the early 19th-century township of Riggsville, once located near present-day Mountain View. The Ozark Folk Center Square Dancers will open both evening performances.
Friday’s schedule at the Ozark Highlands Theater begins at 7 p.m. with the square dancers, followed by the Riggsville Ramblers at 7:05 p.m. and the John Depew Trio at 8 p.m. Saturday’s evening show opens at 7 p.m. with the square dancers, followed by the Music Roots Ensemble at 7:05 p.m., Salem Plateau at 7:20 p.m., and Campbell at 8:20 p.m. Doors and the box office open at 6 p.m. on both nights.
The Craft Village will offer activities each day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., including live music performances on the hour starting at 10:15 a.m., old-time magic and medicine shows, and the Whiskey & Tango Old Time Picnic Swing. Village artisans will showcase and sell handmade goods such as pottery, stained glass, leather, fiber crafts, wood carvings, jewelry, and more. Southern cuisine will be served daily at The Skillet Restaurant from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Tickets are available in advance for $25 on Friday, $35 on Saturday, or $50 for both days, which include access to the evening shows and Craft Village. Tickets purchased on the day of the event will cost $2 more. Season pass holders for the Ozark Folk Center are admitted free. Tickets can be purchased online at Tickets.OzarkFolkCenter.com. Lodging is available on site at The Cabins at Dry Creek, with a shuttle service provided for guests.
For more information, visit OzarkFolkCenter.com.