Old Time Music , Ozark Heritage Festival- June 15th and 16th, 2012
"The Signature Event For West Plains"





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Wall Street Journal Video on 2011 Mule Jump

Wall Street Journal Article on 2011 Mule Jump


2011 Old Time Music Festival Radio AD

2011  Old Time Music TV Commercial KY3 





The Old Time Music Ozark Heritage Festival in West Plains, Missouri celebrates old time music and the unique culture of the Ozark Highlands. Different from its rural counterparts, bluegrass and country, old time music has its distinctive sound and makes its own important contribution to the complex palatte of what we call indigenous American music.  Musicians, artisans, and storytellers from throughout the state come to the West Plains festival in enthusiastic support of creating a place to listen, watch, interact and honor the old time traditions of our southern Ozarks communities.  

Old Time Music Festival Website:  http://www.oldtimemusic.org/
Click here to view:  Festival Facebook page
Click here for:  2011 Vendor Form

2011 Featured Musical Guests
JUNIOR BROWN (http://www.juniorbrown.com/) on the evening of Friday, June 17.

BLACKBERRY WINTER (http://blackberrywinterband.com/) and LEONA AND RON WILLIAMS (http://www.leonawilliams.com/) on the evening of Saturday, June 18.
Junior Brown - An exceptionally proficient and inventive guitarist whose music, in the words of his online biography, "combines the soul of country and the spirit of rock ‘n' roll." Brown rose to national prominence in the mid-1990s with three albums on Curb Records: 12 Shades of Brown (1993), Guit with It (1993), and Semi-Crazy (1996). Brown's musical style strongly reflects the influences of Nashville, Texas, and West Coast country music of the 1950s and ‘60s, including that of Ernest Tubb, whose voice his resembles.  His music also incorporates elements of rockabilly and guitar-oriented surf music, and it was embraced by alternative country audiences in the ‘90s.  His best-known selections include the original compositions "My Wife Thinks You're Dead," "I Hung It Up" and "Venom Wearin' Denim" and a version of Red Simpson's "Highway Patrol."
Originally from rural southern Indiana, Brown initially learned piano from his father but soon turned to the guitar and the steel guitar.  He began playing professionally in the late ‘60s and performed with various country and Western swing bands throughout the ‘70s. In the mid-‘80s, he became a guitar instructor at the Hank Thompson School of Country Music affiliated with Rogers State University in Oklahoma, teaching under the auspices of acclaimed steel guitarist Leon McAuliffe.  It was there that he met Tanya Rae, whom he later married.  She plays guitar and sings in his band. Brown's signature instrument is the "guit-steel," a double-necked electric guitar.  One neck is a typical six-string electric guitar neck; the other is a steel guitar neck.  He conceived of the instrument himself and commissioned luthier Michael Stevens to build it in the mid-‘80s.
Brown moved to Austin, Texas, where he and his band began a long-term residency at the Continental Club, leading to a recording contract with Curb Records.  He has released several albums in addition to those already mentioned, the most recent of which is Live at the Continental Club: The Austin Experience (Telarc, 2005). Junior Brown was the only contemporary musician selected for Life magazine's "all-time country band."
wintersboneBlackberry Winter consists of musicians who performed in the Oscar-nominated 2010 film Winter's Bone or on its soundtrack album.  The movie, set in the Missouri Ozarks, is based on a novel of the same name by Daniel Woodrell of West Plains. Blackberry Winter will be making its second appearance at the Old Time Music, Ozark Heritage Festival.  Following on the success of the film, the band will be undertaking a concert tour of much of the United States and Canada this spring and summer, and this year's festival falls between the two segments of that tour. The band includes vocalists Marideth Sisco and Linda Stoffel, fiddler Billy Ward, multi-instrumentalist and singer Bo Brown, banjoist and singer Van Colbert, guitarist Dennis Crider, and bassist and singer Tedi May.  All members of the band either are natives of the Missouri Ozarks or have longstanding ties to the region.            Leona Williams, a native of Vienna, Missouri, began singing with her family as a child and had her own radio program, Leona Sings, on KWOS in Jefferson City by age 15.  Williams's career in country music spans more than five decades. Her radio appearances brought her to the attention of Loretta Lynn, who invited her to sing and play the bass in her band. In the late 1960s, she moved to Nashville and became a solo recording artist affiliated with Hickory Records, releasing such hits as "Once More," "Country Girl with Hot Pants On," and "Yes, Ma'am, He Found Me in a Honky Tonk."
Williams joined Merle Haggard's band in 1975.  She and Haggard recorded a vocal duet, "The Bull and the Beaver," which became a top-ten hit in 1978.  An album of duets, "Heart to Heart," soon followed.  She wrote or co-wrote several songs for Haggard, including "You Take Me for Granted," "Someday When Things Are Good," and "We're Strangers Again."  She also sang on a number of his hit recordings in the ‘70s and ‘80s, among them "The Way I Am," "The Roots of My Raising," and "Big City." Williams has also contributed vocals to recordings by George Jones, Vince Gill, Johnny Bush, Gene Watson, and Jimmy Martin.  Her compositions have been recorded by Willie Nelson, Connie Smith, Tammy Wynette, Hank Thompson, Ray Price, Loretta Lynn, and other renowned musicians. Her own albums include "San Quentin's First Lady," the first country album recorded live in a prison by a woman, originally released on MCA in 1976 and re-released by Heart of Texas Records in 2005, "Leona Williams Sings Merle Haggard," (Ah-Ha Records, 2008), and her most recent recording, "Taste of Life," which features bluegrass-influenced music and includes guest appearances by Rhonda Vincent, Mac Wiseman, Sharon and Cheryl White, Rodney and Beverly Dillard, and others. A member of the Missouri Country Music Hall of Fame and the Country Music Association of Texas Hall of Fame, Williams has made numerous appearances on the Grand Ole Opry.
Ron Williams, an accomplished country guitarist, singer, and songwriter in his own right, will be appearing with his mother, Leona Williams. His albums include "The Longer You're Gone," "Texas Style," and "Natural Thing."  He has performed with such notable musicians as Gene Watson, Vern Gosdin, Bill Anderson, Sammy Kershaw, Ferlin Husky, Lori Morgan, and others.  He is a regular host of the Ernest Tubb Midnight Jamboree.
"We're pleased that these nationally recognized musicians, several of whom are natives of our region, will be our guests.  Of course, there will also be plenty of opportunities for participatory music-making and dancing, and we'll hear performances by many local and regional artists who represent musical traditions of the Missouri Ozarks and form the real musical core of the festival," said Matt Meacham, folklorist with the West Plains Council on the Arts and a member of the festival committee. One of those artists is accomplished ragtime pianist Susan Cordell of Carthage, Missouri, who will present a program of rags composed by James Scott on Friday, June 17 (time to be announced), in the West Plains Civic Center as part of this year's Old Time Music, Ozark Heritage Festival. James Scott (1885-1938), a native of the Missouri Ozarks, is often described as one of the three foremost composers of the classic ragtime era (along with Scott Joplin and Joseph Lamb).  Scott was born in Neosho and raised in Carthage.  His best-known works include "On the Pike," "Frog Legs Rag," and "Grace and Beauty." "It will be a real privilege to have such a distinguished pianist with us to perform compositions by one of the most significant African-American musicians from the Ozarks," Meacham commented.
Watch this Facebook page for further announcements about musical programming, including, of course, performances by OUTSTANDING LOCAL AND REGIONAL ARTISTS representing the MUSICAL TRADITIONS OF THE OZARKS! Some of these performers include: Baled Green and Wired Tight, The Bona Fide String Band, Judy Domeny Bowen, Christine Breen and Suzi Vause, Don Buedel and JoAnne Long, The Colbert Brothers, Julie Henigan, Hybrid Sound, The Mammoth Spring String Band, Fiddlin'Banjo Billy Mathews, Dennis Stroughmatt and Creole Spirit and Swift Kick.  You can also paste the following address in your address bar to view Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Old-Time-Music-Ozark-Heritage-Festival/223205480264

FOURTH ANNUAL MULE JUMP  (Sponsored by Hirsch Feed & Farm Supply) Mule Jump

The happening place to be on Saturday, June 18, will be the fourth annual Old Time Music, Ozark Heritage Festival MULE JUMP! Here's what you need to know:

--- Demonstration of mule jumping (that most Missourian of Missouri folk arts) at 11 AM, Saturday, June 18.

--- Mule jump COMPETITION at 3 PM, Saturday, June 18.

--- Location: Corner of East Main and South Curry Streets, West Plains, Missouri.

--- Water and ample space for trailers will be available.

--- Standard Missouri rules will apply.

--- Competition in two height classes: below and above 52 inches.

--- Monetary prizes in each category.

--- Pre-registration is recommended but not required; participants should check in on-site by 2:30 PM.

--- To pre-register or for general information, please call festival staff member Matt Meacham at (417) 372-3177.

--- For information about policies and procedures, please call mule jump coordinator Richie Dement at (573) 648-2524.

All trainers of jumping mules are invited to participate in the fourth annual mule jump competition. "We were pleased that last year's mule jump featured the largest number of competitors in the event's history thus far.  We hope that trend will continue," said Meacham. Mule jumping, that most Missourian of Missouri folk arts, developed when hunters began training mules to jump over fences so that they did not have to interrupt the hunt to locate a gate.  It became a competitive event unto itself, and mule jumping contests began to take place at county fairs and town picnics throughout much of the rural Southeast and Midwest, especially Missouri. "Based on the research that I've done, it appears that there are more mule jumps annually in Missouri than in any other state," Meacham commented.  "It seems safe to say that the Show-Me State is the mule-jumpingest state in the country."

GOAT CART RACE!

Pride of the Ozarks Goat Club to hold a goat cart race during the 2011 Old Time Music, Ozark Heritage Festival

For the first time in its seventeen-year history, the Old Time Music, Ozark Heritage Festival in West Plains, will feature a goat cart race, thanks to the Pride of the Ozarks Goat Breeders Club.  The exact time and location have not yet been determined, but the race will take place somewhere on or near the festival grounds in the vicinity of the West Plains Civic Center and East Main Street during the annual event. The Pride of the Ozarks Goat Breeders Club held its first goat cart race during one of its shows last year.  The race was so popular that the club wished to organize another one this year. The organization decided, however, not to hold any shows this year so that the money that would have been necessary to fund them can instead be used toward other projects, including donating goats to a children's home in Arkansas and developing a mentoring program that will resemble Heifer International but will operate on a local level.  Because the organization will not be hosting any shows of its own in 2011, it offered to present a goat cart race during this year's Old Time Music, Ozark Heritage Festival.

"Needless to say, we're delighted that the Pride of the Ozarks Goat Breeders Club will be incorporating its 2011 goat cart race into the Old Time Music, Ozark Heritage Festival," said Matt Meacham, folklorist with the West Plains Council on the Arts and a member of the festival committee. The club will also have an information booth at this year's festival, and club members will be available to answer questions.

The Pride of the Ozarks Goat Breeders Club meets on the second Saturday of each month at 1 PM at the Howell-Oregon Electric Cooperative building on U.S. 63 just north of West Plains.  It has a website: http://poogbc.org/main/. The organization held its first meeting in 1997.  The founders of the club were dairy goat producers, but the organization welcomes breeders of all types of goats: meat, fiber, pack, and pet goats, in addition to dairy goats. "The club now has all but pack goat owners, although we do have cart goat owners," said Debra Prince of the Pride of the Ozarks Goat Breeders Club. Prince explained, "The club's main mission is to share goat-related information.  We discuss problems and experiences, and we have educational programs, presentations by guest speakers such as veterinarians, and demonstrations of skills such as kidding, how to bolus a goat, how to trim hoofs, or how to help a laboring doe.  We also issue a monthly newsletter." For a number of years, the club held two dairy shows annually.  It then began to host open shows for both meat and dairy goats so that people who do not have registered goats could participate in the shows as they once were able to do at county fairs, according to Prince.  This year, the organization is turning its attention from shows toward philanthropic projects. "We feel it is important to get the young people interested in agriculture and are looking for ways to attract them to it," Prince commented.  "Goats are good as they are less expensive to start with, easier to handle than cattle, and multiply much faster as well."

                                                 
cooking stage"WHAT'S COOKIN'?" STAGE
The always popular "What's Cookin'?" stage will present demonstrations of traditional foodways of this region coordinated, as usual, by Judy Harden of West Plains. Harden said, "Once again, I am very excited about the cooking stage presentations planned for this year.  Along with an expansion of old-time recipes and demonstrations, we will have a special segment featuring men cooks.  The segment will be called "Watch Out, Ma!  The Boys Are in the Kitchen!" She added, "I am looking forward to demonstrating old-time techniques and will probably try to come up with an unusual presentation.  We will start a little earlier than most of the festival activities, so we are inviting festival-goers to start their day at the "What's Cookin'?" stage."

 

A recent episode of *Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations* on the Travel Channel featured none other than Judy Harden of the Old-Time Music, Ozark Heritage Festival's "WHAT'S COOKIN'?" STAGE!!! Anthony Bourdain heads to the rugged lands of West Plains, MO, backdrop of the book and Oscar-nominated film Winter's Bone. Mr. Bourdain recently spent several days filming here in the Ozarks, joined by Daniel Woodrell, author of the acclaimed novel *Winter's Bone* (inspiration for the Grammy-nominated movie of the same name). Judy's squirrel pie garners well-deserved praise from Mr. Bourdain. The show aired on Monday, March 28, at 8 PM Central (or 9 PM Eastern and Pacific.) For a preview of the segment of the program featuring our good friend Judy, click on this link entitled "Squirrel Potpie, anyone?" CAUTION: This clip includes footage of a squirrel being cleaned, so it MIGHT NOT BE SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN OR THOSE WITH SENSITIVE STOMACHS.

"It's great that Judy has become known as a spokesperson for the culinary folklife of this region," Meacham remarked.

FESTIVAL SPONSORS:  Major sponsors of the Old Time Music, Ozark Heritage Festival include the West Plains Council on the Arts, the City of West Plains, the Ozark Heritage Welcome Center in West Plains, the Greater West Plains Chamber of Commerce, and Missouri State University-West Plains.  Admission to all festival activities is free of charge.

If you're looking for a place to stay during this year's festival, check out the lodging on this website.