Arkansas Country Blues and Stringband Festival

02/26/2025

The story of bluegrass music is a complicated one with lots of players (literally and figuratively) and forks in the road. 🪕🎻

This music, most associated with the Appalachian Mountains and the working class, has its roots in Africa's west coast and an instrument played by the working class some 400 years ago.

This week's blog traces the history of the banjo from Gambia to Guadaloupe to Georgia, its legacy of Black banjo players, and their influence on America's music.

https://www.mastgeneralstore.com/blog/Banjos-and-Beyond

01/07/2025

Coming this Friday!! Please join us for a presentation by Green on the roots and history of square dance, featuring the Old 78s! Some great old-time free and open to the public at B.C.’s Blues Shack in the Pryor Center atrium. Details below!

12/28/2024

We are thrilled to have a generous donor offer to match all individual donations to The Music Education Initiative up to$35,000 for our End of Year Campaign. You can Celebrate Giving and Share the Joy by making your tax-deductible donation at the link below. These funds go to support our efforts throughout the year including the festival. There are some pretty amazing perks, including vacations to Italy and South America!!

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__musiceducationinitiative.betterworld.org_campaigns_music-2Deducation-2Dinitiative-2Dyear-3F-5Fgl-3D1-252Aet8ajf-252A-5Fgcl-5Fau-252AMTQ0NzcyMDY5My4xNzMyOTA0NDgx&d=DwMGaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=ZmuSM7PRpjCsYbi5PxTUOS2athiiFP1oYtblyWf7-gsNzqFty1Z-1lT0G02H7w7L&m=821OhKopXvKCeO-eGPBkBbkOGHXOAKcdOXVzrFr32qzPY6yFK-mEJp8l1hEjb1ea&s=9KRfdKU3ia9qOD204fD4mu-r3zf_GpnZrGUpLEiaKWY&e=2.718

10/30/2024

Big THANK YOU to all the sponsors who helped make the Arkansas Country Blues and Stringband Festival a hit! 🙌 We had an unforgettable time filled with soulful tunes, delicious food, and the kind of good vibes you just can’t fake. None of this would have been possible without your support—thank you for helping us bring together artists, music lovers, and culture from all walks of life. Here’s to more shared moments, more jams, and an even bigger celebration next year! 🎶👏

10/30/2024

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10/30/2024

What a special time!! Thanks to all who came out to support the festival!

We had this moment of sitting together over food and realizing that we had had Lead Belly’s great nephew, the last Bentonia blues man to sit with Skip James, The Ozarks Stringband that played at The Kennedy Center, the current Artists in Resonance for the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, a Freedom Singer, and the legendary Al Bell in the house among so many other wonderful artists and musicians together for this magical weekend!!

In the words of Al Bell, “Whoomp! There it is!”

Our hearts are so full! All the gratitude! 🙌🏼🙌🏽🙌🏾🙌🏿

10/29/2024

Big Cricket String Band @ The Saturday night square dance!

10/28/2024

10/27/2024

Epic Ballad-Off at Turnbow last night! Thanks to all who participated and Arkansas Folk and Traditional Arts for sponsoring! Congratulations to our winning team, Cindy Woolf, Carolina Mendoza, Grace Stormont, and Freddy! It’s was a super tight race!

10/26/2024

10/26/2024

Carolina Mendoza bringing us all to tears during Las Baladas