Arkansas is a musical state, and public radio is a very good example of that, hosting a range of Arkansas artists through live sessions, programs and performances right here on Ozarks at Large. The Natural State knows how to dance, sing and play for any occasion, and the Folklife Festival in North Little Rock last month aimed to gather musicians of all kinds to display our state’s talents. We’ve been sharing stories from the festival over this past week, and we hope you’ll stick around for this last one. Here’s our reporter, Jack Travis, on Arkansas music and how we remember it.
“Some of Arkansas’s greatest music grew from timber camps, railroad communities and front porches. The Tie Hackers celebrate those working traditions and remind us that folklore lives wherever people gather. Please welcome to the stage, the Tie Hackers.”
The Arkansas Folklife Festival is full of sound. A smith hammering steel, children in the gardens, your ears are full. However, music rises above all, from the main “People’s Stage” to the intimate “Front Porch.” Players like Bobby Rush and Lucinda Williams plucked and sang throughout the weekend…