Welcome to the Arkansounds Insider weekly update! With your Arkansounds Insider membership, you are automatically entered in our biggest giveaways, and we’ll keep you in the loop about all our contests, the latest news, and the best upcoming live music all around Arkansas!
GIVEAWAY ALERTS
Ozark Mountain Music Festival Eureka Springs Weekend: As an Arkansounds Insider, you’ve already been entered. Package includes 2 full-event passes to Ozark Mountain Music Festival Jan. 18-21, 2018, and a guest room for 2 at the 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa; total retail value $590. (Read more here. Winner drawn Jan.11.)
DOUBLE YOUR ODDS OF WINNING: Want a “double entry” giving you twice the chance of winning? Click here for instructions on 3 easy ways to earn a double entry for both of the above Giveaways!
OUR YOUTUBE PLAYLISTS OF THE WEEK
Watch videos here from every act announced thus far for Backwoods at Mulberry Mountain! Backwoods Music Festival last month unveiled its lineup for the April 2018 event at Mulberry Mountain – its first year to be held at the former home of Wakarusa, since moving from Oklahoma – and headliners thus far include STS9 and The Floozies, with more to be announced on January 5! Follow us on Facebook to keep up with the latest.
The event takes place April 20-22, 2018. For full details on every act, ticket information and more, check out our full story on Lineup Announcement Round 1 here.

FEATURED LIVE MUSIC COMING SOON
Friday, Dec. 29, 2017 (EUREKA SPRINGS): A Ferocious Jungle Cat – an uptempo dance and psychedelic jamband playing a style of music called Nebraskan Thunderfunk – performs at Chelsea’s. Admission $5, ages 21+. For details & videos click here.
Friday, Dec. 29, 2017 (LITTLE ROCK): FreeVerse – a Little Rock band fusing progressive psychedelic rock, funk, blues, and jazz in 1 seasoned jamband – performs at Stickyz Rock ‘N’ Roll Chicken Shack. All ages, $5, starts at 9:30 pm. For more info click here.
Saturday, Dec. 30, 2017 (LITTLE ROCK):Rev Room hosts an evening with Grateful Dead Experience: The Schwag, a nationally renowned band performing the Dead’s biggest hits for almost 2 decades. For more info and tickets click here.
Saturday, Dec. 30, 2017 (NORTH LITTLE ROCK): Four Quarter Bar hosts the 37th Anniversary Party for Nightflying, with many guest performers including Dan Clinton, Gil Franklin, Buck McArthur, Ginny Becton, Amy Garland, Jason Hale, Nick Devlin, Brain Nahlen, Matt Treadway, David Treadway, Barbara Raney, Chris DeClerk and Weakness for Blondes, Andy Tanas, Michael Shipp, Rena Wren, Ten Penny Gypsy, Robert Moore, Johnny B., Joe Pitts Band, Tyndall Jackson, and more. Doors open at 7 with happy hour specials; music starts around 8 pm. Admission is $10. Ages 21+. For more details click here.
Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017 (STATEWIDE): Happy New Year from Arkansounds! We compiled a killer list of Arkansounds Top Arkansas NYE Live Music covering the whole state, with Featured Events in Fayetteville, Bentonville, Eureka Springs, Little Rock, North Little Rock, Hot Springs, El Dorado, Jonesboro & even Alma! To see the list and find details on every NYE Top Pick including ticket links and prices, click here.
RECENT TOP NEWS FROM ARKANSOUNDS
Arkansounds Guide to Arkansas’ Best New Year’s Eve Live Music Statewide
Need help deciding on New Year’s Eve plans? You’ll be hard-pressed to find a better guide to the state’s best NYE live music than this one! Our list of recommended New Year’s Eve shows includes Fayetteville, Bentonville, Eureka Springs, Little Rock, North Little Rock, Hot Springs, El Dorado, Jonesboro & even Alma!
(And if you have to work NYE, we’ve included a fantastic show recommendation for you, too, on Jan 1 – scroll to the bottom of the story!)
Still time to enter [and earn a double entry] to the Ozark Mountain Music Festival Giveaway Package
The deadline to enter the Arkansounds Insider weekend getaway package to attend the 2018 Ozark Mountain Music Festival, better known as OzMoMu, is in 2 weeks! The package includes 2 full-event passes and a room for two at the Crescent Hotel & Spa for 3 nights!
Have you seen the lineup? It’s pretty great, particularly considering the low ticket price. OzMoMu’s January 18-21, 2018 event kicks off Thursday with DimeTrip of Eureka Springs,followed by an open jam session with everyone invited to bring instruments and play along.
Friday’s music begins at 6 pm with Alaina Blake & Dylan Hawf, followed by Urban Pioneers, headliner Tall Tall Trees, and a late-night jam party at Chelsea’s Corner Cafe & Bar.
Saturday’s schedule begins at noon with Hi-Fi Hillbillies, followed by The Creek Rocks, American Lions, Grassfed, Miles Over Mountains, headliner Carrie Nation & The Speakeasy, and then another late-night jam at Chelsea’s. Sunday’s music will be provided by The Camptown Ladies for a brunch party at noon.
Billboard Names Jonesboro’s Zach Williams as Top New Christian Artist, Top Male Christian Artist
Before embarking on a solo career in the contemporary Christian genre, 39-year-old singer-songwriter Zach Williams, from Jonesboro, Arkansas, fronted a rock band, Zach Williams & The Reformation, which he launched in 2007. The unit had built a solid fan base that extended to Europe, but after several tours and an admitted “reckless lifestyle,” he returned home to Arkansas, working as an associate pastor in a local church.
That’s the short version of a longer story that encompasses the artist’s dramatic life change, finding God, and turning to spiritual music – the life of Zach Williams, profiled in Billboard magazine and named its Top New Christian Artist of 2017, as well as Top Male Christian Artist of 2017.
For the full story, Q&A with Williams and videos, click here.
Arkansas Native Ashley McBryde Featured on New DittyTV Video
Singer-songwriter Ashley McBryde, a native of Mammoth Spring in extreme north-central Arkansas, is featured on a new video released by the DittyTV digital music channel, performing her song “Why Do I” from DittyTV’s Memphis recording studio.
Read more about McBryde’s explosive 2017 in our story here.
OUR SPOTIFY PLAYLISTS OF THE WEEK
Listen to music from the 18+ acts performing at this year’s Last Night Fayetteville celebration on New Year’s Eve on our Arkansounds Last Night Spotify Playlist. Includes Randall Shreve & The Devilles, National Park Radio, Route 358, The Lark & The Loon, Woody & Sunshine, Trumann Rail Boys, Shannon Wurst, The Irie Lions, Fractal Sky & more. For more info and schedule for the December 31 event, check out our Arkansas Guide to NYE Live Music story.