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Category: Music Festivals

Arkansounds Faves / Eureka Springs / Music Festivals / Northwest Arkansas

FESTIVAL PREVIEW: Bluegrass & BBQ Features Great Variety of Music, Regional Standouts

EUREKA SPRINGS – Tickets for this fall’s Bluegrass & BBQ festival are now on sale, and the lineup is smokin’ for the September 28-30 event that coincides with Northwest Arkansas’ region-wide motorcycle rally, Bikes, Blues & BBQ. Performers will include Opal Agafia & The Sweet Nothings, The Grateful Bluegrass Boys, Aaron Kamm & The One Drops, Circus No. 9, Whiskey For The Lady, and DimeTrip. Bluegrass & BBQ, in its second year, is held at The Farm Campground and Events near Eureka Springs – also the home of the Mid-South’s premier progressive bluegrass weekend, Hillberry The Harvest Moon Festival, held in October. Bluegrass & BBQ festival tickets are on sale now at Stubs.net. Tickets are $30 for a single-day pass or $55 for the full weekend; camping is included, and RVs are welcome. ABOUT THE BLUEGRASS & BBQ 2018 ACTS OPAL AGAFIA & THE SWEET NOTHINGS Opal Agafia & The Sweet Nothings, based in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, embodies the sounds of the Ozark Mountains: a little soul, a little roots, a little rock-and-roll, a little old-timey swing – and a lot...

The Infamous Stringdusters played Hillberry 2017 and will return to Eureka Springs' The Farm for the October 2018 Hillberry The Harvest Moon Festival.

Arkansounds Faves / Concert Preview / Eureka Springs / Music Festivals / Northwest Arkansas

Hillberry 2018 Lineup: Railroad Earth, Trampled By Turtles, Sam Bush, Lettuce, Wood Bros, Stringdusters, Billy Strings, a Big Smith Reunion, Much More

EUREKA SPRINGS, Arkansas (March 28, 2018) — Hillberry The Harvest Moon Festival 2018 has released the full lineup announcement for the October 11-14 event, and it includes a stellar lineup of internationally acclaimed bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, jam-grass, roots-rock, Americana, and funk acts, plus 2 nights (4 sets) from festival co-host Railroad Earth. The following is the full lineup of bands scheduled to perform at this fall’s Hillberry. An asterisk (*) denotes that this will be the act’s debut at The Farm, home of Hillberry, near Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Click here to watch our Hillberry 2018 YouTube playlist, with live performance videos from every Hillberry performer. • Trampled By Turtles*, the award-winning Minnesota band that has made a habit of forging a place at the top of mainstream charts for its blazing-fast, edgy progressive bluegrass • The “Father of Newgrass” Sam Bush* • 7-piece international funk-masters and JamCruise veterans Lettuce • Critically acclaimed Americana trio The Wood Brothers*, the subject of a new documentary film and rave reviews from the likes of NPR and The New York Times • Recent Grammy winners...

Arkansounds Faves / Eureka Springs / Music Festivals / Northwest Arkansas

Hillberry Festival Lineup Round 1: Railroad Earth, Trampled By Turtles, Sam Bush and More

Hillberry The Harvest Moon Festival has released its first lineup announcement for the October 11-14, 2018, event. Hillberry 5 will include 2 nights (4 sets) from Hillberry co-host Railroad Earth; plus performances from Trampled By Turtles, which just announced it is ending a 2-year hiatus; the “Father of Newgrass” Sam Bush; critically acclaimed Americana trio The Wood Brothers; speed-grass Billboard chart-topper Billy Strings; “thrash-grass” pioneers Split Lip Rayfield; Arkansas’ leading prog-grass band Arkansauce; “groove-grass” standouts The Mighty Pines; and Chicago-based up-and-comers Miles Over Mountains. Hillberry Festival is hosted by Deadhead Productions, which has hosted various music festivals at numerous venues over the years and now is headquartered at The Farm near Eureka Springs. Tickets are on sale now at Eventbrite at early bird prices while they last. Ticket sales will be limited to 3,000 attendees, and the festival is expected to sell out. The Farm is located in the beautiful Ozark Mountains just a few miles from historic Eureka Springs, amid rolling mountaintops on a largely wooded, privately owned, 160-acre property; it is 26 miles from Rogers/Bentonville and 50 miles from...

The Infamous Stringdusters played Hillberry 2017 and will return to Eureka Springs' The Farm for the October 2018 Hillberry The Harvest Moon Festival.

Arkansounds Faves / Audio+Video / Eureka Springs / Live Show Audio / Music Festivals / Northwest Arkansas

LISTEN: Infamous Stringdusters at Hillberry 2017 [Full Show Audio]

Just a month before being nominated for their second Grammy Award, The Infamous Stringdusters blew fans away first by sitting in at October’s Hillberry The Harvest Moon Festival as the backing band behind Keller Williams in his Grateful Grass set (you can stream that one too here) and then with their own extended set immediately after – and they even threw in another Dead song for good measure, which set the enthusiastic crowd on fire all over again. Stream the full set below, courtesy of InsideOut Recording and Chris Lambert. The Stringdusters earned their second Grammy nod for Best Bluegrass Album for “Laws of Gravity,” released early in 2017. The Grammys will air on CBS television stations on January 28, 2018 at 6:30 pm Central time. Their first nomination came in 2009, for Best Country Instrumental Performance for their track “Magic No. 9.” (Marty Stuart took home the Grammy that year.) SETLIST: INFAMOUS STRINGDUSTERS AT HILLBERRY 2017 You Can’t Stop the Changes All That I Can Take I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink Gravity Night on the River...

Arkansounds Faves / Audio+Video / Eureka Springs / Live Show Audio / Music Festivals / Northwest Arkansas

LISTEN: Keller Williams’ Grateful Grass with Infamous Stringdusters at Hillberry 2017 [Full Show Audio]

Keller Williams always delivers an outstanding show, regardless of whether it’s just him sounding like 5 musicians, with all his musical tricks, looping, and the like, but his Grateful Grass shows are a rare treat. We rarely know ahead of time who the backing band will be, but he never fails to wow audiences with talented stars from the jam-grass scene. But Keller’s Grateful Grass set at Hillberry The Harvest Moon Festival 2017 was even more outstanding, as he surprised fans with the full Infamous Stringdusters crew as his Grateful Grass backing band – and they sounded like they’d been playing together for ages! It was great, and the packed field of music fans went nuts! Here’s the audio from that set. (The soundboard recording didn’t start till after song 1, Feel Like a Stranger.) SETLIST: GRATEFUL GRASS AT HILLBERRY 2017 Eyes of the World > Shakedown Street Crazy Fingers Scarlet Begonias Tennessee Jed Jack Straw > Cumberland Blues > They Love Each Other Sugaree New Speedway Boogie * Encore: Mr. Charlie * * With John Skehan (mandolin) and Andy Goessling...

Arkansounds Faves / Audio+Video / Music Festivals / Northwest Arkansas / Other Arkansas Areas

Stream audio from every Backwoods 2018 Phase 2 act

Below you’ll find streaming audio for every act announced in Backwoods at Mulberry Mountain’s Phase 2 Lineup! GRiZ Michael Menert Aplsoz AttA Brainrack Cntrlla Cut Rugs Dalton Richmond Deep Sequence Evix Glass Cannon Jade Cicada KirbyBright Kraang Live Symmetry Lyftd Mass Relay Meesh Modern Measure Muzzy Bearr Nappy Dread No.Faces Recess Recycled Funk Snails Space4Lease The 1 Oz. Jig The Brown Bag E.P. by The 1 oz. Jig Trouble in the Streets  

Arkansounds Faves / Concert Preview / Music Festivals / Northwest Arkansas / Other Arkansas Areas

Backwoods at Mulberry Unveils Phase 2 lineup, adds GRiZ, Snails, Michal Menert

Backwoods Music Festival late Friday unveiled the second phase of its lineup for the April 2018 event at Mulberry Mountain, and the newly added names include outrageously popular global hitmakers Snails, GRiZ, Michal Menert, and many more – plus a good number of up-and-coming Arkansas-based such as Atta, Flintwick, Fractal Sky, Deep Sequence, Recess, Meesh, No.Faces, Dalton Richmond and funk veterans The 1 Oz. Jig. The acts announced Friday evening add to an already-stacked lineup; Phase 1 (unveiled on November 20) included longtime Red Rocks sell-out electronica-jamband STS9 as well as The Floozies, plus a bunch of Arkansas standouts including Arkansauce, Opal Agafia & The Sweet Nothings, Flintwick, Fractal Sky, Groovement, and National Park Radio. Backwoods at Mulberry Mountain 2018 takes place April 20-22 and tickets are on sale now. Scroll down for more info on every act announced in Phase 2, or click here to stream music from every single one! Wanna know more about the Phase 1 lineup? Click here to read Arkansounds’ Phase 1 lineup announcement story and learn more about Phase 1 headliners STS9 and The Floozies. All...

Arkansounds Faves / Concert Preview / Eureka Springs / Giveaways / Music Festivals / Northwest Arkansas

Insider giveaway: Weekend getaway for Ozark Mountain Music Festival; 2018 lineup details unveiled

EUREKA SPRINGS — The 2018 Ozark Mountain Music Festival, better known as OzMoMu, has added 9 bands to its 2 previously announced headliners – Tall Tall Trees and Carrie Nation & The Speakeasy – to fill out the lineup for the January 18-21, 2018 event. The popular intimate, indoor music festival held in the ballrooms of the Basin Park Hotel in downtown Eureka Springs features an “Ozark Mountain Fusion” of bluegrass, folk, and Americana-roots music. Headlining the 2018 edition of OzMoMu will be Tall Tall Trees from Asheville, North Carolina, and Carrie Nation & The Speakeasy from Lawrence, Kansas. Full-event passes are $55 each and are available at the festival website while they last. Arkansounds and OzMoMu have partnered to offer an epic weekend getaway giveaway, which includes 2 full-event passes to the festival and a room for 2 at the 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights; total retail value is $590. To enter to win, join the Arkansounds Insider weekly email by clicking here, or through the “Sign Up” button on the Arkansounds Facebook...

Arkansounds Faves / Central Arkansas / Music Festivals

Statewide Newspaper Casts Doubt on Proposed Fulcrum Festival, Lineup

The organizer of a new Arkansas music festival says he has verbal confirmations from big-name celebrities pictured on the event’s website, but at least one artist told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that there have been no discussions and another told the newspaper that he is not committed. Cliff Aaron said The Fulcrum may fill the void Riverfest left when it ceased operations after 40 years, which Riverfest announced in mid-2017. But Aaron said it is also going to be something else entirely — a daylong festival with acts chosen by polls on the event’s Facebook page. It’s set to be held on March 17, Aaron’s post and website states. Listed options on the website include Kelly Clarkson, The Roots, Migos, Solange, Jessie J, Bryson Tiller and Joe Jonas with Jimmy Fallon as a host. Clarkson is currently in the lead, Aaron said several weeks ago. Here’s the promo video from The Fulcrum organizers: Aaron said he has verbal confirmations from the management of each artist, thanks to his connections in the industry, and acknowledged that it might seem too good to be true....

Arkansounds Faves / Music Festivals / Other Arkansas Areas / Videos

Trail to the Woods: Videos from Backwoods at Mulberry Mountain 2018 Acts

For your viewing and listening pleasure – and so you’ll know what kinds of great sets to expect when you get to Backwoods at Mulberry Mountain 2018 – we compiled video and/or audio streams here for every act announced thus far. For the full lineup with details, all the reasons Backwoods at Mulberry Mountain is a huge “get” for the Arkansas  festival scene, and links to each act, check out our Backwoods Lineup Phase 2 story. Andy Frasco and The U.N. Here’s a fun video clip from Andy Frasco and crew’s recent set at Mountain Jam Festival in New York. (Watch the audience, in full participation mode!) Arkansauce Bandikook Beardthug Calliope Musicals Danny Grooves Eazybaked Emancipator Exit 9 Figure Flintwick Fractal Sky Groovement Lodurr National Park Radio Opal Agafia & The Sweet Nothings Papadosio Rolling Foliage Ryan Viser Shallou Smith Smokestax Space Jesus Space Kadet Spankalicious SunSquabi The Getbye The Werks Yheti Yokai B SIDES ’13 – ’16 by Yokai Zoogma

Arkansounds Faves / Music Festivals / Other Arkansas Areas

Backwoods 2018 Lineup Part 1: STS9, Floozies, Andy Frasco, Arkansauce, Opal Agafia and Many More!

Backwoods Music Festival just unveiled its Phase 1 lineup for the April 2018 event at Mulberry Mountain, and headliners include STS9 and The Floozies, with more to be announced soon. The event takes place April 20-22 and limited pre-sale tickets are on sale now. Scroll down for more info about STS9, a world-renowned act that Arkansas hasn’t seen since their mind-blowing set at Wakarusa years ago. Supporting acts announced today are listed below in alphabetical order; you can watch videos and stream audios from every act in one place, click here. You can also subscribe to our Arkansounds Trail to the Woods YouTube playlist including all the Backwoods acts! Backwoods, now introducing its third event, went on hiatus this year as it rebranded and moved from its previous Oklahoma home to Mulberry Mountain (the former home of Wakarusa and YMSB Harvest Festival, located on the Pig Trail Highway 23 north of Ozark). Here’s the full Round 1 Lineup: Andy Frasco and The U.N. (Find our recent write-up on Frasco and crew here.) Arkansauce (Find our recent interview and story on Arkansauce here.)...

Arkansounds Faves / Concert Review / Music Festivals / Videos

YMSB at Hillberry 2017 Shakes the Soul Plus a Stirring Sit-In By Tim Carbone [Full Set Video]

The Yonder Mountain String Band set at Hillberry The Harvest Moon Festival 2017 outside Eureka Springs, Arkansas, was one of the more soulful and stirring sets I’ve seen from YMSB, and I’ve seen them over 55 times. (Lost count!) But the guest performance turned in by fiddler Tim Carbone of Railroad Earth was phenomenal. Sitting there in my chair, I was moved to the point of losing my conversation and thoughts, jaw on the ground, totally captivated. It’s followed right behind by one of the longest and most skillful solos I’ve seen yet from YMSB mandolinist Jacob Joliff. (And don’t let the slow-down in pace fool you – they set it right back on fire soon enough.) The whole Pass This Way > E.M.D. jam lasts nearly a half hour and is simply mind-blowing. Check it out (you can actually watch the full set, Tim’s part begins at 33:00) below. Setlist at the bottom. Thanks to John Peckham of ConcertCasters for the outstanding video! And thank you to Deadhead Productions for the best festival I’ve been to in years! Setlist 01 Troubled...

Concert Preview / Music Festivals / Northwest Arkansas / Road Trips

Riverstomp Returning in May 2018 After 4-Year Hiatus; New Dates Set

Riverstomp is back. Organizer and promoter Travis Stallbories of Blisterfoot Productions has announced new dates for the 2018 event, the first to take place since Riverstomp went on hiatus following the fifth consecutive event in 2014. The new dates are May 11-12, with campers departing on Sunday, May 13. Riverstomp 2018 will be held at Sparrow Hawk Camp, 21985 N Ben George Road, Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The lineup is expected to be announced in the coming month, said Stallbories and Emerg Entertainment, which is co-promoting the festival. “The RiverStomp Music Festival is a rowdy, blood-pumping, foot-stomping, good time with nothing but the best of the Ozark stomp-music genre,” says the fest’s Facebook page. In its first five years, Riverstomp featured bluegrass, Americana, and roots-rock bands from around this region of the country. Previous bills have included Dirtfoot, Ben Miller Band, The Hillbenders, The Hooten Hallers, Henhouse Prowlers, Randy Crouch, Cletus Got Shot, Clusterpluck, Foleys Van, Charliehorse, Cutty Rye, Carrie Nation and the Speakeasy, Fast Food Junkies, Tyrannosaurus Chicken, Honky Suckle, Trashcan Bandits, and more. That emphasis on the “wilder” side of...

Arkansounds Faves / Concert Preview / Eureka Springs / Music Festivals / Northwest Arkansas

HILLBERRY PREVIEW: A Closer Look at the Bands on Day One [Thursday, Oct. 12]

The third installment of Hillberry The Harvest Moon Festival kicks off on Thursday, Oct. 12, at 6 pm for what promises to be a historic, intimate festival featuring four epic days of performances by nationally lauded bluegrass and roots bands as well as top regionally based acts – and a colossal jam session late Thursday night hosted by ShindigMusic.net. Gates open at 8 am Thursday, and they will remain open 24 hours through the end of the festival, which continues through late Sunday evening’s campfire set ending at 1:30 am. Tickets are still available online and range from $60 for a one-day pass for Sunday to $180 for a four-day full-event pass. Camping is included with ticket purchase. Price changes occur at midnight each night. Hillberry is co-hosted by Deadhead Productions and Railroad Earth, one of the country’s most popular and successful newgrass jam bands, at The Farm Campground & Events, located off Highway 187 North about 5 miles north of Eureka Springs, Arkansas. The all-star lineup includes two full sets by Railroad Earth, on Saturday and Sunday evenings, as well...

Music Festivals / Road Trips

Mempho Fest’s AutoZone Stage To Highlight Regional Acts [Oct. 6-7]

MEMPHIS – Mempho Music Festival‘s AutoZone Stage, which spotlights top acts from Memphis and surrounding region, will feature Reverend John Wilkins, a singer and guitarist in the tradition of Hill Country gospel and country-blues greats like Mississippi Fred McDowell and R.L. Burnside, headlining the Friday, October 6 AutoZone Stage schedule that includes Dan Luke & The Raid and Bluff City favorites Star & Micey and Dead Soldiers. On Saturday, the jazz and blues sound of JoJo’s Slim Wednesday, led by Widespread Panic keyboardist John “JoJo” Hermann, culminates a day that also includes performances by Marcella & Her Lovers, Devil Train, Objekt 12, Chinese Connection Dub Embassy, UTR and local students from School of Rock. The inaugural Mempho Music Festival takes place Oct. 6-7 at the 4,500-acre Shelby Farms Park, one of the largest urban parks in America, just minutes from downtown Memphis. Tickets – including single-day and two-day general admission and VIP passes – are on sale now at memphofest.com. For full details on the main stage acts and each major act, see our in-depth Mempho Fest preview.

Concert Preview / Music Festivals / Road Trips

‘Mempho All-Stars’ Late-Saturday Super Jam: Oteil Burbridge, Robert Randolph, John Popper, Eric Krasno, & Many More

MEMPHIS – Mempho Music Festival, set for this weekend, Oct. 6-7, at Memphis enormous Shelby Farms Park, will continue the tributes to the region’s music deep into the late-night hours with a very special “Mempho All-Stars” jam, presented by Orion Federal Credit Union, on Saturday, Oct. 7. Musical Director Eric Krasno, guitarist for Lettuce and Soulive, will lead a rotating cast of musicians including bassist Oteil Burbridge (Dead & Company, Allman Brothers Band), guitarist Steve Kimock (RatDog, Phil Lesh & Friends), harmonica player/vocalist John Popper (Blues Traveler, Frogwings), steel guitarist Robert Randolph (Robert Randolph & The Family Band), drummer/percussionist Jeff Sipe (Aquarium Rescue Unit), drummer/percussionist Wally Ingram (Timbuk 3, Stockholm Syndrome, David Lindley, Sheryl Crow), guitarist Papa Mali (7 Walkers), DJ Logic, guitarist Eric McFadden (P-Funk Allstars, Stockholm Syndrome), vocalist Leslie Mendelson, keyboardist Peter Levin (Gregg Allman Band), vocalist Lamar Williams Jr. (Les Brers), bassist Tad Kinchla (Blues Traveler), and MonoNeon. These stellar musicians will come together to honor three fallen Southern-rock greats who passed away earlier this year: Allman Brothers Band founding members Gregg Allman and Butch Trucks, and Col....

Epic Jam with Once-in-a-Lifetime Lineup of 15 Regional Musicians Unveiled for Oct. 12 [Hillberry Harvest Orchestra]

Arkansounds Faves / Eureka Springs / Music Festivals / Northwest Arkansas

Epic Jam with Once-in-a-Lifetime Lineup of 15 Regional Musicians Unveiled for Oct. 12 [Hillberry Harvest Orchestra]

Hillberry Harvest Orchestra Set for Festival’s Opening Night EUREKA SPRINGS — The music at Hillberry: The Harvest Moon Festival, taking place October 12-15, just got even more colossal. Arkansounds’ Editor Kristal “K*Star” Kuykendall has organized an “official” late-night jam session, called the Hillberry Harvest Orchestra, featuring 15-plus gifted regional roots musicians on the opening night of Hillberry, Thursday, October 12. The Hillberry Harvest Orchestra will begin immediately after the end of the final Thursday night Hillberry act, Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, which is set to perform from 10:30 pm to 12:30 am. The Orchestra will be held in the big white tent where all of Hillberry’s Thursday acts will be performing; it will include a rotating cast of musicians based in the Ozarks region who have a background in bluegrass and roots music. Those musicians are participating by invitation from Kuykendall and Hillberry Harvest Orchestra co-hosts Michael Schembre (Red Oak Ruse, Opal Agafia & The Sweet Nothings) and Allen Swearingen (Foleys Van). All members of official Hillberry Festival performing acts also are invited to participate. Schembre and his band Red Oak...

Arkansounds Faves / Central Arkansas / Music Festivals

Legends of Arkansas Gears Up For Its Fifth Annual “All-Arkansas Music And Art Festival”

LITTLE ROCK, AR– Legends of Arkansas is hosting its fifth annual music and art festival on September 16, 2017. This is the festival’s first year under its new producer and beneficiary, The Van– a local organization dedicated to battling homelessness in Arkansas. The festival will be held at the North Shore Riverwalk in North Little Rock on Saturday, September 16, 2017, from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Admission is $5 dollars for adults, and kids enter free. Legends of Arkansas will continue its all-Arkansas tradition with local artists, vendors, food trucks, and breweries all being featured at the event. Knox Hamilton, Dazz & Brie, Rodney Block, and Brian Nahlen Band will all perform throughout the day, giving attendees a variety of Arkansas music styles. Legends of Arkansas will continue to feature the family-friendly atmosphere that characterizes its events including arts and crafts, circus arts, and kids activities. Families with children of all ages are welcome and encouraged to come out to enjoy the fun. All proceeds from the September festival will solely benefit The Van, whose sole mission is to...

Arkansounds Faves / Concert Preview / Music Festivals / Northwest Arkansas

Cool Water Music Fest Debuts This Weekend in Gravette; 2 Days of Top Texas & Alt-Country Acts

If you’re a fan of “Red Dirt” or Texas country, Southern rock-style jams, or bluegrass-tinged country, we have great news for you: the debut Cool Water Music Fest – which takes place starting at 4 pm Friday Sept 8 and runs till late Saturday night on a 600-acre, creekside ranch in Gravette – is bringing Northwest Arkansas music fans 15 great acts for a two-day family-friendly event with a very reasonable ticket cost of just $60 for both days or $35 per day. (The festival’s headliners typically perform for around $20 a ticket at typical shows.) Headlining the festival are prolific Texas Country chart-toppers Reckless Kelly at 10:30 Friday night and country singer-songwriter Chris Knight at 10:30 Saturday evening. Other national touring acts include Kentucky’s award-winning alt-country standout Jericho Woods (both days), alt-country Texas rock outfit Mickey and the Motorcars (Friday), and award-winning alt-country singer-songwriter Zane Williams (Saturday). Local favorites Mountain Sprout (Eureka Springs-based punkbilly-bluegrass) also is on the Saturday lineup, and a dozen other regional and national acts fill the rest of the two-day event schedule. [Scroll down for the full lineup...