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Category: Northwest Arkansas

Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, Bentonville, Eureka Springs, Fort Smith

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...

Arkansounds Faves / Eureka Springs / Northwest Arkansas

The Farm hosting Spring Cleanin’ event with litter cleanups, live music, food, kids’ eco workshop: April 14-15

Just in time for spring cleaning season – and the arrival of music festival weather – comes “Eureka Spring Cleanin’ in the Holler” on Saturday-Sunday, April 14-15, a family-friendly weekend with opportunities to help pick up litter along Highway 187 near The Farm, plus catered food for volunteers, camping, a community potluck (free for volunteers and just $5 a plate for everyone else!), a kids’ eco workshop, and outdoor live music from local performers on Saturday and Sunday evenings. The only cost to attend is a camping fee for those who stay overnight. Trash pickup will take place from 10 am to 4 pm both days; the live music, kids’ events and community potluck will begin afterward. The live music will continue till about 10 pm both Saturday and Sunday. Litter-pickup volunteers must pre-register (see email at bottom) to receive the volunteer perks: catered breakfast and dinner catered both days, a T-shirt, and discounted camping fee. For non-volunteers, camping costs $12.50 per night per adult; kids 12 and younger are free. There is a shower house with electricity on-site. The...

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...

Kenny Chesney is pictured during his 2016 tour. Photo by Jill Trunnell.

Arkansounds Faves / Concert Preview / Northwest Arkansas

Grammy Nominee Kenny Chesney Sets July AMP Concert Date; Tickets on Sale Friday

One of country music’s biggest stars and a 6-time Grammy nominee, Kenny Chesney, is returning to the Walmart AMP stage in 2018. Chesney will headline a July 12, 2018, concert at the AMP with opener Old Dominion; it is his third time to perform at the AMP. Tickets range from $60-$109, and they go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 19 through ticketmaster.com. Chesney is one of country music’s most prolific and successful acts, having sold over 30 million copies of his 20 albums, which produced more than 40 Top 10 singles on the Billboard charts – 29 of which have reached No. 1. Chesney is a 6-Academy of Country Music Awards winner (including four consecutive Entertainer of the Year awards from 2005 to 2008), as well as 6 awards from the Country Music Association. He was just nominated for his 6th Grammy – but his first solo nod – for Best Country Album for Cosmic Hallelujah. The Grammy nomination was somewhat serendipitous, coming after a last-minute change to the release schedule for Cosmic Hallelujah‘s tracks. In fact, when Chesney switched the lead single...

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 / BLOGS / Concert Review / Eureka Springs / Northwest Arkansas / Opinion

BLOG: Opal’s Nothing But a Sweet ‘Happy New Year’ in Eureka Springs

Never miss a Sunday show, they say. Well that rang particularly true on New Year’s Eve in Eureka Springs as 2017 was sent to final edit and we all convened at Chelsea’s Corner Café to welcome 2018 with vigorous optimism, passion, love, and joy through the sweet music and good vibes of Opal Agafia and The Sweet Nothings. It was as a family affair, as my lovely, wonderfully beautiful, and extremely talented girlfriend Gina Gallina had recently accepted my proposal for marriage. This makes me a happy man, and I’m excited for our continued adventures together. I’m so very lucky to have such a pulchritudinous lady by my side. Bonus: A whole horde of familia from Deadhead Productions had come to Eureka Springs for the occasion. We shared in delight and celebrated the gift of each others’ presence as we all dined at the Grand Taverne in style. We feasted together as we bade 2017 adieu while toasting to 2018 and the New Year that was upon us. Then it was upward on onward to Chelsea’s for a New Year’s Eve celebration! The moon was waxing and nearly full as it...

Archives / Arkansounds Faves / Central Arkansas / Eureka Springs / Giveaways / Northeast Arkansas / Northwest Arkansas / Other Arkansas Areas / Weekly Update

Arkansounds Insiders Weekly Update [12-28-17]

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 TRAIL TO THE WOODS: BACKWOODS AT MULBERRY MOUNTAIN 2018 ARTISTS 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...

Arkansounds Faves / Central Arkansas / Concert Preview / Eureka Springs / Northeast Arkansas / Northwest Arkansas / Other Arkansas Areas

Arkansounds Guide to Arkansas’ Best New Year’s Eve Live Music

Don’t have New Year’s Eve plans set in stone yet? No worries, Arkansounds has you covered with all the top options for every area in Arkansas! (And if you work in the service industry and are interested in celebrating on New Year’s Day, when you’re off work, may we suggest a road trip to Tulsa for Cain’s Ballroom’s Hangover Ball? See details at the bottom of this page.) In Northwest Arkansas, there are a ton of great options, depending on your tastes and preferences. FAYETTEVILLE NYE LIVE MUSIC LAST NIGHT FAYETTEVILLE (MULTIPLE ACTS) Want a variety of music, live entertainment, and stages that are also family-friendly? Then Northwest Arkansas’ biggest party of the year, Last Night Fayetteville, is your best bet. (Wanna hear the bands performing instead of reading about them? Check out our Arkansounds Last Night Fayetteville playlist on Spotify here.) This year’s Last Night schedule includes so many indoor options for live entertainment: 18 musical acts on 4 different downtown stages, several comedians at Art Ventures NWA, 4 cabaret acts at The Chancellor Hotel stage, 5 kids’ acts...

Arkansounds Faves / Northwest Arkansas / Videos

Fayetteville’s country newcomer Dylan Earl on DittyTV live-set video series as tour, growth continue [video]

Fayetteville-based country upstart Dylan Earl & The Reasons Why has been gaining quite a bit of attention from various media channels around the state and the Mid-South as the group continues touring in support of their new album, New Country To Be, released in October. Earl was featured in a live studio performance video by Memphis’ DittyTV digital channel in October, and more recently he was interviewed for a North Mississippi Daily Journal story a couple weeks ago before a show at the Blue Canoe in Tupelo, Mississippi. Earl relocated from Louisiana to Northwest Arkansas after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and he told the NMDJ that he’ll be “in Arkansas forever.” Traveling has taken him all over, from opera houses to basements playing his music live. “There’s not really a typical live show,” Earl says in the newspaper article. “I love mixing it up; keeps the road fresh. I sincerely hope that, in the least, folks feel like the hard-earned money they’ve spent on being at one of my shows is worth it. I’m honored people choose my music to accompany...

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...

BLOGS / Concert Review / Eureka Springs / Opinion

Delvis and The Schwag: An Uncle, A River, and A Hound Dog

This past Friday evening I headed Eastbound to get down with The Schwag in Mountain Home at an eclectic and culturally stimulating venue, Royal 66.  The drive was narrated by different versions of Me and My Uncle and Big River along with some 70s funk playlist action and went by rather quickly.  I dismounted my Subaru and entered to check in to my hotel and ascended to my room to don my Elvis outfit.  I would be Delvis this evening; and the Royal 66 would be the site of a collision of two worlds.  Elvis would do the Dead and Delvis would be the administrator. We sound checked at 7 to work out the kinks and I knew it was gonna be all right, mama.  Four super talented musicians under my spell for three songs.  I felt the magnetic chemistry and knew when it was showtime, it would be electric.  The band went on at 9. The Schwag played a nice ensemble of Dead tunes throughout the evening and the crowd was packed in and found themselves “dancing in the...

BLOGS / Concert Preview / Northwest Arkansas / Opinion / Other Arkansas Areas

BLOG: The Sounds of Grateful Dead + Elvis Hit Mountain Home’s Royal 66 Friday, Nov. 24

Hightail It Down to Mountain Home. This Friday may be Black Friday for many, but it’ll be a Blue Suede Friday in Mountain Home as The Schwag – one of the nation’s top Dead tribute bands – will be joined by special guest DELVIS at Royal 66 as we join everybody in expressing our Thanksgiving “Grateful” spirit through music. Trust me: There won’t be anybody “goin’ down the road feeling bad,” because That’s All Right, Mama, they’ll be riding with the King. I will be donning my DELVIS Elvis Presley tribute act persona as I join The Schwag for a couple of Bobby Weir songs and an Elvis tune. I first saw The Schwag at Rusty’s Last Chance Saloon in Manhattan, Kansas in 1997.  After several Schwagstocks and other local shows, I grew to love them for their authentic and honest approach to celebrating the music of the Grateful Dead. Ever since Workingman’s Dead, Reckoning, and Europe ‘72 got me turned on in high school, I knew there was something in the style they showed me, a mysterious sense of Americana;...

Arkansounds Faves / BLOGS / Northwest Arkansas / Opinion

BLOG: Don’t Let Me Being Me Upset You [and That Moment When Music Changes Your Vision]

Have you ever realized, like deep down in your soul, your mind, and your heart – that you have, in some way or in every way, been to hell and back – and perhaps you’re even now still staring down the flames? If so, this blog is for you. I recently spoke from my heart in our Arkansounds.com debut press release about why we are committed to giving back and using music to reach people in every way we can come up with. I mentioned the healing power of music, referencing how my favorite bands and songs have helped me through many “potholes” on this road we call Life – and how those favorite songs and bands continue to provide a palpably joyous soundtrack for the many good times, or periods of smooth travel, if you will. This analogy has been stuck in my head since I interviewed the members of Eureka Springs-based band Red Oak Ruse about their self-titled debut album released September 2. I liked it, a lot. This one song, called “Dust in the Rearview Mirror,” simultaneously...

Concert Preview / Northwest Arkansas

I’m With Her Coming To Walton Arts Center

I’m With Her, a trio composed of Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan, has been added to the 2017-18 Walton Arts Center season. The show, scheduled for Tuesday, April 17 at 7 pm, is being presented in association with the Fayetteville Roots Festival.   Tickets go on sale on Friday, Nov. 17 at noon. Tickets are $32.50 plus applicable fees and can be purchased in-person at the Walton Arts Center Box Office, by calling 479.443.5600 or by visiting waltonartscenter.org. A digital download of I’m With Her’s forthcoming album is included with every ticket order for this show. Patrons will receive an email with instructions on how to redeem this offer within seven days of their ticket purchase.   A band of multi-Grammy® Award-winning artists with extraordinary chemistry, I’m With Her has collectively released seven solo efforts, co-founded two seminal bands (Nickel Creek and Crooked Still) and contributed to critically acclaimed albums from a host of esteemed artists. With each track born from close songwriting collaboration, I’m With Her builds an ineffable magic from their fine-spun narratives and breathtaking harmonies.   Their music,...