The National Mall will resonate with the sounds of the Ozarks this summer when the Missouri State University Libraries offers a preview of the 2023 Smithsonian Folklife Festival program, “The Ozarks: Faces and Facets of a Region.”
The concert, titled “Ode to the Ozarks,” is part of the festival’s “Next Up” series. The event is June 26, 4-6 p.m., at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., during the 2022 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. It is free and open to the public. The performance will be live-streamed to audiences across the Ozarks and beyond.
“Ode to the Ozarks” will feature old-time Ozarks music. This musical style blends fiddling, folk songs and mountain music to create a distinctive genre of brisk rhythms and bright timbres. David Scrivener will lead a trio of musicians to open the show, with an old-time Ozarks jam session.
Also performing will be Sylamore Special, a group of five teenagers based in Mountain View, Arkansas. The quintet — comprised of Turner Atwell, Mercy Grace, LillyAnne McCool, Gordon Parker and Mary Parker — will share its lively and spirited take on bluegrass music.
MSU Libraries continues to work with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and other partners to plan the Ozarks program of the 2023 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. The free, 10-day festival is scheduled for late June and early July 2023 on the National Mall.
At the event, participants will experience Ozarks music, food, crafts and stories through daily demonstrations and nightly concerts. Other programming will focus on creativity and spirituality across the United States.
The Smithsonian Folklife Festival was founded in 1967 to promote folk and traditional practices and honor those who sustain them. The 10-day event draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Millions more participate online. It is one of five congressionally mandated national celebrations.
