Arkansas Country Blues and Stringband Festival

12/03/2025

🚨 CALLING ALL MUSIC FANS! 🚨
The Arkansas Country Blues and Stringband Festival is honored to be up for Best of Northwest Arkansas — and we need YOUR vote!

👉 Vote here: https://www.votebestnwa.com/
✔️ Go to Annual Events & Festivals
✔️ Choose Arkansas Country Blues and Stringband Festival
✔️ You can vote once per day!

Every vote helps us uplift Arkansas musicians, traditions, and community culture.
Let’s show NWA what Country Folks Sharing Joy really looks like! 🎻💙

PLEASE VOTE + SHARE!
Your support truly matters.

Vote once per day from November 17 through December 12.

11/21/2025

The Creek Rocks doing Fred High’s Old Man Who Goes to Feed His Pigs and Gets In Trouble at the Jones Center. The Creek Rocks

11/21/2025

Friday night’s square dance at the American Legion!! Band: Pete Howard, Clarke Buehling, Carole Anne Rose, Brian Farrow, and Matt Morelock Caller: Emma Neighbor

11/20/2025

One of the things we love about the festival are the magic unplanned moments that pop up. The legendary Terry “Harmonica” Bean hung out after his workshop to jam with Noah Carter, a student at the University of Arkansas who said, “the festival was the best time I have had since moving to the region.” Noah’s quite the picker as well! Listen to them jam this song they made up on the spot! # # # #

11/20/2025

Here’s a snippet from this year’s Not Your Mama’s Gospel Brunch at The Jones Center with the members of FERD, The Creek Rocks, Rachel Reynolds, and Carolina Mendoza taking it to church with Wayfaring Stranger.

11/20/2025

This is also from Las Baladas. Carolina Mendoza-Music, the Songbird of the Ozarks, in what we can only describe as an ethereal prayer, accompanied by Larry & Joe and the audience.

11/19/2025

From an intensely beautiful and emotional Las Baladas this year. That Saturday morning, Larry and Joe had learned of the ICE raids in Charlotte, North Carolina (their home state) from friends. Here, they share an original song called “Dreamer” that Joe Troop wrote in collaboration and solidarity with his friend Moses. This is a deeply important message for our times.

11/19/2025

The Jake Leg Stompers sharing the tale of St. James Infirmary at

11/17/2025

More pictures! Images captured by Arkansas Folk and Traditional Arts! Photo Credit: Lauren Willette.

11/17/2025

Whatta time, whatta time! Thanks to all the folks that came out and shared the JOY with us this weekend and all that supported this year’s festival. Here are some of our pics. We’ll post videos soon!

If you have pictures from the weekend, please tag us here or on our Instagram at

11/16/2025

Congratulations to our 2025 Ozarks Stringband Champions, the Bledsoes!!!!!!!

Maya’s been learning the tunes of Violet Hensley, working with Betse Ellis. Carrying the family and female fiddling tradition of the Ozarks forward with her Dad by her side. Way to go, guys!!! 👏👏👏🏆🏆

Thanks to sign painter and muralist, Olivia Trimble of Sleet City Creative, for making this year’s beautiful award and to Arkansas Folk and TArkansas Folk and Traditional Arts prize money for this year’s contest!