7th ES Family Bluegrass Weekend adopts new format

EUREKA SPRINGS -- The city of Eureka Springs has announced a major format change for the 7th annual Eureka Springs Family Bluegrass Weekend, Aug. 20 through 23. Every show all weekend long will be free, and the event will be held outdoors.

"We're enthusiastic about the impact that making Bluegrass Weekend entirely free will have on the event," said Special Events Coordinator Eric Young. "And moving it outdoors will make the whole town a really exciting place to be that weekend," he added.

Bluegrass Weekend will kick off with the annual Watermelon Social at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 20, in Basin Spring Park. The city will provide free watermelon and water. Circles of chairs will be set up for people to play bluegrass in random groups. Many bluegrass weekend performers will play, according to Young, and residents and tourists are invited to join in, too. "Bring your own fiddle, guitar, bass, banjo, or just your vocal chords," Young added. "The social is a guaranteed good time for the whole family."

Friday's talent

Bluegrass weekend officially gets under way with free performances the following morning in Basin Spring Park. The Cobb Family, featuring four performers under the age of 15, will take the stage at 11 a.m. Gospel music veterans, the Williams Family, who've played at every Eureka Springs Bluegrass Weekend, will follow at noon with their gospel music show. Other Friday performers will include the Ozark Alliance from Salem, Mo., the Spring Street Band of McAlester, Okla., Lonnie and Sheila of Mountain View, the Buffalo City Ramblers and the Dragon Masters, both from Blue Eye, Mo., and Karl Shiflett and the Big Country Show.

Shiflett hails from east Texas and has released three records on the Rebel Records label. His six-piece Big Country Show band includes 16-year-old Dillon Scott, of Sullivan, Mo., on five-string banjo. A 20-year veteran of the bluegrass scene, Shiflett played at the 43rd annual Bill Monroe Memorial Bluegrass Festival earlier this year. He'll be on stage Friday from 2:15 to 3:30 p.m.

Saturday's playbill

Free shows at Basin Spring Park the following day will include return performances by Shiflett, the Cobb Family, the Ozark Alliance, the Buffalo City Ramblers and the Dragon Masters. Saturday's acts will include several other bands as well.

West Virginia's Buddy Griffin will play a tribute to the highly talented 1950s and early '60s duo, Don Reno and Red Smiley, at noon. Arkansas pickers Donnie Catron and Pam Kirby, of Mountain View and Arkansas Red, of Eureka Springs, will play at 3:30, and the HillBenders, from Springfield, Mo., will perform at 5 p.m.

In the event of inclement weather, all Basin Spring Park music shows will be moved to the City Auditorium.

'Just a little bit longer'

After the shows on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the Swiss Holiday Resort Rodeway Inn, near the intersection of US62E and Hwy. 23S, will host another free event for performers, residents and tourists. According to local bluegrass player Joe McClung, "that pickin' party by the pool may last until sunrise!"

The Bluegrass Weekend will conclude Sunday with another free show featuring The Williams Family, which will perform gospel music from 1 to 3 p.m. in Basin Spring Park.

For details, email Young at eurekasprings eventsoffice@gmail.com or call 253-2586.