Show Me Folk
Artists Blaze the Way Into Creative Old Age, via Missouri Arts Council
In this essay from 2014, Barbara MacRobie, Missouri Arts Council’s Public Information Coordinator, shared profiles of a few Missouri artists who are aging creatively. Master old-time fiddler Cliff Bryan (b. 1927; d. 2017) told MacRobie…
A Tribute to Luther Medley, 1932-2013
We were very sad to learn yesterday that Luther Medley of Poplar Bluff passed away in October 2013. Mr. Medley was an apprentice in the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program with master luthier Bernard Allen in…
A Tribute to Donald Graves, 1942-2014
Don Graves, a master artist of old-time dulcimer and a dulcimer luthier from Lebanon, Missouri, died on Monday, April 14, 2014. Below is a PDF of the tribute we wrote at that time. Master Artist…
A Tribute to Raymond Thebeau, 1931-2014
We at the Missouri Folk Arts Program are sad to learn that Raymond Thebeau of Cadet, Missouri died on January 8, 2014 at age 82. Mr. Thebeau was widely recognized as a master square dance caller,…
A Tribute to Ahmad Alaadeen, 1934-2010
Master jazz saxophonist Ahmad Alaadeen died on August 15, 2010, and MFAP staff attended his funeral service at Tuesday, August 17 at 10 am at Watkins Brothers Memorial Chapel in Kansas City, Mo. Jazz Times published…
A Tribute to Bob Holt, 1930-2004
Old-time fiddler Bob Holt died in March 2004. Below is a PDF with a brief tribute and links to the obituary his family published and his NEA Heritage Fellow profile at the Masters of Traditional…
A Tribute to Edna Mae Davis, 1929-2003
In 2003, we were saddened to learn of the passing of Edna Mae Davis, a master square/jig dancer and square dance caller in Missouri’s Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program in 1987, 1988, 1989, and 1990. You…