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 Johnny Lee Vincent, 1940-2014
Our condolences to the friends and family of Johnny Lee Vincent, founder of the Sally Mountain Show and Sally Mountain Park Bluegrass Festival. R.I.P. An obituary for Mr. Vincent can be found here: https://bluegrasstoday.com/johnny-vincent-remembered/
A Tribute to Judith McCulloh, 1935-2014
We were sad to learn yesterday that Judith McCulloh has died. Dr. McCulloh was an exemplary leader in the field of folklore. For 35 years, she worked at the University of Illinois Press, where she…
A Tribute to Ellen Gray Massey, 1921-2014
We were sad to learn that Ellen Gray Massey, the inimitable Ozarks teacher and author, has died. If she were known for nothing else but editing “Bittersweet, the Ozark Quarterly Magazine,” that would be plenty….
A Tribute to Don Lipovac, 1935-2014
R.I.P. Don Lipovac, of Kansas City, Kansas–polka musician extraordinaire and member of the Tamburitza Association Of America‘s Hall of Fame. Mr. Lipovac moved easily across the Kansas/Missouri state line, regularly performing at the Sugar Creek…
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 Naoma Powell, 1925-2013
We were sad to learn today that Naoma Powell of Columbia, the 4’11” powerhouse behind Access Arts, died on Saturday, July 20, 2013, at age 87. When MFAP and the Missouri Arts Council toured an…
Missouri’s vibrant cowboy poetry scene, from Harum Helmy at KBIA
In this 2013 story from KBIA, reporter Harum Helmy previews on the Missouri Cowboy Poetry and Music Festival in Mtn. View. Though the founding festival producer died, and the festival itself is no longer staged,…