Fayetteville may be hopping as usual, but there’s plenty of good times waiting in the nooks and crannies of the Ozarks this month.
Down in Fort Smith, the do it live on Second Street, hence you can catch a wide variety of great affordable show at Second Street Live, including the Western swingin’ sounds of Asleep at the Wheel on Sept. 2; take a little trip with the Latino influenced rock band Del Castillo on Sept. 17, and kick of October with an evening with the right-on Radney Foster on Oct. 1. For tickets and a complete schedule logon to www.secondstreetlive.com.
Three Dog Night will rock out at the Van Buren Fine Arts Center at 7 p.m. on Sept. 18. 3DN got real big in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s largely off of other people’s poignant songwriting, including two of their biggest hits written by Okie Hoyt Axton, “Joy to the World” and “Never Been to Spain,” and another smash with Randy Newman’s “Mama Told Me Not to Come.” If you’re ready to howl with the dogs, be sure to get your tickets and more on this legendary band at www.threedognight.com.
Speaking of Okies, the young and talented Rockin’ Acoustic Circus will be picking and grinning at Ozark’s City Park at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 25. This six-piece string band is still calls Currentland home and they’ll be making their way to Ozark, Arkansas fresh off of a weekend at the Bristol Rhythm & Roots Festival with folks like Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, the Del McCoury Band, Carolina Chocolate Drops, The Infamous Stringdusters and many more. Learn more about the next great wave in Okie-driven Americana music at www.rockinacousticcircus.com.
Which leads into our final episode of finely-driven Americana music, and what many consider the festival finale for the year, the Yonder Mountain String Band Harvest Music Festival, slated for Oct. 14-16 at Mulberry Mountain and also located near Ozark, Ark. This ‘grassy good time will feature performance by Yonder Mountain String Band, Leftover Salmon, Sam Bush (of Newgrass Revival Fame), Keller Williams & the Keels, Railroad Earth, Elephant Revival, Jeff & Vida, Split Lip Rayfield, Brett Dennen, Cletus Got Shot, Emmitt-Nershi Band, Martin Sexton, Donna the Buffalo, Dirtfoot, Big Smith and much more. Get tickets and the full lineup at www.yonderharvestfestival.com.