Old Time Music, Ozark Heritage Festival

The annual Old-Time Music, Ozark Heritage Festival in downtown West Plains, Missouri, celebrates Ozark music and culture and is the signature event for West Plains. The festival seeks to celebrate, preserve, pass on and nurture an appreciation of the old-time music and folk life traditions distinctive to the Ozark Highlands. Admission to all festival events is free.

The festival campus will be expanded this year to include activities from the West Plains Civic Center through Historic Downtown extending to the campus of Missouri State University-West Plains. Over the course of two days, scheduled activities include music performances, artisan demonstrations, mule jumping, storytelling, a wide variety of craft and food vendors, living history encampments, square dancing, and so much more.

Music on the main stage will begin at noon and continue through the end of the headliner performances each day.

For Friday evening, The Isaacs, based out of Nashville, are set to take to the stage at 7 p.m. Well-known in bluegrass southern gospel circles and beyond, this multi-award winning family group began singing 30 years ago and are well-established performers. The group is currently touring with Reba McEntire.

The Saturday headliner group is The Blackwood Brothers Quartet which will take to the stage at 5 p.m. The quartet was formed in 1934 with brothers Roy, Doyle, James and Roy’s son, R.W. The group has been re-established with different members through the years, with the singers taking gospel music to new heights as they have traveled and sang in all fifty of the United States, every Canadian province as well as cities around the world. The quartet is arguably the best-known name in gospel music history.

Also on Saturday, at 4 p.m., is W.I.N.G.S., an acapella singing group comprised of nine women from Oklahoma City. For the past 26 years, they have performed at various venues across the U.S. Their style of music can be best described as compelling, authentic Christian singing with a hint of R&B. The harmonies clearly reflect years of companionship and hard work to make it flawless.