The Ozark Mountain Daredevils to perform at annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival on July 4
The Ozark Mountain Daredevils are set to perform at the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall in Washington D.C. on July 4.
"I'm just over the moon, I just can't wait," Michael "Supe" Granda said about performing at the festival. "We used to play up in the D.C. area in the '70s and always had a good time, so I'm looking forward to going back to play in the area, for one, and number two, to play the festival. What an honor to be invited to something (so) prestigious."
Over two long weekends, this year's Smithsonian Folklife Festival is June 29-July 4 and July 6-9. The Daredevils will perform at 6 p.m. on July 4. The family-friendly festival is free to the public. Further information about the festival's music lineup has yet to be announced.
The Daredevils' performance is a part of the festival's program, "The Ozarks: Faces and Facets of a Region." Held over both weekends, this program examines the physical and cultural region that is the Ozarks. The program's key themes include:
Celebrations and Gatherings: how baking techniques and song repertories serve as a mode for the passing of traditional knowledge;
Stories, Sounds and Show Business: how music showcases, festivals and theme parks represent the Ozarks;
Migrations Movement and Pathways: the impact of passageways like Route 66 and Natchitoches Trace on the region, and;
Connections to Land and Place: how the region's topography supports natural wildlife.
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Missouri State University Libraries are a key sponsor of "The Ozarks: Faces and Facets of a Region."
Over the band's 50-year history, the Daredevils have remain rooted in the Ozarks, and this was intentional. Granda said that in the band's early years, its record label, A&M Records (now defunct), asked if the members would relocate to Los Angeles, as more opportunities were available there.
"We declined their offer because we wanted to stay in the Ozarks," Granda said. "My daughter was swimming in crystal clear creeks, eating fresh strawberries and tomatoes from our garden. We didn't want to uproot our families and move them to Los Angeles just so we could be on The Sonny & Cher (Comedy Hour)."
The festival's second program, "Creative Encounters: Living Religions in the U.S.," highlights how different religious communities intersect in the Ozarks. Through a handful of guided questions, conversations held during this program's events should "extend beyond a two-week festival, enriching national, even global, understanding about the depth, nuance and potential of these diverse religious expressions," the Smithsonian Folklife Festival website states. "Creative Encounters: Living Religions in the U.S." will also be held over the festival's two weekends.
Founded in 1967, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival celebrates both the traditional and contemporary Ozarks region. The festival is hosted by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and has featured artisans and historians from all 50 states and over 100 countries, according to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival website.
Where are The Ozark Mountain Daredevils performing next?
Prior to Smithsonian Folklife Festival on July 4, the Daredevils have a few performances on their schedule:
Saturday, May 6: Strawberry Jam music festival at Grayson Farms Amphitheater in Bald Knob, Arkansas;
Saturday, June 3: Forest Concert Series at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas;
Saturday, July 1: Grand Ole Opry in Nashville;
Sunday, July 2: Paramount Bristol in Bristol, Tennessee.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: This July, Ozark Mountain Daredevils at Smithsonian Folklife Festival
