Passing music along to the next generation was just part of community life as seen in this photo of Jimmie Driftwood. Driftwood and the people who worked to establish the Arkansas Folk Festival and Ozark Folk Center would be glad to see that folk music is alive and well in 2022 and beyond!
Student enrollment in Music Roots ranged between 50 to 130 students per year over the past 25 years. A conservative estimate would put the total number of students between 1,500 and 2,500. The impact goes beyond the students in the program as it is common to see kids as young as 7 or 8 years old walking with child-size instruments on their way to and from private music lessons. The impact goes beyond the students as music teachers, classroom teachers, parents, extended families, and the community at-large participate as audience members and gain an appreciation for preserving the folk culture of the Ozarks.
The Music Roots program helped save the folk music of the Ozarks. Since 1998, free music lessons and free loaned instruments are available to youngsters beginning in 4th grade. Students who first learned how to play in the Music Roots program have become professional musicians, some have taught folk music, and some still play folk music even as they have gone on to other careers. A declining folk music scene in the 1990s is now a vibrant music destination for musicians of all ages.
For more information on support for Music Roots go to Donate.
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