The opening night of the 2023 Smithsonian Folklife Festival salutes the women at the helm of the Ozarks’ eminent musical traditions. These artists carry on age-old melodies and repertoires and pass skills and stories onto the next generation.

As a singer and upright bassist, headliner Melissa Carper blends the county and bluegrass of her home in Arkansas with soul and jazz influences. Storyteller, folklorist, and musician Marideth Sisco of Missouri, Creek Rocks banjo player Cindy Woolf from Missouri, and mountain dulcimer player and guitarist Pam Setser of Arkansas kick off the concert. Together, these musicians showcase the generational power of the women in the Ozarks.