For the next installment of the Arkansas Folklife Web Series, host Lauren Willette will conduct a live interview with musician Allison Williams about her connections to old-time music, square dances, the intersection of old-time and punk music and more. Williams will also play several songs from her old-time repertoire.
The webinar is set for 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 19. It is free and open to the public, and registration is required.
Williams hails from the Arkansas Ozarks. She began as a punk rocker before moving her focus to old-time music several years ago. She calls square dances and plays clawhammer-style banjo, rhythm guitar and more. She’s also toured internationally and played to a sold-out Barbican Hall in London as part of the BBC’s “Folk America” special. Williams has also spent time in the field learning ballads and techniques of old-time music, specifically Southern banjo in North Carolina from folk legends like Hobart Smith and Wade Ward. In 2021, Williams received funding from Arkansas Folk and Traditional Arts’ Apprenticeship Program to work with a student.
For Williams, being a musician is about more than just performing or developing a skill. “Playing old-time music connects you to the past, present and future,” she said. “It grounds you in your community; it’s more than the sum of its parts.”
Keep an eye out for these upcoming webinars in the 2023 Arkansas Folklife Web Series:
- May 17 — Ed Pennebaker, glass artist – Showcase, History with Art form
- June 21 — Freda Cruse Hardison, author – Cherokee Nation History and Culture
- July 19 — TBA
- Sept. 20 — Janis Kearney, Celebrate! Maya Project – Community Activism
- Oct. 18 — Eric Maynard, Arkansas Game and Fish – Hunting and Fishing Traditions
- Nov. 18 — TBA
Questions about the 2023 Arkansas Folklife Web Series may be directed to Willette at willette@uark.edu. Arkansas Folk and Traditional Arts is a statewide program of the University of Arkansas Libraries dedicated to building cross-cultural understanding by documenting, presenting and sustaining Arkansas’ living traditional arts and cultural heritage.