What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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38 WHAT'S UP! SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 2, 2021 FEATURE "With a project like FreshSongs, or any of the collaborations that we facilitate, it is important to The House of Songs that we choose kind people who are open to the process of collaboration," Weber says after stressing how wonderful all of the three artists are as both musicians and human beings. "It would be unfair to the other participants otherwise, and by vetting and getting to know the artists we work with, we can provide the best opportunity for a successful end result. Hopefully a new piece of music or a new unexpected turn of phrase, but mostly a new relationship that will continue to benefit all parties involved well into the future." "House of Songs was (and, frankly, continues to be) a lifeline for me during the pandemic," admits Carlisle, a multi-instrumentalist, folk singer and songwriter. "While opportunities dried up, there were phone calls to be made, connections to be had, and real discussions about how to set about making the best of things. I don't owe any songs on my newest record — or any, for that matter — directly to House of Songs collaborations, but what I do owe them is something deeper: a connection with process and someone saying, 'Hey, stop worrying about the bills for a second, here's a chance to create something.'" "I believe that taking time to work with artists coming from an international perspective helps me see and hear the world with a wider lens, which ultimately helps develop my personal artistry into a collaborative, expansive understanding, not just a singular one," Cherokee folk artist Fay adds of her own involvement with the House. "The collaborative writing process helps me to be more sensitive to the experiences of others, not just my own, when I'm writing and performing." Along with the mainstage lineup, FreshGrass will also feature pop- up performances, kids' activities, a pickers area, workshops and more. Each piece is another layer that will celebrate the culture, the music and community — within and outward, Neuman says. "What this means to the Momentary, I think this kind of launches some of those events and festivals that we have not been able to hold yet, and look forward to holding more and more as the years go on," she muses. "So I think it'll be great to see everyone come together and come together safely, to enjoy music and enjoy one another and enjoy our community." FreshGrass Continued From Page 9 "As a newer resident of the Ozarks and coming from Oklahoma, [the region's musical heritage] has taken on a different meaning here. I definitely see it as less of a specific music genre and more of a region- ally influenced way of storytelling, of recording the current moment and remembering historical moments through song. It's been interest- ing to see the way it intersects with my Indigenous understanding of storytelling. Coming from my personal Indigenous perspective, place is not inherently important, it is made important by the relations we build with land and people in the place, the experiences we share and the exchange of knowledge there. I feel like that rings true in the music of the Ozarks, as well. It has been cool to see the ways in which two different cultures can find common ground through music." — Kalyn Fay kalynfay.com (Courtesy Photo/Kalyn Fay) (Courtesy Photo/Willi Carlisle) "The Ozarks have meant everything to me. Because of poor soil, tough people, and old ways, many folks here haven't entirely lost all of their vernacular music and cultural inheritances. … "Ultimately, as a writer, my teachers and folk heroes in the Ozarks led me to give up on lyric poetry and focus on folk music, which seems like it might actually be able to make a difference: it's left and it's right, it's political and social, it's anarchic and traditional. Every- one wants to feel grounded in place and time. Frankly, most roots music doesn't do that for me, but rather signifies groundedness with costumes, accents and sonic signatures. The Ozarks, with several generations of self-aware 'hillbilly' tourism, its deep well of frontier self-reliance, and its slow adoption of postmodernity, is a place where that groundedness is still self-evident to me. It matters a ton to me that a cultural institution like the Momentary is championing it." — Willi Carlisle willicarlisle.com