What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1477891
SEPTEMBER 4-10, 2022 WHAT'S UP! 37 Making Music, Making Friends Roots Fest a uniquely Fayetteville experience MONICA HOOPER NWA Democrat-Gazette W e had nothing like the Fayetteville Roots Festival where I grew up. Music happened in churches and private clubs in our dry county, but if you didn't belong to the congregation or the club, you were out of luck. The first time I experienced live music was at the county fair. The first concert I chose to attend happened across the river in Memphis. By high school, I started saving money to attend every Beale Street Music Festival that I could. My friends played in cover bands, but rarely found a place to showcase their skills. We ached for live music and sought out bands that sounded nothing like what played on the local radio stations. It makes me wonder how things would have been different if the young musicians had experienced the Roots Festival, where they could see giant names in music and maybe even play on the same stage. Or if one of those farm kids from school could witness a nationally renowned chef take their family's crop and turn it into culinary art — not to mention the experience of sharing all of that food and music with a larger community. While I was one of few people attending the festival solo, I witnessed friendships blossoming as people joked about Oliver Wood hushing a rowdy Thursday night crowd in the line for the Friday night Town Center shows. I heard two women bonding over their love of Dolly Parton and chubby cats at Maxine's as they rushed to share Instagram handles. Over and over again, people were singing together, eating together and celebrating the things that make us similar — our shared "roots." As someone who's only lived in Fayetteville a short time, I'm happy that my son will grow up in a community where artistic expression is valued locally and where he doesn't have to leave home to express himself. It's one of the many reasons we're planting ourselves in Northwest Arkansas. The opinions expressed here are those of the author. Monica Hooper is a features writer and music editor for the NWA Democrat-Gazette. This was her first time experiencing the Fayetteville Roots Festival. See more of our photos at facebook.com/nwawhatsup. Got an music event coming up or an album coming out? Send your news to mhooper@nwaonline.com. Dolly Parton brings all sorts of people together. Fayetteville's favorite punk band, The Phlegms, shared the buxom country goddess' hits along with an array of local musicians including Dylan Earl, Bonnie Montgomery, Opal Agafia, members of Monk Is King and many more. The Dolly Parton Tribute show at Maxine's on Sunday closed out the Fayetteville Roots Festival weekend. (NWA Democrat Gazette/Monica Hooper) A group of friends jams in the lobby of the Town Center on Friday night ahead of performances by Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band, Bettye LaVette and Taj Mahal. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Monica Hooper) The lobby of 641.Deli at the Fayetteville Public Library smelled like Thanksgiving (sans political bickering) during the Fayetteville Roots Festival's Thursday night events. More than 20 chefs — both local and national — served delectable bites throughout the library ahead of musical performances by Joe Purdy, the Honey Dewdrops and Smokey & the Mirror. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Monica Hooper) LISTEN HERE!