Mountain View, AR — The John Prine Folk Festival is set to take place at the Ozark Folk Center State Park on June 19 and 20. The festival will celebrate the life of iconic folksinger and songwriter John Prine (1946-2020) and feature performances by his family, friends and fellow songwriters. Guest performers include Otis Gibbs, Keith Sykes and Pam Setser on Friday and Tommy Prine, Pat McLaughlin and Shawn Camp on Saturday.
Evening concerts will take place at the park’s indoor music venue, Ozark Highlands Theater, on Friday and Saturday. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m. both nights.
Reserved seating tickets cost $20-40 per day, and VIP Packages are available for $100 which include VIP seating plus a VIP reception and meet-and-greet with performers. All tickets include admission to the Ozark Folk Center Craft Village during the daytime from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for live daytime music, old-fashioned fun, and craft demonstrations in 20 artisan shops. Tickets may sell out so get your tickets in advance atTickets.OzarkFolkCenter.com. Any remaining tickets can be purchased at the door for $5 more.
“John performed for his first audience in Mountain View when he was just 14 years old,” said OFC Park Coordinator Keith Symanowitz. “Up until his passing in 2020, he came to Mountain View almost every spring and fall to fish the White River with friends he played music with and wrote songs with. He loved it here, and the people loved him—not just for his music, but for the kind of guy he was: sweet, generous, and blessed with a tremendous sense of humor. We’re looking forward to honoring John once again, and we’re grateful to the Prine family for supporting the event and helping us grow it into a two-day event this year.”
The John Prine Folk Festival will extend beyond the Ozark Folk Center to the White River where John stayed and fished during his trips to Mountain View. One of the festival’s sponsors, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, will present a free Trout Fishing 101 Class at Jack’s Resort on Saturday, June 20 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. so visitors can “whistle & fish” in John’s memory. One of John’s long-time local fishing guides, Jim Ross, will open the program with a few stories. Fishing poles, bait and educational materials will be provided.
The park will present a John Prine concert documentary film at Ozark Highlands Theater each afternoon during the festival starting at 2 p.m. Documentary films are sold separately and are also available for purchase at Tickets.OzarkFolkCenter.com.
On Friday, The Prine Family and the Hello in There Foundation will present “YOU GOT GOLD – A CELEBRATION OF JOHN PRINE”, a star-studded tribute concert film, captured in October 2022 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, honoring the legendary songwriter’s enduring legacy. Featuring heartfelt performances and behind-the-scenes stories, the event brought together family, friends, and acclaimed artists like Bonnie Raitt, Brandi Carlile, Tyler Childers, Lucinda Williams, Dwight Yoakam, Jason Isbell, and Bob Weir to celebrate Prine’s life and music on the iconic stage.
On Saturday, the family and foundation will present “HOW LUCKY CAN ONE MAN GET”, a concert documentary film directed by Jim Shea, features previously unreleased footage from his May 2010 benefit concert at his hometown high school, along with reminiscences and storytelling about his time growing up in Maywood, Illinois.
The John Prine Folk Festival is proudly sponsored by Ben E. Keith, Norfork Brewing Co., Mountain View Chevrolet, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, and Arkansas State Parks.
About the featured performers:
Shawn Camp (Saturday)
Shawn Camp was raised in Perryville, Arkansas and moved to Nashville where he wrote his first number one hit song in early 1998, when Garth Brooks reached the top of the Billboard country charts with “Two Piña Coladas.” Later that year, Brooks & Dunn reached number one with “How Long Gone.”
Since then, he’s written hit singles for Blake Shelton, Josh Turner, George Strait, Billy Currington, and his songs have been recorded by Willie Nelson, Loretta Lynn, Ricky Skaggs, Guy Clark, Alan Jackson, Ralph Stanley, and Porter Wagoner among others.
Camp is a songwriter, producer, vocalist and musician whose performed/recorded with a virtual who’s who list of country, folk, bluegrass and Americana artists. He’s won national acclaim and numerous awards including a GRAMMY for Best Bluegrass Album with his band The Earls of Leicester and Folk Album of the Year for Guy Clark’s “My Favorite Picture of You” which he co-produced.
Pat McLaughlin (Saturday)
Pat McLaughlin was a regular collaborator of John Prine. He was a two-time nominee at the 2018 Grammy awards for the songs “Summer’s End” and “Knockin’ On Your Screen Door,” both recorded by Prine. In 2020 Pat took home the Grammy for “I Remember Everything,” recorded by long-time friend John Prine.
Pat is a highly revered Nashville-based singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his “funky white soul” style, “chunking” guitar technique, and poetic lyrics.
Active since the late 1970s, he has released multiple acclaimed albums and had his songs covered by Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, Gary Allan, Dan Auerbach, Marcus King, Tanya Tucker, George Strait, Alan Jackson, Josh Turner, Trisha Yearwood, Mandy Barnett, Don Williams, John Anderson, Brandi Carlile, Nanci Griffith, Robert Earl Keen, Tim O’Brien and Lee Ann Womack, among others.
Otis Gibbs (Friday)
“Otis Gibbs’ songwriting is deeply personal and profound. It’s plain to see Otis Gibbs is a man you should give a damn about. ” –Rolling Stone
Otis Gibbs is a songwriter, storyteller, painter, photographer, and planter of 7,176 trees. He once wrestled a bear and lost. He’s been called “the best unknown songwriter in music today,” but if you ask him, he’ll just say he’s a folksinger.
“The Trust Of Crows”, his tenth studio album, was recorded at the iconic Columbia Studio A in Nashville, where Bob Dylan made Blonde on Blonde and Nashville Skyline. It’s been closed to the public for decades, but Otis was given permission to record there.
Gibbs’ storytelling extends beyond music to his YouTube channel, where more than 100,000 subscribers listen to tales and folklore passed down by legendary musicians. In an effort to preserve these personal stories before they’re lost to history, he single handedly built a living archive in the spirit of The Lomax Family, Studs Terkel or even Charles Kuralt. This deeply personal project reflects Otis’ reverence for history, lived experience, and the characters who shaped American roots music from the ground up.
Keith Sykes (Friday)
Keith Sykes is an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. More than 100 of Sykes’ songs have been recorded by John Prine, Rosanne Cash, The Judds, Jerry Jeff Walker, and George Thorogood, though he may be best known for co-writing “Volcano”, the title track of Jimmy Buffett’s 1979 album.
Sykes has released at least fifteen albums and his songs have sold more than 25 million copies worldwide. He owns and operates a recording studio, The Woodshed, in Memphis, TN.
Tommy Prine (Saturday)
John Prine’s youngest son, Tommy Prine released his debut album “This Far South”, in 2023, and this was his long-awaited introduction and testimony to Prine’s 20’s and the loss, love, and growth that has defined them. Co-produced by close friend and kindred musical spirit, Ruston Kelly, and beloved Nashville engineer and producer, Gena Johnson, the album is rich and dynamic from cathartic jams to nostalgic storytelling.
“I feel like I’ve learned more about myself in the last year and a half than I ever have in my life,” Prine says. “And I think that speaks a lot to doing something that I’m passionate about. I love and respect the craft. Just hitting the road and doing what so many people before me have done and will continue to do, it’s really resonated with me. I think it’s transformed me into the person that I am meant to be.”
Pam Setser (Friday)
Pam Setser is a Bell Buckle Recording Artist and singer/musician from Mountain View, Arkansas with over five decades of experience. She is known for blending folk, bluegrass, gospel, country, and 1930s swing. Pam has released three solo albums, including her latest, “Now”, which features 13 American music songs.
Pam has a treasure trove of memories from her career in music, including: meeting Doc Watson and Maybelle Carter when she was nine, singing with Merle Haddard, The Whites, Joni Bishop, and John Prine among others, appearing on “Hee Haw” television Show with Grandpa Jones, playing with her family band for Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, and performing at the Ozark Folk Center when it opened in 1973.
The Ozark Folk Center State Park is open seasonally from April 14 through November 14 and offers live music, herb and flower gardens, and family-friendly entertainment in the Craft Village every Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Village artisans make, demonstrate, and sell a variety of handcrafted goods at the park’s 20 artisan shops and gardens like copper flame-painted decor, wire-wrapped silver jewelry, apothecary soap, candles, wood carvings, stained glass, printing press stationary, handmade brooms, leather crafts, knives and more.
If you need a place to stay during the John Prine Folk Festival on June 19-20, The Cabins at Dry Creek located on-site offer homespun decor, modern comforts, and an outdoor swimming pool at the cabins recreation office which is available May 1 through October 1. Rooms are located just down the hill from the Skillet Restaurant and Craft Village, and a shuttle service is provided for cabin guests who attend music at the theater.
