ARKIE IN THE MIX: When Dolly Parton performed at North Little Rock’s Verizon Arena last night, she had an Arkansan with her. Ashdown native Kent Wells, a Nashville musician, is touring with Parton as her bandleader. A producer with his own company, he has also worked with Kenny Rogers, Reba McEntire, Randy Travis, The Oak Ridge Boys, Lee Greenwood, Brooks and Dunn, Keith Whitley and Travis Tritt.
FIDDLIN’ AROUND: Musician Violet Hensley, 99, of Yellville, named an Arkansas Living Treasure by the Arkansas Arts Council in 1994, made her debut on the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville earlier this month to a standing ovation. She’s also a luthier, having built more than 70 fiddles from scratch. Hensley started playing at 12 and built her first fiddle at 15. She made the one she played at the Opry in 1934 at age 17. Visit tinyurl.com/hfpuuyl to watch.
ROLL ’EM: Greater, a film about walk-on college football player Brandon Burlsworth, opens in theaters nationwide Aug. 26. The Harrison High graduate, who against all odds went on to become a star Arkansas Razorbacks player, died in a car accident in April 1999, days after being drafted into the NFL by the Indianapolis Colts.
BOOKING IT: The Arkansas Center for the Book has chosen Bill Jones’ Petit Jean: A Wilderness Adventure as the book to represent the state at the Library of Congress’ National Book Festival on Sept. 24. The national library will also include the book in its “Discover Great Places Through Reading” brochure listing 52 great books, each representing a state, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories, and a map to encourage children to see the country and the Library of Congress Center for the Book.
RETURNING TO HIS ROOTS: Journalist Ron Fournier, most recently with the National Journal, who began his career at The Sentinel-Record in Hot Springs and worked at the Arkansas Democrat in the late 1980s before joining The Associated Press in Little Rock and then in Washington, D.C., has a new job in his hometown of Detroit. He’ll be working as the associate publisher of Crain’s Detroit Business.
HAIL, HAIL, THE GANG’S ALL HERE: If the background for the most recent publicity photos for the legendary gospel quartet, The Chuck Wagon Gang, looks familiar, it’s because it is. When the Knoxvillebased Gospel Music Hall of Fame members were in the area last year, they held a photo shoot at the Old Mill in North Little Rock. The group, originally founded 80 years ago, is back Aug. 26, a Friday, performing at DaySpring Baptist Church at Markham and Church streets in Ward. The concert is free, but donations are encouraged. For more info, call (501) 628-1838 or (501) 843-3336.