On Sunday afternoon, Stephen Koch, the host and co-creator of the weekly public radio program, "Arkansongs," addressed a crowd of music history enthusiasts at the Concert Hall at the Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. Over the next two hours and with just a microphone and guitar, Koch took the audience on a tour through the state's musical history.
"The whole point of this, the whole point of 'Arkansongs' is that it [music] is like rice, it's like soybeans, it's like Walmart ... this is the stuff that we make," Koch said, naming music as one of the state's biggest exports.
The event was held to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Koch's "Arkansongs," which explores "the people and events that have made the state among the most important in forming the American musical vernacular that has, in turn, influenced the world," according to the radio program's website.
On stage, Koch performed songs by Arkansas musicians and educated the audience as well. His performance included songs by Louis Jordan, who is the subject of Koch's book, "Louis Jordan: Son of Arkansas, Father of R&B."
During his performance of Jordan's song, "The Amen Corner," Koch encouraged the crowd to sing along. "Well, I do need help on this one," he said. "And so, when I say Amen, if y'all want to sing Amen, Amen, feel free. We're just up here having fun."
Koch followed his musical performance with a brief lecture on various Arkansas musicians and their influence on American culture. As part of the lecture, he discussed well-known Arkansas musicians, including Jimmy Driftwood and Levon Helm, as well as more unfamiliar performers, such as Almeda Riddle and Beulah "Sippie" Wallace.
As part of the event, visitors were also afforded a final chance to explore the "25 Years of Arkansongs" exhibit, which opened to the public on February 5th. The exhibit featured artifacts from the University of Central Arkansas' archives and the Old State House Museum, and included Louis Jordan's saxophone, a bust of Levon Helm, and a washboard autographed by members of Black Oak Arkansas.
"That's so Arkansas ... taking something from your kitchen or your laundry room, like a washboard, and making it into a musical instrument," Koch said.
The exhibit drew die-hard fans of Arkansas musicians, such as Gail Adams of Little Rock. "I'm mad about The Band ... I've watched 'The Last Waltz' like 20 times with Levon," Adams said. "I took a picture of the bust of Levon Helm ... that bust must be from when he's doing a fabulous solo. I'm enjoying it very much."
Adams, a musician herself, is a member of the Rackensack Folklore Society of which Driftwood was a founding member and major supporter. According to Adams, they "still meet once a month. And you can't play any song written after 1945."
The exhibit took advantage of UCA's large Jimmy Driftwood collection, featuring his guitar, his diploma from Arkansas Teachers College (now UCA), and the Grammy Award he won in 1959 for his song, "The Battle of New Orleans."
"I wasn't expecting to see a Grammy today," exhibit visitor Tomiko Townley remarked while waiting for Koch's performance to begin.
Townley, Koch's former neighbor, did not know much about Arkansas music history until Koch educated her on the subject.
After attending the exhibit, Townley expressed that she is eager to dive in.
"I didn't know anything about Jimmy Driftwood at all, so learning about him is very cool," Townley said. "I feel like I have homework after this to go and learn some more on my own."
Nakeya Palmer, the exhibit's curator and Higher Education Program Coordinator at UCA, did not initially realize that Driftwood's Grammy was housed in the UCA archives.
"It brings to light the amazing things we have in Arkansas and on UCA's campus," Palmer said. "I didn't know we had a Grammy from 1959 on our campus. And if you book an appointment at the archive, you could check it out and get to see it up close in person."
Palmer collaborated with Phoenix Smithey, head of Special Collections at UCA, to create the exhibit.
Smithey emphasized the importance of Koch's performance and the exhibit in revealing and preserving parts of Arkansas' unknown musical history.
"I think particularly this kind of music, this Arkansas Delta Blues, is a form of oral history," Smithey said. "By showcasing and really getting into these artists, and digging into them, you're uncovering some history that might not necessarily be written down in a letter or history book because it's recorded in these songs."
This is precisely what the event was about for Patty Poulter, UCA provost and self-proclaimed "huge fan" of "Arkansongs."
"In Arkansas ... you can't throw a rock without hitting a musician, right?" Poulter joked. "Everybody plays, everybody sings. It's just part of our fabric of being."