Ozark old-time
Springfield, Missouri
The State of the Ozarks String Band plays distinctive old-time music from its namesake region where string bands provide a rhythmic drive that propels community square dances, the lifeblood of the tradition. The fiddle is front and center in creating this forward momentum, and bandleader David Scrivner is one of the most in-demand dance fiddlers in the Ozarks, following the legacy of his mentor, National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellow Bob Holt. With Aaron Tacke on banjo and Joel Hinds on guitar, the State of the Ozarks String Band will take Richmond Folk Festival audiences on a fast-paced ride through the Ozarks.
The Ozark mountains are the highlands stretching north and west of the Arkansas-Mississippi confluence, and include portions of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Illinois. Here in the isolated environment created by stunning natural features, a unique old-time tradition has thrived, heard in the way Ozark fiddle tunes bend between notes, accent rhythmic groove, and echo melody. Old-time music is dance music, and Ozark old-time is no exception. Ozark square dances are high-energy with dancers improvising percussive footwork, or jigging, as they weave through dance figures. This asks the fiddler to provide what Holt called, “working rhythm,” to drive the momentum of the dance. Scrivner’s fiddle playing does just that as he causes your foot to tap in time to the beat—as Holt always said, these tunes are there to provide a “place to put your foot down.”
Scrivner grew up in Mansfield, Missouri. He started playing bluegrass mandolin at age six. Pushed by his father to play, David admits he had a fickle relationship with music until he was introduced to Bob Holt in eighth grade. “When I met Bob Holt,” David recalls, “I also met people who played with him, wonderful people, and that’s what drew me to old-time.” Holt was a no-nonsense mentor, teaching Scrivner how to play dance tunes amid the whirl of house parties, festivals, packed dance halls, and crowded McClurg jam sessions. Through these friendships, Scrivner has gradually stepped into the role of tradition bearer, known especially for his knowledge of Holt’s repertoire. He also casually mentors younger musicians as Holt did. David advocates that to play traditional Ozark old-time music is to share Ozark culture and heritage. He has been leading the McClurg jam since 2011. This vibrant intergenerational gathering, where attendees share a potluck dinner followed by playing tune after tune, has been a mainstay of the region.
Today Scrivner performs regularly throughout the Ozarks. In 2019, he won the Arkansas State Fiddle Contest, and he was recently featured at the 2023 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. In Richmond, he will be joined by Aaron Tacke and Joel Hinds. Tacke has a unique three-finger banjo style, crisscrossing between melody and rhythm. He has spent extensive time visiting elder musicians in the Ozarks and has adopted the region’s sound into his playing. Hinds grew up in the Ozarks playing gospel music and connected with Scrivner at the McClurg jam. He is an in-demand rhythm guitar player throughout the Ozarks for the danceability of his playing, and is a consummate fiddle player as well. The State of the Ozarks String Band will be joined during the weekend by Bob Zuellig, one of the most respected square dance callers from the Ozarks.