This week, legendary guitar virtuosos, songwriters, and Telecaster Jedi Bill Kirchen and Redd Volkaert recorded live at Ozark Folk Center State Park in Mountain View, Arkansas. Also, interviews with these two guitar giants.

“Grammy-nominated guitarist, singer, and songwriter Bill Kirchen first gained national recognition as a founding member of the original “Americana” group Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen. His trademark guitar licks drove their “Hot Rod Lincoln” into the Top Ten in 1972. His latest recording “Transatlanticana” hit the Top 10 on the Americana Radio chart, staying in the Top 40 for 5 months.”

- https://www.billkirchen.com/bill-kirchen-biography

“Redd Volkaert was a successor to Roy Nichols in Merle Haggard's backing band, and is "among the country’s top Telecaster guitar slingers.” Volkaert won a 2009 Grammy for Best Country Instrumental Performance. Best known as a Fender Telecaster player, with a personal collection that includes a 1953 Fender Telecaster, a 1951 Fender Nocaster, a 1958 Fender Esquire and a 1950s-style Hahn Telecaster.” Volkaert has backed up literally everyone in country music at some point.

- https://www.reddvolkaert.com/default.html

In this week’s “From the Vault” segment, musician, educator, and country music legacy Mark Jones offers a 1978 archival recording of Ozark original Mike McGee performing the traditional song “Rank Strangers,” from the Ozark Folk Center State Park archives.

Writer, musician, and traditional dancer Aubrey Atwater guides us through a cultural transposition of the traditional song “One Morning in May,” with musical examples and her own cultivated insight.