This week, San Francisco based early 20th Century American music preservationist duo Meredith Axelrod & Craig Ventresco recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park. Also, interviews with these time traveling minstrels.

“Delightfully engaging and unassumingly comic, Meredith Axelrod envisions the limitless potential of early twentieth century music, whether it be Ragtime, Music Hall, Pop Standard, Boogie Woogie, Tin Pan Alley, String band, Jazz, Country, Blues or even Jug Band music, and embodies the spirit that brought the music into existence. Her vocal style is unusual, probably because she learned to sing by listening to how folks did it a century ago – through the medium of cylinders and 78-rpm records.

The dominant theme throughout Meredith’s expansive repertoire is that, whatever the genre, these are songs she learns from the original sources (records and/or sheet music) which were released between the 1890s and the 1930s. Part of the allure of old time music is hearing the original recordings as played and sung by the original performers in their heyday, loving what they’re doing and doing it because it means something to them in that moment. Meredith brings the same unbridled passion, earnest devotion and candid vitality to all of her music. She has found possibility and joy in the treasures of cultural folklore.

Meredith demonstratively loves the life she leads, thriving in varied musical and performance settings. She often partners with string virtuoso Craig Ventresco. They perform at venues and festivals that include the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, West Coast Ragtime Festival, and Blind Boone Early Jazz Festival.” - https://meredithaxelrod.com/about/

In this week’s “From the Vault” segment, musician, educator, and country music legacy Mark Jones offers a 1976 archival recording of Ozark original Ulys Pilcher performing the traditional tune “Sally Goodin,” from the Ozark Folk Center State Park archives.

From his series entitled “Back in the Hills,” writer, professor, and historian Dr. Brooks Blevins explores the story of the Ozark Jubilee, one of America’s first nationally-broadcast old time barn dance country music television shows based in Springfield, Missouri.