This week, a special road trip episode featuring Salt Lake City, Utah based progressive bluegrass explorers Pixie and The Partygrass Boys recorded live at the 2024 Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas. Also, a bonus first main stage performance by original Walnut Valley campground jam band Sally & The Hurts.

The annual Walnut Valley Festival, now in it’s 53rd season, is one of the oldest and most respected acoustic music festivals in the world. Held at the Winfield, Kansas fairgrounds, more than 30 musical acts will perform on four separate stages, presenting over 200 hours of live music. Also, there is a dedicated contest stage where contestants vie for national and international championships in Finger Style Guitar, Flat Pick Guitar, Bluegrass Banjo, Old Time Fiddle, Mandolin, Mountain Dulcimer, Hammered Dulcimer, and Autoharp. There is a juried arts and crafts fair, exhibits by renowned instrument makers and music shops, family activities, a bevy of food vendors, a farmer’s market and even a pub! An unusual aspect of Walnut Valley is its campground tradition. Campsites are not reserved and campers line up to claim a choice campsite during the "Land Rush.” Walnut Valley Festival goers often bring their own musical instruments to participate in the sometimes all night campground jam sessions. Bands like Old Sound and Sally & The Hurts that began as "Jam Bands" in the campgrounds, have even been invited to perform at the festival.

Pixie and The Partygrass Boys may be far from their humble beginnings but they still don't take themselves too seriously. What began as a group of ski bums playing house parties in the Cottonwood Canyons of Salt Lake City has evolved into a nationally touring band that always aims to have the most fun possible. The band is Katia "Pixie" Racine on vocals & ukulele, Amanda B. Grapes on fiddle & vocals, Zach Downes on upright bass, Ben Weiss on mandolin & vocals, and Andrew Nelson on guitar & vocals. Pixie and The Partygrass Boys create a uniquely American sound that can turn the room into a ruckus but offers a full variety of other dynamics as well - approaching bluegrass/folk with a classical and jazz background while incorporating elements of broadway and pop-punk. They have captivated audiences across the nation with their unique blend of heartfelt songwriting, high velocity instrumental excellence, silly outfits, and sing-along anthems. Pixie and The Partygrass Boys invite the audience into their world every time they take the stage, hoping to share a piece of the magic they've found on the mountain tops and in the desert canyons of their Utah home.

- https://www.pixieandthepartygrassboys.com/band

In this week’s “From the Vault” segment, OHR producer Jeff Glover offers a 1984 archival recording of Ozark originals Janis Dooley & Pam Sanders performing a cappella the song “No Mortal as Happy as I,” from the Ozark Folk Center State Park archives.

In his segment “Back in the Hills,” writer, professor and historian Dr. Brooks Blevins begins a three part series on the surprisingly violent history of tornadoes in the Ozark region.