Real-music memories from Hootin an Hollarins past

Wow! Who is that skinny kid in these pictures? I look different now—it couldn’t be age! 

It’s been quite a few years since I began playing music on stage at Hootin an Hollarin. That festival stage is one of the earliest places where I played in front of a crowd. The music was simpler then. The music industry didn’t have recording software that can make the music “perfect.” The music we played – and have always played at Hootin an Hollarin – is real music, mistakes and all. But that’s what Hootin an Hollarin is about, isn’t it? A real expression of the Ozarks.  

The pictures shared here show some of the performers who played a part in making some good music and pleasing Hootin an Hollarin crowds in years past. Jim and Silvia Parks (center photo) played on stage for many years in the 1960s and 70s. Hobie Schelp (top photo) played many times during the 70s. Jim, Silvia and Hobie were all from the Kansas City area. Lou Vargas and Rob Simmons (bottom photo) were from the Bartlesville, Oklahoma, area.  Not pictured but also a part of many years of on-stage Hootin an Hollarin music-making are John Wehmeyer and J.D. Walters, both from Oklahoma.  

Since those first pictures were taken at Hootin an Hollarin years ago, I’ve been honored to play in most major Las Vegas casinos, in Lincoln Center in New York, in the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, in concert halls in Russia, on cruise ships and in countless other venues, but I always love coming back to play at Hootin an Hollarin. It’s always been special, not only to me but to the Sullivan family. 

Enjoy another year of a great celebration, Ozark style: Hootin an Hollarin!