WASHINGTON, Ark. - Relax under an early summer sky on the lawn of the 1874 Courthouse Saturday night and hear those sweet "Arkansas Roots" at a Music in the Park kickoff concert.
Historic Washington State Park celebrates the creation of the Arkansas Territory 200 years ago by hosting the banjo pickin' and guitar strummin' Hartley Family Bluegrass Band. They've played bluegrass and gospel for years, starting local and then traveling elsewhere, including New York state, to spread the message in their songs.
The Hartley Family Bluegrass Band starts at 7:30 p.m., as do all three Music in the Park concerts held monthly over the summer. The band includes parents Tom and Deb and their children Abby and Micah.
About the "Arkansas Roots" theme, Historic Washington's curator, Josh Williams, said, "The reason why we picked that theme was this year is the bicentennial year when Arkansas became a territory. Basically Missouri became its own state and Arkansas was broken off into its own territory in 1819."
With that in mind, all of the musicians have Arkansas roots and play music reflective, by and large, of the Natural State. That's the case with the Hartley Family Bluegrass Band.
"They've been an all-family musical band within the bluegrass genre. They started back in 2003 and have continued playing in different festivals here locally in Arkansas, the Southwest corner, and then across the country. They have now gone and played in various different locations around the country, including being part of the different shows at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Mo.," Williams said.
As the kids grow up, family members involved have changed, but two of them still perform with their parents.
Music in the Park continues July 20 with a concert by the Bear Creek Boys, all of whom hail from nearby Hempstead, Howard and Pike counties. Their music is a little more contemporary.
"They play more modern music, so it's going to be more 1970s country, some '80s in there and some other oldies that they'll be playing with their mix," Williams said.
Harmony, the third Music in the Park series band on Aug. 17, have that Ozark feeling in their music: folk songs both older and newer, string band music and three-part harmony gospel.
"We usually try to get one band that connects with our mission, our 19th century mission of 19th century music, and this one does that with Harmony," Williams said. "They're from Mountain View, Ark. They've been around since the 1970s, play all acoustic with banjo, fiddle, bass, those type of string instruments. They play several pieces that would have been heard when Arkansas was a territory."
Harmony also take stories from Arkansas history and transform them into song, giving a historic snapshot. In Washington, as with any culture, music is part of the fabric of life there.
"This is kind of connecting the past with the present in regards to music," Williams said, "and showing what they enjoyed with music back in the 19th century is really not much different than what we do today when we pick our different themes."
Historic Washington recommends people bring lawn chairs or blankets for seating. If there's any inclement weather, the concert will move indoors to the courthouse courtroom. Williams' Tavern Restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
(More info: Call Historic Washington State Park at 870-983-2684 or visit HistoricWashingtonStatePark.com.)