OHR Presents: Evan Twitty

This week, we celebrate the life of award winning Indiana finger style guitar prodigy the late Evan Twitty recorded live at Ozark Folk Center State Park. Also, interviews with the talented teen as well as his mentors and friends Thom Bresh and Randy Buckner. We are deeply saddened at the tragic passing of eighteen year old Evan Twitty. Evan lost his life in a car accident on February 7th of 2020. We here at Ozark Folk Center State Park have watched Evan grow up over his many years of attending our Merle Travis Thumbpicking Weekend. He began as a bright and promising student and matured into a championship winning guitarist, contest judge, teacher and mentor. In his brief eighteen years, Evan had placed himself among the finest guitarists in the world. In this week’s “From the Vault” segment, musician, educator, and country music legacy Mark Jones offers a 1975 archival recording of Ozark original Clark Fowler and the Sacred Harp Singers performing a shape note version of the traditional song “Angel Band,” from the Ozark Folk Center State Park archives. Author, folklorist and songwriter Charley Sandage presents an historical portrait of the people, events and indomitable spirit of Ozark culture that resulted in the creation of the Ozark Folk Center State Park and its enduring legacy of music and craft. In this episode, Charley discusses the importance of time in our lives and how we measure it.