There are many brands of beef, but only one Angus brand exceeds expectations. The Certified Angus Beef brand is a cut above USDA Prime, Choice and Select. Tend quality standards set the brand apart. It’s abundantly flavoreful, incredibly tender and naturally juicy. 15 store locations throughout Arkansas
Alicia Simpson’s dreams of becoming a mother came true when her daughter was born at UAMS on Oct. 24, 2024. Motherhood was something she longed for, but polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and uterine cancer made the prospects dim. UAMS Health Gynecologic Oncologist Dr. Heather Williams treated her cancer using medication and procedures that preserved her fertility. When Simpson became pregnant, Williams worked closely with the UAMS High Risk Pregnancy Program to monitor her health along with Simpson’s obstetrics team. Simpson is thrilled to be celebrating Mother’s Day with her husband and their miracle baby.
“I love the care I received at UAMS. I am forever grateful for them. I truly believe that without Dr. Williams and her team, I wouldn’t have my daughter. She is a miracle and the answer to many prayers.
– Alicia Simpson, Hot Springs
Photo by Katie Kauss. Garvan Woodland Gardens
Ashley McBryde, one of the hottest singers in music, opens up about sobriety, authenticity and her Ozark streak. See page 140.
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Jane Colclasure is a Little Rock native with more than 25 years of experience in product, architectural, and home and garden photography. She has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Colorado and an associate’s degree from the Colorado Institute of Art.
Emily James is a freelance photographer recognized for her intentional, humanfocused style and commitment to honesty and genuine representation. She coowns ECLIPS Productions with her husband, Ethan James. There they produce artistic, storydriven visual media, including promotional campaigns and real estate marketing.
Margie Raimondo blends culinary skills with storytelling. She specializes in Mediterranean cooking classes that emphasize healthy eating and has authored two cookbooks: Mangiamo and Finding Your Path Additionally, she is a filmmaker. She produced the awardwinning documentary The Soul of Sicily
Lori Sparkman, owner of Lori Sparkman Photography, has traveled the globe to work extensively with beautiful brides and grooms, fierce fitness clients, and growing families, as well as high-profile and corporate clients. She prides herself in capturing their personalities with a sophisticated and lighthearted style.
Terrance Armstard is a photojournalist who has worked at institutions such as the University of Louisiana Monroe, the News Star in Louisiana and El Dorado News-Times. In addition to his freelance work, Armstard teaches courses in photojournalism, sports journalism, multimedia journalism, advertising and public relations.
Jamie Lee is a freelance photographer originally from southwest Louisiana who now resides in Little Rock. With a strong focus on portrait, branding and food photography, she loves capturing people’s stories and cultures through the lens, helping businesses build their brands visually, and showcasing the local food scene and small businesses.
Genevieve Townley is the owner of Wonderlily Photography and resident of Hot Springs. She loves photography, her two kids, ages 18 and 20, her dog, Maggie, and her husband of 23 years. She also loves anything that involves going to the beach. Townley has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
Chris Davis was born and raised in Sherwood but now resides in North Little Rock with his wife and son. When his son was born, his wife asked for a new camera to take pictures of their little one. From there, his love of photography grew, and he is proud to be one of the contributing photographers at AY About You magazine.
AY About You Magazine is published monthly, Volume XXXIX, Issue 1 AY Magazine (ISSN 2162-7754) by AY Media Group, 910 W. 2nd St., Suite 200, Little Rock, AR 72201. Periodicals postage paid at Little Rock, AR and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to AY Magazine, 910 W. 2nd St., Suite 200, Little Rock, AR 72201. Subscription Inquiries: Subscription rate is $24 for one year (12 issues). Single issues are available upon request for $5. For subscriptions, inquiries or address changes, call 501-244-9700. The contents of AY are copyrighted ©2025, and material contained herein may not be copied or reproduced in any manner without the written permission of the publisher. Articles in AY should not be considered specific advice, as individual circumstances vary. Products and services advertised in the magazine are not necessarily endorsed by AY
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ere is a place where the greatest stories ever told from the pages of Scripture come to life on stage. Where loved ones gather for a shared experience that creates lasting memories long after the curtain closes. Where every production is designed for a 300' wraparound stage, complete with towering set pieces and live animals in the aisles, immersing family members of all ages in the heart of the story—and DAVID is no exception!
This summer, you and your crew are invited to Sight & Sound eatres® in Branson, MO, for a legendary adventure alongside a master poet, fearless warrior, and anointed king. From peaceful pastures to the pressures of the palace, his ascent to the throne is filled with GIANT battles. Towering at 22' tall and weighing 800 pounds, David’s most infamous opponent was no small feat for the Sight & Sound Production Team to create. With the ability to fight on the battlefield, Goliath is one of the most complex animatronics to command the Branson stage.
And it wouldn’t be a true shepherd’s journey without a flock! e 50-person cast of DAVID is joined on stage by a beautifully trained flock of 30 sheep. Along with camels,
horses, goats, birds, and donkeys, every animal actor plays a role in bringing the Bible to life for audiences in unforgettable ways.
Don’t miss your chance to gather your army and experience DAVID live on stage for one final season. As praises rise and giants fall, it is our hope at Sight & Sound that one message resounds from the stage: throughout our triumphs and failures God is with us, always.
Join us for the legendary fi nal season of DAVID in Branson, MO — now through October 8th!
Of all the exciting issues AY About You puts out in a year, May is special, and 2026’s version is no exception.
This month reveals our “AY’s Best of 2026” honorees, including hundreds of companies and individuals elected by thousands upon thousands of votes from our loyal readers. Herein, you will find the best of everything our state has to offer, from veterinarians and dentists to beauty treatments and cocktails to attorneys and interior designers and much, much more. Thank you to everyone who voted, making this our biggest “AY’s Best Of” poll yet.
We continue our awards theme with a preview of the fantastic Arkansas Country Music Awards coming up June 1, which recognizes the very best musicians, songwriters and singers Arkansas has to offer. I am proud that AY About You is among the nominees this year and look forward to a great show featuring legendary artists Crystal Gayle and Ricky Skaggs.
Speaking of legendary, we have got stories on two of the hottest things going in Nashville right now with Arkansas natives Erin Enderlin and Ashley McBryde. They share their experiences as women in the music world, both the highs and the lows, on their way to the top.
The weather’s warming up, graduation is around the corner, and lazy summer days are almost upon us. Take AY About You along on your adventures, and drop us a line from time to time. Just like Mama, who we honor this month, we would love to hear from you.
Heather Baker, President & Publisher
hbaker@aymag.com / heatherbaker_ar
Our teams at Mountain Harbor Resort & Spa and DreamChaser Houseboats were truly excited to partner in hosting the AY Weekender event at Harbor, but from the moment Heather Baker, Ryan Parker, and their indomitable co-hort, Charlie Brown arrived, we knew we had something special.
Heather and Ryan are among the kindest and most genuine people we’ve ever had the pleasure of hosting. Their professionalism, attention to detail and sharp marketing insight elevated this social media and print collaboration far beyond anything we’ve experienced before.
From thoughtful content creation to seamless storytelling across digital and print platforms, every element of this partnership reflected a level of excellence that is rare to find.
Mountain Harbor Resort and Spa wholeheartedly recommends AY About You and their exceptional creative team to any organization seeking inspired, results-driven marketing partnerships — with just the right touch of personality.
Pati Brown, Mountain Harbor Resort & Spa
AY About You has been a great advertising partner for us. Their team is responsive, easy to work with, and consistently delivers strong visibility within the local community. We’ve had a positive experience and value the relationship. Looking forward to continuing to work with them!
Hollie Odom, Professional Computer Services, Inc.
AY’S WEDDING ISSUE
We are so thankful for AY About You! The wedding issue holds a special place for us! The Vogue Veil
STAGE 13 PREPS STUDENTS FOR THE SPOTLIGHT
Thank you AY About You for shining the spotlight on these incredible young artists! Stage 13
ARKANSAS AUTHOR BRANDON D. CAMPBELL HIGHLIGHTS BLENDED FAMILIES IN NEW CHILDREN’S BOOK
I love this. Thank you, Sarah DeClerk and Heather Baker for the feature.
Brandon D. Campbell
Painted Tree abruptly closes all stores, local vendors face impact
Tacos, Chocolate Gravy and God’s Hot Tub: One half of Josh & Jase heads to Arkansas
Arkansan Kaleb Moon to star in cast of Million Dollar Secret Season 2
Luce to bring fresh Italian glow to west Little Rock
AY’s Best of 2026
you just can't miss!
May 1-3
Downtown — Conway
This family-friendly festival features concerts, shopping, carnival rides, children’s activities and the famous World Championship Toad Races. It is sure to be a “hopping” good time.
May 2
Argenta Plaza — North Little Rock
CareLink’s annual Cupcakes for Goodness Sake invites local bakers, both amateur and professional, to bake treats inspired by this year’s big-top circus theme. Folks will not want to miss the sweetest street fest in Arkansas.
May 4
Saracen Casino Resort Event Center — Pine Bluff
Arkansas culinary excellence takes center stage at this year’s Delta Diamond Chef Awards Gala and Competition. The event will honor professionals in the culinary field and showcase the region’s talented chefs. One highlight of the event is a live competition.
May 15-24
Riverfront Park — North Little Rock
Set along the banks of the Arkansas River in North Little Rock, the Pulaski County Fair, presented by Oaklawn Hot Springs, will offer nine days of fun, food and entertainment. A portion of the proceeds support North Little Rock Parks and Recreation.
May 25
Lake Hamilton — Hot Springs
Celebrate Memorial Day with a free fireworks display over Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs. The display, synced to music on 97.5 FM, promises to light up the sky, providing a patriotic good time for young and old alike.
by Heather Baker
Spend a starry, soaky, sparkly weekend in Hot Springs
LLast weekend, I packed up my husband, Ryan Parker, and my sweet goldendoodle, Charlie Brown — my constant travel buddies and official cuddle experts — and headed to Hot Springs. We take advantage of every opportunity we can get for such adventures, and with a packed work schedule and endless events and appearances, we were ready for some of what Spa City does best.
The team at Visit Hot Springs asked where I wanted to stay for our getaway, and I did not hesitate: Starlight Haven was at the top of my list. I had never stayed in a geodesic dome before, and the idea of stargazing straight from my bed sounded like pure magic.
Tucked just minutes outside the city limits amid the beautiful Ouachita Mountains, Starlight Haven delivered an ideal mix of comfort and wonder. Our cozy geodesic dome came fully stocked with everything we needed: a complete kitchen for whipping up meals, a comfortable bedroom and a private bathroom. Outside, the perks were endless and included a private hot tub bubbling away on the deck, a gas grill and swing chairs well suited for lazy afternoons.
By day, we lounged and soaked in the panoramic forest and mountain views, listening to the birds and watching the many deer that wandered by. At night, we climbed into bed, gazed up through the skylight and lost ourselves in a blanket of stars overhead — no light pollution, just pure peace mixed with that thrilling sense of being somewhere truly special.
Starlight Haven is the kind of unique, nature-immersed experience that makes you feel alive — romantic, refreshing and unlike any hotel stay I have ever had. If you are craving something unforgettable, put Starlight Haven on your must-do list.
Refreshed and energized from our dome adventure, we dove straight into the action and headed up to the Hot Springs Mountain Tower. I had visited before and always love the thrill of the elevator ride to the 1,250-foot observation deck for those jaw-dropping 360-degree views of the city and surrounding mountains that make for epic photos.
On this visit, I finally explored the lower level and its thoughtful museumstyle exhibits. There are fascinating facts about Hot Springs’ history — including some I thought I knew that turned out to be total myths — plus cool memorabilia from notable figures. Bill Clinton, who grew up there, is represented, as are the gangsters who once made the city their playground, such as Al Capone, Owney Madden and others. The museum even touches on the Major League Baseball players who used Hot Springs as spring training grounds back in the
day. It is a quick, enlightening stop that adds real depth and a few “wow” moments to your visit.
Next, we slipped into our bathing suits for a soak at Quapaw Baths & Spa on historic Bathhouse Row. Under that iconic tiled dome, we eased into the thermal mineral pools at different temperatures — warm, hotter and just right. The gentle fountains created the most soothing soundtrack as we floated our worries away, letting the ancient healing waters work their magic on every muscle.
Afterward, we lounged on the comfortable chairs and sipped fresh spring water straight from the source, wrapped in plush robes and slippers. The locker rooms are spotless, and the staff is genuinely kind and attentive. The whole experience feels like stepping back in time but with modern comfort. I highly recommend the Quapaw. There is nothing quite like it.
For dinner, Ryan and I treated ourselves to Hotel Hale, owned by Mayor Pat McCabe and his wife, Ellen.
Housed in a beautifully restored historic bathhouse right inside the national park, it is modern dining at its finest, complete with a massive living plant wall that makes the space feel alive and vibrant. The evening was impeccable from start to finish.
We started with outstanding mocktails. Our bartender was an absolute artist at her craft. I took the waitress’s recommendation on the salmon — absolute perfection — while Ryan went with the steak. We both agreed
the crab cakes were a standout highlight, and we even grabbed dessert to go from their tempting cake display in the lobby. The service was outstanding, delivering the kind of elevated yet welcoming experience you want to revisit again and again.
Friday morning kicked off with a visit to Kollective Coffee + Tea on Central Avenue, and let me tell you, we loved it so much, we stopped by three times in one day. This is true
Kollective Coffee + Tea helped us fuel up for our adventures.
third-wave coffee, treating every cup like an artisanal beverage rather than just “a cup of joe.” It’s all about quality, passion and a touch of nerdy enthusiasm for sourcing and brewing.
Everything is certified organic or natural, meaning no genetically modified organisms, no preservatives and no harmful pesticides. Plus the locally sourced offerings taste as good as they make you feel. We fell hard for the matcha, devoured pastries from their incredible pastry chef and got totally charmed by the staff and owners.
Kollective’s atmosphere is cute and welcoming, and chatting with the folks there made it feel like visiting friends. If you are into mindful, delicious eats and drinks, this is a must.
We spent the morning strolling Bathhouse Row and Central Avenue, admiring the stunning historic architecture, popping into unique shops filled with one-of-a-kind finds, and chatting with the friendliest locals you will ever meet. The free-flowing hot water fountains down there are such a quirky, wonderful touch; you really feel like you have stepped into Hot Springs’ own little world.
For lunch, we hit Superior Bathhouse Brewery, the only brewery inside a U.S. National Park and the only one in the world brewing with thermal spring water. We tried their handmade root beer — incredible — a soft pretzel and the divine sweet potato salad made with grilled brown sugar sweet potatoes, sweet and spicy bacon, craisins, pumpkin seeds, pickled red onions, and Asian carrot vinaigrette over spinach. People-watching from the huge windows or relaxing on the patio never gets old.
Afterward, we dove into the Mystic Ozark, part of the Mid-America Science Museum family, for an interactive journey through the park’s thermal springs history and the mythical “dragon” said to sleep beneath the mountain. It is family friendly, immersive and seriously fun for all ages, offering hands-on water features, projections and storytelling that bring the science and legends to life.
Then it was time to get our hands dirty — literally — at Ron Coleman Mining. We dug for sparkling Arkansas quartz crystals in the public areas, one of the most fruitful quartz mines around. The gift shop is a treasure trove of crystals, and I scored a beautiful green rock I am obsessed with.
For an extra thrill, you can zip line high above the active quarry, soaring over the open mine for an adrenaline rush like no other. It is adventurous, joyful and suitable for dates, families or solo explorers — laughter guaranteed.
We cleaned up and headed to dinner at The Ohio Club, Arkansas’ oldest operating bar, serving the good stuff up since 1905. This place drips with history; Capone, Bugsy Sie-
is the only brewery in the world that uses thermal water.
There is something beautiful around every corner at Garvan Woodland Gardens.
(Photos courtesy of Garvan Woodland Gardens/Pam Clark)
gel, Bugs Moran, Lucky Luciano and even Babe Ruth were regulars back in the day. The walls are lined with artifacts, the vibe is hopping, especially when there’s live music, and the burgers are legendary. Owned by the wonderful Saddiq and Jeannie Mir, it is a great spot for great food, lively conversation at the bar, and soaking in that rich, gangster-era atmosphere.
Sunday started, again, at Kollective for more matcha magic. Then we wandered over to Garvan Woodland Gardens, the botanical garden of the University of Arkansas. Nestled in the Ouachita Mountains along Lake Hamilton, it is a peaceful paradise of blooming flowers, towering pines, gentle shoreline waves, rocky inclines, incredible waterfalls and scenic trails.
We loved exploring the Evans Tree House with its multilevel design inspired by a tree’s roots, trunk, branches and leaves, complete with a crow’s nest view. It is a beautiful reminder of why Arkansas is called the Natural State. Keep an eye out for exciting new art exhibits coming soon, as detailed elsewhere in this month’s AY About You.
We kept the energy high with a playful visit to the Mid-America Science Museum. I felt like a kid again exploring the dinosaurs in the Dino Trek exhibit, marvelous for photos with life-size animatronics. There is plenty to keep families entertained here, from hands-on, interactive exhibits to the Bob Wheeler Science
Museums are not just for kids — Ryan and I had tons of fun at the Mid-America Science Museum.
The next time you are looking for a fun-filled getaway for a couple of days or a couple of weeks, grab your favorite travel buddy — furry or not — and head to Spa City to experience it for yourself.
Skywalk. The attractions kept us and the other visitors in attendance smiling the whole time. By far the headliner of the visit was the conical Tesla coil. Certified the world’s most powerful conical Tesla coil by Guinness World Records, it is a mesmerizing sight to behold. The accompanying Tesla Theater show is electrifying — literally — taking you back to the rivalry between Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison as 1.5 million volts spark dramatically. I cannot wait to go back with more time.
The grand finale of our jam-packed
The Arkansas Derby made for an exciting trip to Oaklawn Hot Springs, where we were also sure to check out the other amenities.
weekend came when we headed over to Oaklawn Hot Springs for the entire afternoon and evening. This was no ordinary visit; it was Arkansas Derby Day, and it turned out to be the highest recorded attendance day in Oaklawn history. The energy was electric as we watched the thoroughbreds thunder down the track, the crowd roaring with every race. The excitement of placing bets, cheering from the grandstand and soaking in that classic racing atmosphere was unmatched.
Oaklawn has so much to offer beyond the races, including a sprawling, smoke-free casino with rows of slots, table games and a sports book for live wagering. Fine dining and casual spots ensure guests never go hungry (do not miss the famous corned beef sandwich if you are there on race day) while live music every weekend at Pop’s Lounge and big-name concerts and comedy at the event center keep things lively. There are also spa treatments at Astral Spa, beautiful grounds and that unbeatable resort vibe where something fun is always happening.
We stayed late into the evening, peoplewatching, enjoying the lights and atmosphere, and feeling the full thrill of Hot Springs at its most vibrant. It is the kind of place that keeps the good times rolling long
the last race.
Hot Springs truly has it all: stargazing from your bed in a geodesic dome, healing thermal waters, crystal digging with zip-line thrills, interactive science and history museums, historic charm, incredible food and coffee, and that unbeatable, friendly energy. Whether you are into lakes, trails, biking or the high-energy excitement of Oaklawn’s races, casino and entertainment, you never run out of things to do.
Our weekend was jam-packed from morning until night, and we loved every single minute of it. When it was finally time to pack the car and head for home, we were already dreaming about our return trip.
The next time you are looking for a fun-filled getaway for a couple of days or a couple of weeks, grab your favorite travel buddy — furry or not — and head to Spa City to experience it for yourself. Trust me: This city will steal your heart.
Until next time!
Local builder proves the best projects start with the right foundation
By DWAIN HEBDA // Photos by JANE COLCLASURE
Like all experienced builders, Jerrod Phillips knows that the measure of a quality-built home is not entirely in the dazzling finishes, the sun-splashed kitchens or the luxurious bedroom suites. The real value lies in something far less Pinterest-worthy: an unshakable foundation upon which the rest of the carpenter’s artistry rests.
He has also applied that philosophy to his company, Homes by Jerrod in Benton, as well as every single project that bears his name.
“We started Homes by Jerrod in 2020 on several core values, and we’re not afraid to talk about them,” he said. “We’re a faith-based company, and that faith, along with integrity and hard work, guides everything that we do, from the first footing we pour to the moment we hand the keys off to a family. That’s who we are.
“It’s an honor to build homes for families, and so we try to build every house as if it was our own.”
Phillips’ involvement in residential homebuilding began in high school, long before he opened his own company. Known for his high standards of craftsmanship and attention to detail, he leverages his 30 years of direct industry experience with every client, which breaks down to 90 percent new builds and about 10 percent remodels thanks to trends in home ownership that have fed demand.
“Back in the day, when I grew up, you stayed in your house forever,” he said. “Now I’m seeing people move every five to seven years as their families are growing or their jobs are getting better. It’s not like it used to be 30 years ago, where you stayed where you were and remodeled from time to time.
“As for people who are moving for a new job or coming in from out of state, we also see more people wanting to get into something new rather than an existing home. In some cases, this speaks to what’s available, but I’ve definitely seen a trend toward new.”
Homes by Jerrod has made the most of the new trend, and, in return, satisfied clients have helped the company grow into a statewide market footprint and a workload that can run as high as nine or 10 projects underway at once.
“We started out by word of mouth, with friends in the church and then in the community itself,” he said. “We have grown from central Arkansas, which is still the bulk of our work, to where now we go everywhere and anywhere. We’re doing homes in northwest Arkansas. In fact, we’ve got one that we’re about to start up there right now. Our reputation is the No. 1 way we’ve broadened our horizons and started servicing more areas of the state.”
For some companies, such a spike in business or entering a new market leads to changing processes to handle the extra work. In homebuilding, that often means moving toward more standardization instead of delivering a home that is unique to each individual client. Not so with Homes by Jerrod — even as the company has grown, Phillips still puts in the time to listen to the client, refusing to boil down projects to mere assembly work.
“Spending years in this business, you learn a lot of things, and that experience is what the customer is relying on. It’s what they’re buying really,” he said. “The customer usually only sees the aesthetics, the finishes and stuff like that, whereas I see things in a home that a customer does not see, from the structure to the foundation.
“That’s why it is so important to have that initial meeting and talk to them and listen to their ideas and what they like and what they don’t like. I take their vision and then pair that with the building side of it to put that puzzle together.”
Another thing that sets Phillips and his company apart is how that level of communication continues past the initial planning meetings. Despite being in high demand, Phillips goes to great lengths to stay connected to owners and their builds at various stages of completion to troubleshoot and ensure the homes are being built to his standards every step of the way.
“I go from job to job. That’s just my daily routine,” he said. “I don’t have an office to go to. I go from job to job to make sure that things are getting done right, checking on our contractors, handling any problems — that kind of thing.
“One thing I get told by our clients is, ‘We see you more than anybody at the jobsite. You’re always there.’”
Phillips does not just engage in needless micromanagement as he does so; he also looks for ways to
Luxurious finishes and outof-this-world amenities are nice, but for Jerrod Phillips, owner of Homes by Jerrod in Benton, true value lies in quality craftsmanship.
make improvements or modifications that will enhance the finished project.
“I’m always trying to foresee anything that is missed or something that can actually make the house better,” he said. “For example, we may move a wall or two just to get the most economical use of the space. My goal is to make every foot count in that home.”
This mentality fits in seamlessly with current building trends, in which homeowners are looking for more square footage for both family spaces and entertaining.
“Probably 50 percent of our clients are families that are growing and need something bigger, and 50 percent are clients where the kids have moved out and they’re retiring. In general, they’re both looking for the same things,” he said. “The hot items right now ever since COVID-19 have really been more space and outdoor spaces. People are also putting money into kitchens. They’re putting money into their backyards and generally spending where their guests see it.”
Experienced enough to ensure the bones are solid and creative enough to make a house feel immediately like home, Phillips can help bring nearly any ideas and desires of his clients to life in a new home design.
“I believe what truly sets us apart is our hands-on approach and attention to detail,” he said. “I stay closely involved in every project personally and treat each home as if I was building it for my own family. Over three decades in construction, I have learned that the small details do matter. The structure behind the walls, the quality of materials and the pride in workmanship — all of that does matter.”
Building a new home is a complex project with many moving parts, which is why Phillips sticks to
“I go from job to job. That’s just my daily routine. I don’t have an office to go to. I go from job to job to make sure that things are getting done right, checking on our contractors, handling any problems — that kind of thing.”
— Jerrod Phillips, Homes by Jerrod
his guns as far as the fundamentals of creating comfortable, functional living spaces without sacrificing beauty and style. He said his approach is old school; in fact, that might be what his growing list of satisfied clients like most about doing business with Homes by Jerrod.
“A home should be beautiful, durable, functional and built to last,” he said. “We believe in combining craftsmanship with thoughtful design so that our homeowners receive something that is both practical and timeless.
“Building a home is one of the biggest investments a family will ever make, and so communication and trust are extremely important to us. My philosophy is simple: Just build it right the first time. Trends will come and go, you know, but quality construction never goes out of style.”
“A home should be beautiful, durable, functional and built to last.”
— Jerrod Phillips, Homes by Jerrod
By CHRIS NORWOOD, AIFD, PFCI, AAF
Photos courtesy of NORWOOD-DAY FLORAL CO.
lot of things have changed since I got into the floral industry, but one thing remains the same — people love to give their moms flowers for Mother’s Day.
The colors may have changed, the kinds of blooms may have changed, but gift-giving with flowers is still a major part of the holiday tradition. Counting all the days surrounding Mother’s Day, the holiday is almost as busy for florists as Valentine’s Day.
From cut flowers to potted plants, flowers are a fool-proof present for Mom. After all, what mother does not smile when she receives such a beautiful, fragrant gift?
Plus, the colors are so happy this time of year. By the time Mother’s Day comes, spring is in full swing, and florists are seeing a shift from faded-out hues to bright, bold colors. While a few people still order soft blues, pinks and whites, most people are going bold with vibrantly colored dahlias, anemones, ranunculus and garden roses.
For moms who might like something to decorate a patio or window sill, there is a wide assortment of blooming plants such as cyclamen, kalanchoes, azaleas, hydrangeas and star-of-bethlehem. Orchids also remain a popular Mother’s Day gift. As with cut flowers, the height of spring brings a lively mix of colors such as red, yellow and purple.
Be sure to pick out a gorgeous container to go with the blooms. A whimsical jardiniere or a pretty vase gives Mom something to hold on to long after the flowers have faded and the holiday has come and gone.
When I put together arrangements for Mother’s Day, I like to match the flowers to each mom’s personality. Is she more traditional, or is she more fashion forward? Is she a new mother, or is she up in years?
For those who are not quite sure what kinds
of flowers their moms might like, think about how her tastes show up in her home and wardrobe. What colors does she gravitate toward? Is there a certain dress she loves or a pattern in her kitchen that could provide inspiration? If she gardens, what kinds of flowers does she plant year after year?
“Mom, what’s your favorite flower?” is a question that not only provides a sense of direction but could also lead to some quality time with Mom, listening to her venture down memory lane as she recalls the first bouquet given to her by her future husband or her own mother’s hands in the dirt, planting bulbs for next season.
Flowers are not the only gift moms love, of course. Framed family photos are a sweet present for both mothers and grand mothers. Put a photo of the grandchildren in a vintage frame for Grandma, or surprise a young mother with a nice picture of the kids in a trendy frame that matches her decor.
Florists carry a lot of other treasures, as well. Why not treat Mom to a spa basket filled with locally made bath and body products, or browse a bespoke collection of crosses, figurines and other knicknacks to find something she will absolutely adore?
We recently expanded our storefront at Norwood-Day Floral Co. in Little Rock, giving us three times the space — plenty of room for even more flowers, blooming plants and gift items for Mother’s Day. Plus, we plan to offer floral classes in the near future that could provide an unforget table present for birthdays or Mother’s Day 2027.
Those looking to wow Mom with an arrangement would do best to order the week before, but we will still have items in stock Saturday and even Monday and Tuesday for those who forget the holiday. Moms are the most forgiving people in the world, after all, so she will likely still be happy to receive the gift.
We at Norwood-Day like to honor the mothers in our lives by naming arrangements after them. I have named arrangements after my grandmother Genora Reeves and my late mother, Louise Brogdon.
I would like to take a moment to say Happy Mother’s Day to the mother of my children, my wife, Renee Norwood, as well as my daughter, Sydney Tucker, and my daughter-in-law, Ashley Norwood. My partner, Christina Day-Essary, would like to extend her Mother’s Day salutations to her mother, Jennifer Day, and her sister, Whitney Sweeney.
Also, happy Mother’s Day to our own mother-to-be, Christina, who is expecting a baby girl. I cannot wait to meet her.
We like to have a little fun with the Mother’s Day cards at our shop. One says, “Didn’t turn out that bad after all.” Another says, “You did a great job, Mom. I’m perfect.”
In all seriousness, thank you to all the mothers out there this Mother’s Day. Thank you for always being there when we need you, thank you for your unconditional love and support, and thank you for being the most special women in our lives.
Chris Norwood and Christina Day-Essary are co-owners of Norwood-Day Floral Co. in Little Rock. For more information, visit norwood-day.com.
We at Norwood-Day like to honor the mothers in our lives by naming arrangements after them. I have named arrangements after my grandmother Genora Reeves and my late mother, Louise Brogdon.
Gardens gears up for a unique limited time installation
By DWAIN HEBDA
Any visit to Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs is sure to take visitors’ breath away. As the official horticultural gardens of the University of Arkansas, the grounds are a showpiece of color and texture, boasting manicured lawns and seemingly endless plots of flowers nodding in the breeze.
Now officials at the popular attraction are upping the visual ante with Where the Wind Lives, a one-of-akind art installation that opened with a VIP sneak peek on April 23 and opened to the public April 24, running through the end of October.
Kristin Mangham, marketing, membership and public relations director, said the idea for the exhibit came when leadership were trying to come up with something to fill in a slower period of the year as far as number of visitors. Seeing similar installations in other gardens around the country, leadership was convinced the concept would work well in Hot Springs.
“We knew that we wanted to start bringing yearly art installations to the garden, especially in the time between our big spring bloom and holiday lights. Those are our two largest seasons of the year,” Mangham said. “We wanted to offer something else to the state, to our city, to our visitors to see in the summertime, and we felt an installation was the best way to do that.
“Our state is really great at connecting with cultural aspects of things, and so is our city, so we felt like Garvan fits into combining art and nature. This will be our first large art installation, and our goal is to have an art installation like this every summer.”
The artist behind the display is Patrick Shearn, creative director at Poetic Kinetics in Colorado. The work is a breathtaking large-scale installation suspended above the gardens’ natural landscape that transforms wind into movement, light and color, creating a living, ever-changing experience for every guest.
The lightweight material is not stretched over or constricted by a frame or structure but is allowed to move with the breeze, creating an immersive display that ripples, dances and shimmers across the sky, accentuating the natural beauty of the surrounding forest. The exhibit is installed in multiple locations throughout the grounds, inviting visitors
to look up and experience nature in a whole new way.
“There are three installation locations in the garden,” Mangham said. “We will have one over the Great Lawn, which is a giant peacock feather called ‘Avian Rainbow.’ We have one in the Children’s Garden, which is actually three installations in one. Lots of bright colors there. It’s called ‘Color Cascade,’ and then the one over the Millsap Canopy Bridge is called ‘Flight Paths.’ It mimics the flight paths of birds native to Arkansas, and it’s all different colors, as well. We’re really excited for all of them.”
Mangham said the initial interaction with Shearn included the artist visiting Hot Springs to get a view of the spaces and envision what the installation would look like. She said the visit quickly turned into a study in mutual admiration.
“All of the art pieces that are in our garden for Where the Wind Lives are custom to us. They haven’t been anywhere else. They are made specifically for our spaces for our guests and for our garden,” she said. “When Patrick came and visited the garden last spring, he researched a few different sites on the grounds. He looked at where our trees are located. He did a lot of measuring.
“That initial visit to the garden was to see if it was even feasible for us and if he felt connected to the space. He fell in love with the garden as much as we fell in love with him, and it’s really been an amazing collaboration and project for us to work on together.”
Even though the installations are very large, Shearn was stealthy about where he placed them, one being readily visible and the other two taking some hunting.
“The three locations that were picked, the one that is on the Great Lawn, you’re going to be able to see from the welcome center,” Mangham said. “The other two, though, we make you look for them. Our garden is huge. We have 210 acres, and so you really have to explore the garden to be able to find them. I think that that’s going to make the experience really special.”
Mangham said the garden staff is planning to make very good use of the installations while they are there, using them as a backdrop for a number of special events and programs. She said she sees the exhibits as the start of a new tradition for families, as well as a draw for firsttimers from across the state and beyond.
“We have already committed to doing art at least for the next three years,” she said. “We’ve already looked at the artists that we’d like to bring in for the next couple of years. We think that it’s going to be really successful, and we think that people are going to love it and travel from all over to see it.
“We want to change it up to where it won’t always be Patrick and it won’t always be a kinetic installation, but an installation of some kind held in the summer. This is something that we really and truly want to have forever. Our holiday lights have become a tradition, and our tulip extravaganza is a tradition. People look for those every year. We want our summer art installation to be something that people look for every year too.”
Where the Wind Lives is included with general admission, which is $22 for adults, $10 for youth 4 to 12 and $5 for dogs on a short leash. Children 3 and younger get in free. For tickets, visit garvangardens.org.
By MAK MILLARD
The dining section of AY About You’s “AY’s Best Of” can be one of the trickiest to vote in every year thanks in no small part to the depth and breadth of culinary talent the Natural State has cultivated for itself. From longtime favorites and new arrivals to diner-style classics and daring takes on tradition and from mouthwatering multicultural fare and delicious desserts to food for occasions of all kinds — suffice it to say there are options aplenty to keep even the most discerning critics busy for a good long while. There is much one could say about any number of the well-deserved finalists in the “AY’s Best of 2026” ranks, but for now, here is a sampler of a few standouts.
FUN DINING EXPERIENCE
If any place is a near-lock to land among “AY’s Best Of” year after year, it is Oaklawn Hot Springs. In fact, it can be hard to narrow down just one great aspect of the casino resort to focus on. Already rich with history, Oaklawn’s 2021 expansion only further leveled up the amenities on tap, allowing guests to pair the thrills of thoroughbred racing and casino gaming with a luxurious stay in a seven-story Forbesrecommended hotel and a visit to the Forbes fourstar-rated Astral Spa.
Whether relaxing or reveling, guests are sure to work up an appetite. Oaklawn Hot Springs is renowned for a deep bench of restaurant options ranging from casual to upscale, and the star among them for both special occasions and fun dining is The OAK room & bar. Under the auspices of executive chef Ken Bredeson, The OAK room & bar menu brings Oaklawn’s playful sophistication to life through expertly composed plates and some of the most unique cocktails and extensive wine lists in the region.
“The guests are the focus,” said Rebekah Fleming, manager. “We look at who our guests are and what they tell us directly or indirectly about what they like. They are the first thing we think about when we are considering our cocktails, our menus and even how we operate from a business perspective to achieve satisfaction from those who are the most important to us.”
No stranger to accolades, in addition to those granted by discerning readers of AY About You, The OAK room & bar has earned OpenTable Diners’ Choice, a Forbes Travel Guide recommendation and Wine Spectator’s Restaurant Award of Excellence alongside another Oaklawn guest favorite, The Bugler. True to that carefully curated attention to detail defining the rest of the Oaklawn property, Fleming said The OAK room & bar team works closely with casino hosts so that players can come off the floor, still be within proximity of the casino and enjoy dinner with “all the trimmings.”
“Our service model is such that when our guests leave our dining room, they have had an experience that they will not find anywhere else,” Fleming said. “The kitchen also creates small tasters for all of our guests at the beginning of the meal just to say thank you and get the evening started with a gift. That is why we introduce the chef, do menu tours and suggest pairings — so that our guests can feel well taken care of and pampered.”
The OAK room & bar atmosphere is also singular compared to other Oaklawn eateries. The more intimate setting, rich colors and exclusive ambiance has made its tables highly sought after for romantic dinner dates and high-end celebrations. That said, any excuse to try the restaurant is a good one, whether one is coming straight from the casino floor or looking to end a day at the races on a truly exquisite note.
“We appreciate not only your patronage but also your vote,” Fleming said. “It is why, even though we have our days where we miss the mark, we strive at every service to put you first and to make sure we show our appreciation.”
Stoby’s owner David Stobaugh chalked up the restaurant’s runaway breakfast success to “consistency and care,” two words also apt to describe his family’s approach to running the Conway and Russellville staples in general.
“We’ve been making the same recipes for decades [with] scratch cooking, real ingredients, generous portions, and we don’t cut corners,” he said. “People are creatures of habit in the morning, and when they come in expecting something to taste exactly like it did last week or last year, we take that seriously. There’s also something about the early-morning energy
in the restaurant that just sets the tone.”
If a Stoby’s breakfast has always felt a little like coming home, it is for good reason. Founded by Stobaugh in 1980, the restaurant has thoroughly cemented its place in central Arkansas gastronomy, making lifelong fans of generations of families and scores of college students over the decades. The Russellville location opened in 1984, and both have become essential pieces of their respective communities.
“Conway and Russellville are both tightknit communities, and I think people can tell when a restaurant is rooted in that community versus just operating in it,” Stobaugh said. “Stoby’s has been a part of people’s lives here — first dates, birthday breakfasts, family traditions, our Sunday morning pancake breakfast hosted by local nonprofits. We don’t take these things lightly.”
Though perhaps most famous for its award-winning cheese dip and best-selling Stoby’s sandwich, the restaurant’s breakfast repertoire satisfies college students coming off of all-nighters and early-bird retirees alike. The classic Stoby Breakfast is a crowd-pleasing plate of bacon, sausage patties or links plus two eggs served any style, a choice of bread and a side. Guests can also pick between the Northerner, featuring corned beef hash, or the Southerner with country ham. That is not to mention a selection of specialties such as the scrambled sandwich, “Big Mess” and chicken-fried steak, along with pancakes and other sweets to boot.
“We’ve been blessed with people, with staff who genuinely care about the guests they serve and guests who feel that and keep coming back,” Stobaugh said. “Our philosophy has never been complicated: Treat people right, feed them well, and make them feel like they matter.”
Stoby’s is also a kind of living monument to the people it serves. The original Conway location was housed in a 1930sera building on Donaghey Avenue until a devastating 2016 fire that might have scared away less-committed restaurateurs. Locals and longtime fans were loath to let such a cherished icon fade away, however, going so far as to sign their names on the new building’s framing and filling up the now-doubled seating capacity when it reopened the following year. With a connection to its patrons literally built into the structure, it is little wonder why so many AY readers choose to start their mornings at the beloved spot.
“That means everything to us,” Stobaugh said. “We don’t take a single visit for granted, and we’re going to keep working every day to be worthy of your loyalty.”
Arriving on the scene in 1986, Mt. Fuji gave many central Arkansans their first taste of sushi. While Little Rock’s culinary repertoire has grown up considerably over the decades since, the Breckenridge icon continues to set the standard for Japanese cuisine in Arkansas, and if the acclaim from AY About You voters is any indication, that legacy is set to go on a while yet. What is more, Mt. Fuji’s acquisition in 2022 by brothers Aaron Shota Jackson and Yusuke Jackson was about as close to a secondgeneration handoff as possible.
“We spent a lot of time at Mt. Fuji just, of course, eating and then eventually working there, but I think for us, carrying this on, we want to do it, and we love doing it,” Aaron said. “The community, when they found out that it wasn’t going to be torn down [and that] it’s going to be carried on through almost family, very close friends, and they saw our vision — I think the community really rallied behind us. They wanted us to succeed, so it made it a lot easier.”
The storied restaurant is also a key piece of the reimagined Breckenridge Village area, having moved a few doors down and welcomed new neighbors such as Flyway Brewing, Waldo’s Chicken & Beer, The Root Cafe, and Deluca’s Pizza. That is not to say that the transition has been without its challenges — an EF3 tornado in 2023 and lengthy construction work took their respective tolls on patron turnout — but now, Aaron said, the area is experiencing the much-preferred problem of people struggling to find parking as they seek out a table at any one of the popular eateries. Mt. Fuji has no trouble filling up its expanded seating capacity and boasts a full bar for even quicker service.
“When people come and sit at the sushi bar, and we’re able to talk to them or the servers can talk to them, and they tell them
they’re having a great time and a wonderful experience, that’s why we do it all,” Aaron said. “If it wasn’t for the readers and our patrons, then we wouldn’t be doing this. We wouldn’t love doing it. We’re just glad that they can see the value and the hard work that’s going into every meal.”
A particular point of pride for the restaurant is its commitment to authentic Japanese flavors rather than a fusion of different Asian cuisines. While such a rule “kind of puts us in a box,” Aaron said, “I think that kind of pressure helps us create something unique.” It also provides a solid foundation from which to incorporate new offerings and fresh takes on staple dishes.
“I think in the Japanese spirit, there’s always innovation, and there’s always progression,” Aaron said. “Being authentic to the food is one part that you take seriously but also being authentic to the spirit of trying to push the boundaries a little bit is kind of where we’re headed.
“We want to be able to put stuff on the menu that we’re excited to be able to even have in Little Rock, like our grilled swordfish or fish that we fly in from Japan. I think that’s the next step for us is just continuing to run these specials that maybe other Japanese restaurants aren’t running and doing it with a little bit of extra flair.”
CHEESE DIP
MARGARITA
MEXICAN
For restaurateur Heather Baber, who has put downtown Benton’s restaurant chops on the map with concepts such as RŌBER :: Cocktails + Culinary and Revival :: restaurant + beer garden, the decision to close the Little Rock location of beloved Mexi-Cali eatery Baja Grill last summer was difficult but understandable. While initially slated to close in late June, an overwhelming response from patrons and an anonymous donation from one of the restaurant’s regulars kept the doors open through July.
“My blood, sweat and tears have been focused on helping build a food scene in Saline County. If this store were to become profitable again, I do not feel right being the one to profit from it. Someone else there does though,” Baber posted on Facebook at the time.
That “someone” came in the form of longtime employee Erin Jackson, to whom Baber was happy to hand the reins. Starting as a hostess in 2016, Jackson had been promoted to general manager in 2020. She had little idea where her decade at the restaurant would take her, she said, but at Baja Grill, she found “a place that not only takes care of each other but the community, and the community, in return, has taken care of us.”
“Heather Baber has built such an amazing group of restaurants and community, and I just couldn’t bear to see Baja close down,” Jackson said. “Our loyal customers and staff have been
amazing. We here at Baja Grill LR hope to continue bringing great food and keep doing what we do.”
It meant “everything” to see how adamant the community was that the Little Rock store lived on, Baber said. She and the Baja team were reminded of just how woven the restaurant is into longtime diners’ routines, memories and lives. The moment also made clear the responsibility Baja Grill had, and has, to its customers.
“When a community shows up like that for you, it makes you double down on doing things the right way, taking care of your people, protecting the experience and continuing to earn that loyalty every single day,” Baber said.
Luckily for hungry diners, Baja Grill will continue serving up Mexi-Cali fare that keeps AY About You readers flocking back for more. Baber, a consistent presence in AY’s restaurant rankings, said the “AY’s Best of 2026” recognitions are both a reflection of her talented team and a reminder to keep raising the standard across all of her restaurants.
“Awards are amazing, but they don’t happen because of one person,” she said. “They happen because of the consistency, the care and the pride that the staff brings in every single day, whether it’s a busy Saturday night or a random Tuesday.
“The goal is to protect what makes Baja special while continuing to evolve. We don’t want to lose the energy, the bold flavors or the personality that people love, but we do want to keep getting better. … At the end of the day, we want Baja to be a place that people can rely on whether they’ve been coming for years or it’s their first visit.”
‘AY’s Best of 2026’ Spotlight
These spots are just what the bartender ordered
By DWAIN HEBDA
The most famous tune in bar history once pined for a place “where everybody knows your name.” The winners in “AY’s Best of 2026” strive to achieve that and, in so doing, have gained some pretty far-reaching name recognition in their own right. AY readers agree: These are the places to find a refreshing beverage or satisfy an emergency beer run.
Concert Venue
Fun Dining Experience
Happening/Entertainment Restaurant
Interactive Experience Place for Trivia
Speakeasy Theater Company
Paul Noffsinger and Paul Prater have experienced bars and taverns all over the United States and then some and have brought the best of those establishments back to North Little Rock’s Argenta Arts District in Birdies Cabaret Theater & Lounge. Just approaching its one-year anniversary, the one-of-a-kind establishment has quickly become a destination for great food, drinks and unique entertainment.
“A big part of it was having a place where performers who typically don’t have a stage have a stage,” Prater said. “There are not a lot of venues around Arkansas and even fewer in central Arkansas for music, but you get to burlesque or magic or any other kind of different performing arts, there’s really not a good stage for them at all. We wanted to provide that.”
Prater and Noffsinger are professional magicians who met at a magic convention 15 years ago in Las Vegas. Noffsinger additionally had a background in bar ownership, and when Parter saw a prime spot open in Argenta, the duo knew their time had come.
Noffsinger said the pair leaned into the chic, historic neighborhood up and down the menu and even over the front door, thanks to knowledge Prater gained while leading ghost tours of the district.
“We named the bar after Birdie, who was the madam of the Argenta brothel,” Noffsinger said. “We named most of our cocktails after local ghost stories from the area, so there’s some darker art to it, but it’s also high end — nice cocktails, nice furniture. It’s a comfortable place. Creepy classy is definitely us.”
The fare matches the vibe, especially when it comes to the cocktails, something Noffsinger credited to the bar’s talented mixologists.
“They’ll come up with a custom cocktail list for events. We had a movie premiere with the writer, director and producer of a low-budget
Western horror movie, They Call Her Death. Our bartenders watched the movie beforehand and named three drinks after things from the movie that they curated just for that night,” he said. “I’ll put our bartenders up against any bartender anywhere.”
Happening/Entertainment Restaurant Speakeasy
Downtown Little Rock gained a real gem in Attic Bar — a cool vibe, great drinks, and open late to serve revelers and concertgoers letting out from local venues. It is little wonder the relatively recent addition to the local eats and drinks scene got the nod in two categories of “AY’s Best of 2026.”
“We wanted the decorations, the layout and the service style of the bar to really base around getting people moving around the space,” said Adam Murray, who co-owns Attic Bar and the restaurant beneath it, Back Home Barbecue, with his wife, Victoria Liu, and Chase Rittelmeyer. “We want people to be walking around and networking, not just sitting at their
own table just kind of hunkered down. We want it to be more of an interactive social space, and that’s what it has become.”
The furnishings of the space are funky and chic, having been rescued right out of people’s attics. The eclectic design comes together in cool symmetry without looking slipshod or haphazard.
“Some of the stuff literally came out of my wife’s attic, my parents’ attic, my grandmother’s attic,” Rittelmeyer said. “Our designer, Shelby Cotton, was able to help bring it all together with some other stuff from Nashville and Arkansas flea markets.”
Equal thought and care went into the spot’s menu, including upscale bar food that rivals anything in the city. The owners pair that with high-end cocktails, developed by head bartender Jared Browner. First timers are encouraged to try the Smoke Signal, an oldfashioned with a signature touch.
“Jared, with his cocktail knowledge, took an excellent old-fashioned and was able to basically make it better in the way that he was able to smoke the bourbon,” Rittelmeyer said. “It’s one of our top sellers.”
“In addition to the craft cocktails, we have a really nice, focused selection of wines by the glass and by the bottle,” Murray said. “We also have a good tap selection, which make up what we think is a really well-balanced drink menu. We focus on cocktails, but if you’re a beer drinker or a wine drinker, you can get some great stuff over at our place.”
When it comes to libations, there are those who favor the do-it-yourself approach. For the past 34 years, experienced mixologists and amateur barkeeps alike have made Colonial Wines & Spirits their source for the best selection in wine, beer and spirits to suit every occasion.
“Our service, selection and pricing are what set us apart,” said Chris Kotoun, assistant manager. “Colonial has built a reputation
for going above and beyond, providing unsurpassed service, offering a selection that cannot be found anywhere else in the state while selling product at amazing prices.”
First-timers to the west Little Rock institution are typically amazed by the sheer variety to be found. Colonial’s showroom covers 10,800 square feet, supplied by an additional 3,800 square feet of climate-controlled warehouse.
The voluminous shelf and cooler space represent only half of Colonial’s success story, the other half being the expertise to be had among the store’s 32 employees. That helps even the most rank beginner find exactly what they are looking for.
“We try to have specialists on staff that are dialed into our products, be it cigars, single malt whiskies, bourbon, tequila and other categories,” Kotoun said. “We listen to our customers while also following national and international trends. A lot of us travel domestically and internationally, and we always make it a point to visit stores and talk to bartenders and mixologists about what is happening in those markets.”
The business prides itself on not only being a trusted local resource for its clientele but also investing back into the community. Colonial’s charitable work includes generous support of various major arts, education and nonprofit organizations. Put all that together, and the shop boasts a level of connectedness and professionalism that far outstrips the typical liquor store.
“Employees at Colonial, many of whom have worked with us for a long time, are passionate about what we do,” Kotoun said. “We call our office The University; in addition to conducting our day-to-day business there, it’s also an education facility where we host winemakers, importers and other suppliers to educate our team or send staff to symposiums to further their knowledge. For us, it’s all about providing a shopping experience that resonates with our customers.”
By MARGIE RAIMONDO
Spring does not ask for complicated food. It asks for attention. This is the season when zucchini begins to show up tender and sweet, when herbs return to the garden, and when meals shift from heavy to light without losing depth. It is also when I find myself returning to the simplest pastas — the kind built not on sauce but on instinct and a few good ingredients.
In this recipe, fresh vegetables, good olive oil, cheese and starchy pasta water come together without overthinking. Zucchini softens just enough to carry flavor. Feta brings a gentle saltiness and structure. Toasted pine nuts add warmth and texture. Finally, pasta water — the most underestimated ingredient in any Italian kitchen — does the quiet work of binding it all into something cohesive and light.
But this dish begins before the pan ever heats.
It begins at a farmers market table in May — talking to the person who grew the zucchini, asking what has just come in, what is coming next, what the season is telling them.
May is when central Arkansas markets reopen after winter, when Ferndale Market in Little Rock, Me & McGee Market in North Little Rock, The Front Porch Market in Benton, The Filling Station in North Little Rock, and Urbana Farmstead in Little Rock come back to life with color, conversation and produce picked at peak flavor.
Shopping local keeps dollars circulating in the community, reduces the distance food travels and builds relationships that reconnect people to food as a living system — not just a product. That is where this pasta starts. The recipe is simply how it ends up on the table.
• 1 pound rigatoni or other short pasta
• 2 medium zucchini, thinly sliced into ribbons or half moons
• 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup fresh herbs (mint, basil or parsley)
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Cook the pasta
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, and then drain.
2. Toast the pine nuts
In a dry pan over medium heat, toast pine nuts until lightly golden. Set aside.
• Use pasta water generously — it creates the sauce.
• Keep zucchini just tender, not soft.
3. Build the base
Heat olive oil in a wide skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft. Add garlic and cook just until fragrant.
4. Cook the zucchini
Add zucchini and a pinch of salt. Add a ladle of pasta water and cook gently until just tender but still bright, about 4 to 6 minutes.
5. Bring it together
Add pasta to the skillet. Toss, adding more pasta water as needed until the pasta is lightly coated and glossy. Add feta and toss gently until it softens and lightly coats the pasta.
6. Finish and serve
Add pine nuts, fresh herbs, and black pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and serve immediately.
This is how I like to cook in the spring — less about building a dish, more about letting the ingredients do the work.
• Add herbs at the end to preserve freshness.
• Lemon zest can be added just before serving for brightness.
Anyone who has ever had the less-than-fortunate job of organizing a group activity knows just how difficult it can be to get more than two or three people to agree on anything. Where should we eat? Should we go see a movie? What hotel should we book for that out-of-town trip? The who, what, where, when and why for even the most easygoing bunch can quickly become an exercise in keeping one’s wits intact.
Now imagine trying to get an accurate consensus from thousands upon thousands of people from every city, county and township across the Natural State about such niche and varied preferences as “where to have a baby,” “where to see live theater,” “where to get countertops” and “which dealership to buy a boat or RV from” — and some 300-plus more topics where that came from.
Alright, stop imagining. We at AY About You have you covered. We asked our fellow Arkansans the tough, not-so-tough and everything-in-between questions — Who is your favorite personal trainer? Do you know any good wedding planners? Where did you get such beautiful jewelry? — and are pleased to present the results in “AY’s Best of 2026.”
Your friends, neighbors, family members and, we hope, you yourself, have made your voices heard, and your discerning taste continues to impress us — so much so, in fact, that this year features 103 brand-new categories no less competitive than the rest. A monumental effort? Perhaps. Worth it to bring the Arkansas community the very best year after year? No doubt.
“AY Media Group operates at a level you’d expect in Dallas or Nashville, but with deeper, local, Arkansas influence,” said Robert Raines, founder and director of The Gangster Museum of America in Hot Springs — one of the best museums of 2026, in case you were wondering.
Do not be misled: While it will be another month before we reveal the No. 1 vote-getters, being in the top three for “AY’s Best Of” is no mere runner-up spot. The three honorees listed in each category are all proudly considered “AY’s Best Of,” complete with that iconic badge of honor spotted on billboards, websites and anywhere else businesses look to show off their accomplishments from the Delta to the Ozarks and from Mena to West Memphis.
“Being featured in AY magazine elevated our brand overnight,” said Tiffanee Miller-Stroud, owner of one of this year’s best bridal shops, The Vogue Veil, whose story has also been featured in the pages of AY About You’s sister magazine, Arkansas Money & Politics. “Customers mentioned the article for months, and it gave us credibility we couldn’t buy through ads alone. AY carries a level of prestige that no other lifestyle publication in the state matches.”
Every finalist has also been on a long journey, beginning in January with the nomination round. The top five nominees in each advanced to the voting round, and the campaign to land among the coveted top three was on from late February to late March. Winning does not come easy in what might just be the state’s most competitive readers poll, but it is that much sweeter for the effort.
“AY’s Best of 2026” is no one-way street, however. Many of the businesses, professionals and public figures who have earned a place among the top ranks have found themselves and their work elevated to new heights. As part of AY’s mission to promote the very best of what Arkansas has to offer, we rely on readers to point us to the stories that matter most to them.
“AY magazine is truly a gem for Arkansas,” said Christa Jackson, one of AY’s best APRNs of 2026 and team member at another perennial reader favorite, Beyond Wellness. “They go above and beyond to highlight the best of our state, from local businesses and events to inspiring stories about the people who make Arkansas special. It’s clear they genuinely care about our state and the people who live here. If you want to stay connected to all things Arkansas, AY magazine is a must-read.”
Whether it is the hardworking business owner who is a giant in his community, the new restaurant on the block making waves or a health care professional pushing for real change in their specialty, “AY’s Best Of” is a testament to the impact Arkansans are making every day and in myriad ways. In showing us your favorite people, places and things around the state, AY is able to return the favor in terms of visibility, reach and acclaim.
“If you want credibility in Arkansas, you go through AY magazine,” said Matt Usery, president of NOEC Construction, which AY readers named one of this year’s best overall companies. “They shape the narrative. They are the platform for the state of Arkansas and maybe even the region.”
For a competition started in 2014 with fewer than 100 categories — and most of those related to food and beverage — “AY’s Best Of” has become an annual undertaking like no other. What is more, AY About You has grown right alongside many of the businesses and organizations it has sought to spotlight. As with every worthy name in the following pages, however, you do not have to take just our word for it. We think Shea Bryant, the face behind AY’s best kid-friendly dining destination, Gadwall’s Grill, put it well:
“If you want to be seen in Arkansas — truly seen — you need to be in AY,” said Shea Bryant, owner of Gadwall's Grill in North Little Rock. “It’s the publication people trust to spotlight what matters, who matters and what’s next.”
Congratulations
APRN
Acupuncture
Aesthetic Nurse
Allergy Clinic
Beauty Boss Co. Aesthetics & Wellness
Randi Rodgers, APRN
Advanced Spine and Pain Centers
Ahmed Ghaleb, M.D.
Beauty Boss Co. Aesthetics & Wellness
Sydney Mayo, RN, LE
Advanced Allergy & Asthma
Melissa Graham, M.D.
Beyond Wellness (Little Rock)
Christa Jackson, APRN
Evergreen Acupuncture
Beyond Wellness (Little Rock)
Sidney Bennett, RN
New Path Mental Health & Wellness
Zack Coco, MNSc, APRN, PMHNP-BC
Salt & Light Wellness Center of Cabot
Wright Plastic Surgery & Med Spa
Paige Kelly, RN, BSN
Conway Regional Ear, Nose, & Throat Clinic Little Rock Allergy & Asthma Clinic
Assisted Living Facility Fox Ridge Luxury Senior Living Greenbrier Nursing & Rehabilitation
Audiology Clinic Hear Again America
Pinnacle Hearing
Presbyterian Village
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Audiology Clinic
Barber Shop Bluewater Barber + Supply Carr & Co. Men’s Grooming Parlor Fades & Blades Barbershop
Bariatric Surgeon
CBD Store
Cannabis Dispensary
Cardiology Clinic
Baptist Health Bariatric Center-Little Rock
Eric M. Paul, M.D.
Conway Regional Surgical Associates
Tony Manning, M.D
Saline Memorial Hospital
Kristin Patton, M.D.
Good Day Farm Healing Hemp of Arkansas Hot Springs Hemp Co.
Good Day Farm
Arkansas Cardiology
Voted one of AY’s Best Of for Acupuncture and
Natural Relief
Arkansas Heart Hospital Clinic
Suite 443 Dispensary
Conway Regional Cardiovascular Clinic
Because of our amazing community, we’re proud to be recognized in the Top 3 across 10 categories! At New Path Mental Health & Wellness, we believe everyone deserves care that’s compassionate, personalized and effective.
Our experienced team provides therapy, medication management, ketamine therapy and support for ages 4 and up—available in Conway, Little Rock and statewide via telehealth.
Thank you for trusting us—we’re honored to make a difference in your journey!
We accept most major insurances including TRICARE. We also offer Telehealth statewide!
Chiropractor Bledsoe Chiropractic
Cosmetic Dentist
Arkansas Family Dental
Cosmetic Injectables Beauty Boss Co. Aesthetics & Wellness
Cosmetic Surgeon
Devlin Cosmetic Surgery
Michael Devlin, M.D.
Counselor/Therapist The Centers
Dental Practice
Dentist
Amanda Martin, LMSW
Arkansas Family Dental
Arkansas Family Dental
Samaria Mascagni, DDS
Chiropractic Health & Rehabilitation Pain Care Associates
Smile Arkansas
Jahon Zehtaban, DDS
Marina Lifestyle Medicine
Dr. Suzanne Yee Cosmetic & Laser Surgery Center
Suzanne Yee, M.D.
Napa Valley Counseling Center
Janet Hedges, LCSW
Smile Dailey
DJ Dailey, DDS
Wright Plastic Surgery & Med Spa
English Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery Center
Jim English, M.D.
New Path Mental Health and Wellness
Jaime Starling, LPC
Dunn Family Dental Smile Dailey
Conway Regional Interfaith Dental Clinic
Gary Jones, DDS
Greenbrier Smile Center
LaRhonda Apata, DDS
AY About You is a fantastic marketing partner! Their team is professional, creative and truly attentive to the needs of their clients. The staff is always kind, responsive and easy to work with, making the entire process seamless.
— Courtney McKinney, Revive Health and Wellness
Cassidy Teague
Top 3 Finalist
Best Health Coach
Hunter Little
Top 3 Finalist
Best Health Coach
Julia King
Top 3 Finalist
Best Health Coach &
Best Personal Trainer
Top 3 Finalist for Best Gastroenterology Clinic
Martin Moix, MD, and Neelima Rao, MD
Conway Regional Gastroenterology Center
Dermatology Clinic Franks Dermatology
Dietitian/Nutritionist
Doctor-Owned Hospital/ Facility
Baptist Health Weight & Nutrition Center
Mitchell Kirby, RD
Arkansas Surgical Hospital
Esthetician Beauty Boss Co. Aesthetics & Wellness
Olivia Geater, LE
Facial/Skin Care Beauty Boss Co. Aesthetics & Wellness
Family Dentist
Arkansas Family Dental
Family Practice Cabot Health & Wellness
Foot & Ankle Surgeon
Gastroenterology Clinic
Conway Regional Health System
James Head, M.D.
Conway Regional Gastroenterology Center
Hair Salon Salon Gloss
Hand Surgeon
Conway Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Center
Bryan Head, M.D.
We are an independently owned practice that strives to give patients and their families the
Most insurances accepted. Our providers want to make sure patient’s concerns are heard and addressed in a timely manner. Call to schedule your appointment today!
Little Rock Dermatology Clinic Pinnacle Dermatology
Condren Family Nutrition
Courtney Byrum, MS, RD, LD
Arkansas Urology
Beyond Wellness
Madie Massey, LE
LG Aesthetics & Wellness
Austin Family Dentistry
Meg Green, RD
Cabot Health & Wellness
Wright Plastic Surgery & Med Spa
Maegan Whitehead, LE
Wright Plastic Surgery & Med Spa
Heathman Family Dental
Conway Regional Health System Revive Health & Wellness
Foot & Ankle Associates of Central Arkansas
Megan Herring, DPM
GastroArkansas
Salon J’adore
OrthoArkansas
Brian Norton, M.D.
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Robert D. Martin , M.D.
Saline Memorial Hospital
Lewis Porter, M.D.
Salon Platinum
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Sean Morell, M.D.
Voted one of AY’s “Best of 2026” in several categories:
Holistic Health Care Clinic
Medical Weight Loss Clinic Hydrafacial
Wellness Clinic
APRN:
Christa Jackson, APRN
Aesthetic Nurse: Sidney Bennett
Esthetician: Madie Massey
Permanent Cosmetics: Madie Massey
Hormone Specialist:
Christa Jackson, APRN
Jordan Davidson, APRN
Nurse Injector: Reagan Cody
t Revive Health & Wellness in Malvern, owner and nurse practitioner Courtney McKinney has spent the past three years empowering her community to take control of their health journeys by providing evidencebased care in a supportive, compassionate environment. Through her medium of care and healing, McKinney has built partnerships with her community to achieve optimal health and vitality.
After working as a nurse in an emergency room and an intensive care unit, McKinney opened her first location in 2023 as a one-woman show. Initially working herself as the bookkeeper, provider and secretary, McKinney has since built a team that shares her same values.
• Primary care services include routine wellness exams for children and adults, annual physicals, preventive screenings, medication management, chronic condition care, injury and illness visits, lab testing, and mental health support.
• Hormonal imbalances can lead to a range of symptoms that affect energy, mood and overall well-being. At Revive Health & Wellness, McKinney analyzes each individual’s needs to create a personalized hormone replacement therapy.
• Vitamin replacement is designed to address energy and immunity deficiencies using a personalized regimen of vitamins and minerals for overall health.
• Weight loss programs are constructed to individual needs and goals. Treatment plans may include oral and injectable options, along with guidance on nutrition, physical activity and behavior modification to support lasting results.
• IV hydration therapy delivers fluids, vitamins and minerals directly into a patient’s bloodstream, bypassing the digestive system for rapid absorption. That allows for more efficient rehydration and nutrient replenishment than oral intake.
• Functional medicine is a holistic, systems-based approach focused on identifying and addressing underlying causes of disease. McKinney and her team recognize the interconnectedness of the bodily systems and consider lifestyle, genetics, environmental factors and nutritional factors to create personalized treatment plans.
McKinney’s passion for holistic health stems from her own battle with hormone imbalances and fertility issues. After having a hysterectomy at the age of 29, McKinney wanted to change the narrative for women seeking help.
“Even as a medical provider, I was thrown to the wayside,” she said. “No one listened to me, and no one wanted to believe that my symptoms were real. Now I refuse to let anybody ever live or feel that way.”
McKinney also serves as the Malvern School District’s school-based health care provider, offering services to children enrolled in district schools at little to no cost through her nonprofit, Revive Community Outreach. Her clinic on the grounds of Malvern High School serves children from kindergarten through 12th grade.
Her nonprofit also hosts weekly community meals, manages a food pantry, organizes a weekly backpack program in partnership with the Arkansas Foodbank and has recently introduced a hair-washing program. McKinney said her outreach caters to all corners of the county.
“Everything I make goes right back into my nonprofit and my business,” McKinney said. “I am blessed with an education that allows me to help people, allows me to have ideas and create partnerships with people. I’m able to reach so many more people by using those gifts that God gave me, and it is truly a privilege. I feel privileged every day when I wake up that I can help someone else live a better, healthier life.”
Hormone
Hospice
Hospital
Kindness is a gift that each of us is born with. And when we share it, the goodness that’s released is amazing. This human connection is important to our well-being, but it’s essential when we’re sick and hurting. We know from experience that treating every patient with kindness, empathy, and respect is key to their healing. We call this power humankindness. It has driven us for more than 130 years.
It advances the medical excellence we provide to our communities now. And it leads us forward every day. Congratulations
Conway Regional has a vision. For more than a century, our team has brought together key service lines, providers, and technologies to create patient experiences that are highly intentional and refreshingly personal. It’s about blending access and excellence. Familiarity – and erce commitment. Advocating for patients while providing the services our communities deserve. See what curated care looks like for you.
Working with AY About You has been such a great experience. Their team is incredibly personable, professional and truly invested in helping local businesses shine. From the first conversation to the final product, their staff made the entire process smooth and enjoyable. Not only is the magazine itself top-notch, but the advertising has been very effective for our business.
— Katie Evans, Salon J'adore
Since 1976, CARTI has been making trusted cancer care accessible. Fifty years later, our expert team delivers care close to home at our 18 locations across Arkansas. When it
Neurologist
Neurosurgeon
Nurse Injector
Nurse Practitioner
Conway Regional Health System
Tim Freyaldenhoven, M.D.
CHI St. Vincent
Ali Krisht, M.D., FACS
Beauty Boss Co. Aesthetics & Wellness
Taylor Steele, DNP, RN
Beauty Boss Co. Aesthetics & Wellness
Kayla Sanders, APRN
Conway Regional Health System
Keith Schluterman, M.D.
Legacy Spine & Neurological Specialists
Dominic Maggio, M.D.
Beyond Wellnesss Reagan Cody, RN
Kimtox Aesthetics & Wellness
Nursing Home The Green House Cottages of Poplar Grove Greenbrier Nursing & Rehabilitation
OB-GYN Clinic
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Robert Archer, M.D.
Pinnacle Spine & Neurosurgery
Gautam Gandhi, M.D., Ph.D., FAANS
Wright Plastic Surgery & Med Spa Paige Kelly, RN, BSN
Renew Mental Health and Wellness
Danielle Lynch, APRN
Sherwood Nursing & Rehabilitation Center
Arkansas Women’s Center Conway Regional Renaissance Women’s Center Saline Women’s Clinic
Oncologist CARTI Jamie Burton, M.D.
Ophthalmologist
Little Rock Eye Clinic
Christian Hester, M.D.
Ophthalmology Clinic Henry Eye Clinic
Genesis Cancer and Blood Institute
Brad Baltz, M.D.
Little Rock Eye Clinic R. Grant Morshedi, M.D.
Little Rock Eye Clinic
Optometrist Clinic Legacy Eyecare Maumelle Eye Care
Oral Surgery and Implant Clinic Arkansas Maxillofacial Surgery Center Capitol Oral Surgery & Implant Center
Orthodontic Clinic Daniel & Jones Orthodontics Kita Orthodontics
provider in Arkansas. As we celebrate our 20th anniversary, we’re proud to continue putting patients first and caring for families in our community. Thank you for trusting Baker HealthCare for over 20 years.
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Omar T. Atiq, M.D.
McFarland Eye Care Evan Newbolt, M.D.
McFarland Eye Care
Mertins Eye & Optical
Woodard & Sundell
Vondran Orthodontics
People all over Arkansas trust Dr. Jahon Zehtaban with their smile. With years of experience in providing clinical excellence you know your smile is in good hands. Dr. Zehtaban is a proud member of both the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry and the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine. Credentials, experience, and caring concern for each individual patient ensure that you’ll receive exceptional esthetic results regardless of the challenges presented. Learn more how Dr. Zehtaban can help you have an incredible smile by calling today for your complimentary smile consultation.
Orthodontist
Hodge Orthodontics
Natalia Hodge, DDS
Orthopedic Group Bowen Hefley Orthopedics
Orthopedic Surgeon
Orthopedist
Baptist Health
Adam Norwood, DO
Baptist Health
Adam Norwood, D.O.
Pain Center Advanced Spine and Pain Centers
Advanced Spine and Pain Centers
Pain Specialist
Ahmed Ghaleb, M.D.
Pediatric Clinic All for Kids Pediatric Clinic
Kita Orthodontics
Alexander Kita, DDS
Conway Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Center
Conway Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Center
Austin Cole, M.D.
Conway Regional Health System
Thomas Roberts, M.D.
Vondran Orthodontics
Charles Vondran Jr., DDS, MDS
OrthoArkansas
OrthoArkansas
Jonathan Wyatt, M.D.
OrthoArkansas
James Tucker, M.D.
Conway Regional Advanced Pain Management Pain Treatment Centers of America
Conway Regional Advanced Pain Management Center
Mikio Ranahan, M.D.
Pediatrics Plus
Evergreen Acupuncture W. Martin Eisele, L.Ac.
Rooted Pediatrics
Pediatric Dental Clinic Conway Pediatric Dental Group Groovy Smiles Pediatric Dentistry Small Bites Pediatric Dentistry
Permanent Cosmetics
7th Street Tattoos & Salon
Clara Colclasure McReynolds
Beyond Wellness
Madie Massey, LE THE SPA’AH Ladonna Young, APRN
Pharmacy Cornerstone Pharmacy The Pharmacy at Wellington Westside Pharmacy & Compounding
Physical Therapy Clinic Blue Rose Physical Therapy
Conway Regional Therapy Services SERC Physical Therapy
At Baptist Health, healing is more than a profession—it is a calling. For generations, Arkansas families have trusted us to be there through every high, every low, and every milestone in between.
We are grateful to the readers of AY Magazine for recognizing our commitment to compassionate, faith-based care. This honor reflects the trust you place in us and inspires us to keep serving with open hearts.
This recognition belongs to our nurses, physicians, and staff who pour their hearts into caring for you every day. From a nurse’s reassuring phone call after you return home, to a physician who listens and explains every step, to team members bringing health screenings and education to your neighborhood, we are here to make every experience personal and uplifting.
Today, Baptist Health is here for you and your family, wherever you are in Arkansas. Thank you for letting us be part of your journey.
FOR YOU. FOR LIFE.
For more information, to find a provider, or to schedule an appointment, visit us online at baptist-health.org or call 1-888-BAPTIST.
Voted AY’s Best of Place to Have a Baby
Few moments are as precious as welcoming a new life into your family. At Baptist Health Medical Center-Little Rock, we surround mothers and babies with warmth, safety, and the expertise you can count on—so you can focus on the joy of the moment.
We know that pregnancy doesn’t follow a schedule, and neither do we. Our OB Emergency Department is always here for expectant mothers, day or night, offering dedicated care whenever you need it most.
If you need us, just come to our Emergency entrance or call for guidance—we’re ready to welcome you and support your family.
Voted AY’s Best of Rehabilitation Hospital
Recovery is a journey, and you never have to walk it alone. At Baptist Health Rehabilitation Institute, we are here to help you regain your strength, independence, and joy in life. Thank you for letting us be part of your story and for trusting us with your next steps.
True wellness extends far beyond the walls of a hospital—it is about living your fullest, most active life every single day. From accurate, early diagnoses and transformative nutritional guidance to treating joint pain and providing compassionate care right where you live, it is a privilege to walk alongside you for every step of your journey. We offer these comprehensive services with a single commitment; to be here for you, for life.
We are honored to care for you wherever you call home. Our Home Health and Hospice teams bring skilled nursing, therapy, and compassionate support right to your doorstep, helping you and your loved ones find comfort and dignity during life’s most delicate moments. No matter your age or stage, we’re here to help you and your family navigate these transitions with care and respect.
A Baptist Health Senior Living Community
At Parkway Village, residents find more than a place to live—they discover a community where they can truly thrive. We are grateful to be recognized as one of the region’s top long-term and independent living communities, and we are honored to help our residents live life to the fullest.
True wellness is about transformation—body, mind, and spirit. We’re grateful for the team members who help make that possible every day. Please join us in celebrating our Top 3 Honorees:
⊲ Dr. Eric Paul — Best Bariatric Surgeon & Best Surgeon
⊲ Dr. Eric Paul — Best Surgeon
⊲ Mitchell Kirby — Best Dietitian/Nutritionist
Dr. Paul, Mitchell Kirby, and our entire team are here to walk alongside you with medical expertise, nutrition guidance, and support that lasts a lifetime. From one-on-one counseling to support groups and workshops, we’re here to help you build healthy habits and rediscover your confidence.
Baptist Health Orthopedic Clinic-Little Rock congratulations to Dr. Adam Norwood for being recognized by the community as a Top 3 honoree in three major categories:
⊲ Best Orthopedic Surgeon
⊲ Best Surgeon (Lower Extremity)
⊲ Best Orthopedist
Whether you’re hoping to return to the field or simply keep up with your grandchildren, Dr. Norwood and our orthopedic team are here to help you move with confidence again. We’ll walk you through every step, from your first call to your return to the activities you love.
The Baptist Health Imaging Center teams are honored to be the first step on your path to healing. We are here to provide the comfort, care, and accuracy you deserve. Offering state-of-the-art technology and equipment , our diagnostic services include comprehensive care through our dedicated breast center and the Baptist MRI Center, alongside X-Ray, CT scans and Ultrasounds. We are dedicated to providing a clearer picture of your health so you can feel confident in your journey.
Physician Assistant
Arkansas Children’s
Eva Barlogie, PA
Arkansas Urology
Jeff Thomas, PA-C
OrthoArkansas
Christina Byler, PA-C
Place to Have a Baby Baptist Health Medical Center-Little Rock Conway Regional Medical Center Saline Memorial Hospital
Plastic Surgeon Edward J. Love, M.D.
Podiatrist Arkansas Surgical Hospital
Jesse Burks, DPM
Prosthetics Clinic Horton’s Orthotics & Prosthetics
Gene Sloan, M.D., FACS
Barg Family Clinic
Naval Patel, DPM
Wright Plastic Surgery & Med Spa
Eric Wright, M.D.
Foot & Ankle Associates of Central Arkansas R. Alex Dellinger, DPM
Hope Prosthetics & Orthotics Snell Prosthetics & Orthotics
Radiology Clinic Baptist Health Imaging Center Conway Regional Imaging Center Radiology Associates
Rehabilitation Hospital Baptist Health Rehabilitation Institute Conway Regional Rehabilitation Hospital Saline Memorial Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation
Retirement Community Good Shepherd Community Grand Village at Clear Creek Greenbrier Nursing & Rehabilitation
Semaglutide/Weight Loss Beauty Boss Co. Aesthetics & Wellness
M.D.,
Bryan Head, MD
Top 3 Finalist
Best Hand Surgeon
James Head, MD
Top 3 Finalist Foot & Ankle
Surgeon and Surgeon (Lower Extremity)
Tom Roberts, MD
Top 3 Finalist Best Orthopedist
Jay Howell, MD
Top 3 Finalist
Best Surgeon (Upper Extremity)
Austin Cole, MD
Top 3 Finalist
Best Orthopedic Surgeon
Sports Medicine Clinic Bowen Hefley Orthopedics
Surgeon
Surgeon (Lower Extremity)
Surgeon (Upper Extremity)
Baptist Health Eric Paul, M.D.
Baptist Health Adam Norwood, DO
Conway Regional Health System Jay Howell, M.D.
Conway Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Center OrthoArkansas
Conway Regional Surgical Associates
Mike Stanton, M.D., FACS
Conway Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Center
James Head, M.D.
Saline Memorial Hospital Lewis Porter, M.D.
Saline Memorial Hospital Lewis Porter, M.D.
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences C. Lowry Barnes, M.D.
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences C. Lowry Barnes, M.D.
Tanning Salon Glo Tan Palm Beach Tan Sunlimited Tanning Salon & Day Spa
Urology Clinic Arkansas Urology CARTI Urology
Wellness Clinic Beauty Boss Co. Aesthetics & Wellness
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Health Urology Clinic
Beyond Wellness Sloan Aesthetics + Wellness
AY Media Group operates at a level you'd expect in Dallas or Nashville, but with deeper local Arkansas influence.
— Robert Raines, The Gangster Museum of America
Stephanie Newcomb built Unleashed Health & Fitness for those who expect the best and are ready to become it Known for delivering real, lasting results without extremes, she combines expert-level, pain-f ree training with personalized health coaching that meets you exactly where you are and evolves with you With a strong focus on longevity, sustainable strength, and nutrition guidance, every plan is tailored to your goals, your body, and your lifestyle so you can move better, feel better, and step fully into your strongest, healthiest self for the long run
Briar wood Nursing and Rehab is a 120-bed skilled facility located in an urban setting within the heart of Little Rock, in the neighborhood of Briarwood. We are located just minutes from downtown Little Rock and are only one block off interstate 630.
We provide long-term care and short-term rehab care. All residents are monitored throughout the day with assistance in providing daily care as is needed: bathing, dressing, feeding and providing medications. Briarwood staff also work at ensuring the best care for residents through individual care plans of residents' needs, as well as daily activities, which allow for a variety of interests and abilities.
Nearly all - 98 percent - of our rehab residents return to the community as a result of positive, caring therapists. Briarwood's approach has provided healing to many people in the community.
At Briarwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, we are committed to ensuring that the best possible care is given to you or your loved one in an atmosphere that is calm, quiet and focused on healing. We endeavor to ensure that all aspects of your well-being — mental, physical and spiritual — are cared for in a peaceful and safe environment. Our staff strive to promote dignity, respect, and independence as much as possible, in a beautiful, soothing enviornment that was designed with our residents' comfort in mind. Briarwood's service-rich environment is made possible by its dedicated staff, from our nursing staff and therapists, to our operations and administrative employees. At Briarwood, our residents enjoy three generations of staff and families. That is over 30 years of service to the community!
Benton Fowler Overhead Doors
Bentonville Airship Coffee
Bryant DJL Health Strategies
Cabot Beauty Boss Co. Aesthetics & Wellness
El Dorado First Baptist Church of El Dorado
Eureka Springs 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa
McMullan and Brown Richardson Engineering
Bogle’s Garden City
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Elder Independence Home Care Speakeasy Cafe
Fiegel’s Fix-It
Pea Farm Bistro
Conway Conway Regional Health System New Path Mental Health & Wellness Pasta Grill
Murphy Arts District Murphy USA
Ermilio’s Italian Home Cooking Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge
Fayetteville Dickson Street Bookshop Onyx Coffee Lab Pack Rat Outdoor Center
Fort Smith Connect Church Fort Smith The Polka-Dotted Zebra United States Marshals Museum
Hot Springs Hammer & Stain Hot Springs McHenry & Meyer Companies, LLC Oaklawn Hot Springs
Jacksonville Four Elms Bistro Goodsell Truck Accessories Honey B’s
Jonesboro Arkansas State University
North Little Rock Beauty Boss Co. Aesthetics & Wellness
Renew Mental Health & Wellness Shadrachs Coffee Roasting Co.
Little Rock AlchemyXXII New Path Mental Health & Wellness
Norwood-Day Floral Co.
Me & McGee Market Network Services Group
Pine Bluff Pine Bluff Sand and Gravel Co Saracen Casino Resort Sissy’s Log Cabin
Rogers Beyond Wellness J.B. Hunt
Sherwood Home Appliances Outlet
Springdale Highlands Oncology
Phat Tire Bike Shop
Russellville CJ’s Butcher Boy Burgers Lee Ann’s Fine Jewelry Vitality Medical Spa
Kiehl Avenue Flea Market Y’allternative Market
Pediatrics Plus
Pizzeria Ruby
Texarkana Circle J Cowboy Church Cooper Tires The Eagle Bourbon & Wine Lounge
AY About You is a great place to advertise if you want to get the word out about your business, destination or event. Print and digital, they touch all the bases!
— Steve Arrison, Visit Hot Springs
Children’s Clothing Pink & Blue Children’s Consignment The Toggery Turquoise Turtle Boutique
Formal Attire A Little Formal and More First Impressions Viv & Rose Bridal and Formal
Men’s Clothing Bell & Sward Gentlemen’s Clothier
Mr. Wicks
Southern Gentleman
Women’s Clothing Sage Boutique Simply Dixie Boutique Turquoise Turtle Boutique
— Thank you for voting for us ONE OF THE BEST! —
We are honored to be recognized! This recognition belongs to all of our employees, our clients and our community!
McHenry and Meyer Companies has always been about more than construction — it’s about people and community, and our mission is simple: work hard, do the job right, and leave a lasting, positive impact across Arkansas. Hot Springs | 501-321-4942 | mchenryexcavating@cablelynx.com
Chris MeyerPresident/CEO
Asian Fusion Kemuri Mt. Fuji Three Fold
Bakery
Barbecue
Community Bakery The Croissanterie Oh My Lanta Sweets
McClard’s Bar-B-Q
Whole Hog Cafe NLR
Barbecue Sandwich Count Porkula T Waynes BBQ & Catering
Breakfast Big Bad Breakfast
Brunch The Fold: Botanas & Bar
Burger Big Orange
Burnt Ends Blue Ember Smokehouse
Butcher Shop Cabot Meat Market
The Buttered Biscuit
Lost Forty Brewing
Lefty’s on the Square
Wright’s Barbecue
Whole Hog Cafe NLR
Stoby’s Restaurant
Raduno Brick Oven & Barroom
RŌBER :: Cocktails + Culinary
Whole Hog Cafe Wright’s Barbecue
Hogg’s Meat Market and Catering
Jackson’s Meat Market
Caterer Pea Farm Bistro Rx Catering Vibrant Occasions Catering
Catfish Eat My Catfish Tall Paul’s Woods Place
Cheese Dip Baja Grill
Chef Brood & Barley
Brayan McFadden
Chinese Restaurant
Mexico Chiquito
Oaklawn Hot Springs Ken Bredeson
Taco & Tamale Co.
RŌBER :: Cocktails + Culinary
Heather Baber
A.W. Lin’s Asian Cuisine Fantastic China Pho 88
Cinnamon Rolls Buckman Brewhouse
Coffee Shop Brew YaYa
Cookies Community Bakery
Cinnamon Creme Bakery The Humble Crumb Bakery
Gibson’s Cat Café
Guillermo’s Gourmet Coffee
Cookies by Jenna Ed’s Custom Bakery
With award-winning dining and drinks, we're proud to be in the Top 3 Best of the Best.
The OAK room & bar as “Best Fine Dining” and “Best Special Occasion”
Thanks for voting Oaklawn in the Top 3 Best of the Best. From spa days to unforgettable stays, we’re honored to be your top pick.
Best Spa / Best Hot Springs Business / Best Casino / Best Event Venue
Best Hotel / Best Live Music Venue / Best Place for Trivia / Best Resort / Best Sports Bar / Best Tourist Attraction
for voting us Best Museum! Thank You!
Hot Springs has always been a hotbed for AY’s “Best Of” rankings, but few Spa City spots can bring to life the city’s Prohibition-era heyday quite like The Gangster Museum of America. Owner Robert Raines has made it his mission to educate and entertain visitors in equal measure, drawing upon years of research, expert insights and factual eyewitness accounts — after all, when it comes to some of the most intriguing chapters in Hot Springs history, the truth is often stranger than fiction.
“I didn’t want to tell a tall tale,” Raines said. “People walk in and say, ‘My God, this is the greatest story never told.’ You know it worked when people say, ‘I can’t wait to come back.’”
Since opening to the public in 2008, The Gangster Museum of America has been making its way towards a million guests, all there to explore some of Hot Springs’ most notorious and noteworthy stories, from the “glory days” of illegal gambling to the birth of Major League Baseball spring training. As strong supporters of Hot Springs tourism, Raines and the rest of the team behind the museum also continue to look for new ways to get the city’s story out to the masses.
“I remember when we first opened the doors to the museum,” Raines said. “Thirty percent of the downtown businesses were boarded up, and only one of the bathhouses was open, part-time. Gradually, more businesses saw the downtown area as an opportunity to flourish, where owners promoted one another, rather than competing against each other. Now we have 2 to 3 million visitors a year.”
From the saloons and gambling establishments that turned Spa City into America’s first resort to the exploits of infamous figures such as Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, Bugsy Siegel and more, the history of the not-so-sleepy town in the Ouachitas comes to life in vivid detail at The Gangster Museum of America.
“One thing I have learned about Hot Springs’ history is that very few things are black and white,” Raines said. “There is always more to the story, and one thing leads to another.”
Working with the AY Media Group team was an exceptional experience from start to finish, bringing professionalism, creativity and genuine editorial instinct to the Marque Collection Suites feature. The result was a stunning fourpage spread that captured the story beautifully. It was a privilege to work with a team that approaches every story with that high level of care and craft.
— Meredith Corning, Meredith Corning PR
We are honored to be recognized across multiple categories! This recognition belongs to all of our employees, our clients and our community! VOTED TOP 3 IN THREE
James A. Rogers Excavating has always been about more than construction — it’s about people and community, and ouer mission is simple: work hard, do the job right, and leave a lasting, positive impact across Arkansas.
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Reputation is everything in business, a maxim that applies all the more so in the high-stakes environment of construction work. Since purchasing his grandfather’s eponymous excavating company in 2016, third-generation president and CEO Chris Meyer of James A. Rogers Excavating has spent a decade not merely upholding the business’s legacy but growing it into a statewide force and industry leader.
“In our lifetime we have multiple things that define our character, but two that I live by are our word and a handshake,” Meyer said. “You get one time to screw it up, and you’re done.”
One testament to the James A. Rogers team’s success is multiple appearances in AY About You’s “AY’s Best Of,” from nominations in several categories last year to being named “Best Excavation,” “Best Place to Work” and Meyer himself voted “Best CEO” in 2026. Meyer has continued to expand the company’s reach outside of central Arkansas, allowing even more clients, customers and industry colleagues to experience firsthand the James A. Rogers Excavating difference.
“Our team is made up of experts who know how to use their equipment effectively while staying safe, on schedule and on budget,” Meyer said. “We bring decades of experience and personal investment in every project we take on. Clients trust us not only because of our track record but because we treat each job as if it were our own, ensuring it’s done right the first time.”
James A. Rogers Excavating provides demolition, earthwork, roadwork, flat concrete work, storm drains, concrete curbs and gutters, and utility services for a wide variety of residential, commercial and municipal applications. The company was focused on the area around Little Rock, where founder James A. Rogers Sr. was born and raised, but Meyer has since brought the company’s presence into Hot Springs and north-
west Arkansas. Rogers described his grandson as “me all over again, only a lot younger and full of get up and go.”
“He has taken the company to where it is,” Rogers said. “I had no idea that he was going to do what he’s doing. He took the company from $4 million to $30 million in a very short period of time.”
Under Meyer’s leadership, James A. Rogers has made strategic acquisitions to deepen its capabilities and position itself as a prominent name in Arkansas construction and development efforts. Each of those operations has earned a place among “AY’s Best of 2026,” as well — a reflection of the dedication to excellence suffusing every piece of the James A. Rogers family of companies.
Soon after taking ownership, Meyer acquired McHenry Excavating and Aggregates, rebranding it as McHenry and Meyer Companies, LLC, allowing him to realize his long-held dream of owning a quarry. Meyer later teamed up with Matt Usery, president of NOEC Construction, to provide utility solutions both below and above ground. James A. Rogers Excavating, NOEC Construction, and McHenry and Meyer Companies are also leaving their stamp on the industry by recruiting and training young professionals, as well as supporting Be Pro Be Proud.
“My vision for this company is to continue servicing Arkansas the best way we can,” Meyer said. “We’re pouring time into our employees and creating value not just in the workplace but in their personal lives also.”
At the heart of that impressive body of work is a lineup of talented construction professionals with more than 150 years’ worth of combined experience. When it comes to his own legacy, Meyer said he wants to leave behind a family company that treats employees well, keeps its promises and always does the right thing.
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“I have always kept my team in mind and respected them,” Meyer said. “This business does not work with just one person. It takes a team of people to have a successful project.”
Dedicated to building up the Natural State through strong foundations and even stronger communities, James A. Rogers Excavating and its sister companies continue to exemplify what it means to truly be “AY’s Best Of.”
“Clients trust us not only because of our track record but because we treat each job as if it were our own, ensuring it’s done right the first time.”
— Chris Meyer, CEO
Chris Meyer
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With numerous windows looking out upon lush greenery in both the private chapel and reception hall, the Venue at Oakdale blends seamlessly with its natural surroundings, allowing the breathtaking atmosphere to wow guests while the couple prepares in style in the bridal suite and groom’s quarters. From there, it is a short walk to an elevated chapel that exudes modern elegance with fresh, clean decor. Vaulted ceilings invite ample sunlight for picturesque moments at every turn.
Nestled among rolling hills and rich scenery at the edge of North Little Rock, the Venue at Oakdale combines luxury amenities with thoughtful design elements, and the facilities are designed to be completely customizable to a couple’s aesthetic, size and vendors, from microweddings to extravagant affairs. The venue even has an onsite helicopter service for an entry and grand exit like no other.
Natural beauty and modern elegance make the Venue at Oakdale the ideal setting for unforgettable weddings. thevenueatoakdale.com
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WWithout moms, none of us would be here. Our mothers hold us when we take our first breath and hold our hand as we grow up. For this, we hold them in our hearts, remembering their love and support even in our hardest moments.
Moms have a special way of just knowing. They know our fears. They know our dreams. They know how to cheer us on when we win and how to cheer us up when we are disappointed.
Our mothers do not ask to be thanked for all they do, but they deserve it. That is why we are excited to present this year’s class of Super Moms. Super Moms have a way of doing it all and making it look easy, and we are proud to feature every member of this years’ cohort.
Each of the women honored on these next pages has a unique story, coming from different industries and walks of life. They juggle careers, philanthropy, friendships and more, all on top of the demands of motherhood.
Here’s to moms — not only the ones featured in this section, but to every mom and mother figure in our lives. Thank you for all you do. Happy Mother’s Day!
FFor Rebekah Fincher, having children did not slow her down; it sharpened her focus. As chief administrative officer and designated institutional officer at Con way Regional Health System, she said having children brought a different level of clarity to why her work matters. Especially in health care, she said, motherhood reinforces that workers are not just building systems but shaping the future for families like hers. At the same time, she said, there is no question that mother hood shapes one’s perceptions. “Time becomes more finite, and with that comes a certain intensity,” she said. “You become more intentional with how you spend your time, your energy and your attention. It’s a constant reminder that while the days can feel long, the years are incredibly short — and that perspective has made me both a better leader and a more present mom.”
What has caught you by surprise about being a mom?
How remarkable their minds are. Ethan and Bennett are incredibly curious, and they ask questions that stop me in my tracks. There are days when my professional role feels complex, but then I come home and realize that keeping up with their curiosity is just as challeng ing, if not more. Motherhood is the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but without question, it’s also the best. It stretches you in ways nothing else can — and makes you better because of it.
What is your favorite part of motherhood so far?
Watching them become who they are. There’s some thing incredibly special about seeing their personali ties develop — their confidence grow, their humor emerge and their perspective on the world take shape. It’s not one big moment — it’s all the small ones that add up over time.
What is a typical day like for you?
Like most working parents, there really isn’t a “typical” day, but there is a rhythm. Early mornings are for workouts and setting intentions for the day. Then comes the first shift — getting every one up, a protein-focused breakfast and out the door on time. The second shift is work: meetings, strategy, problem-solving and a lot of collabora tion. The third shift is kids’ activities, and then we move into the bedtime routine. There are always variables — early meetings, late evenings, unex pected issues — but we rely on structure as our foundation. I believe in having a plan and then being flexible enough to adjust when life inevi tably happens. That balance of consistency and adaptability is what keeps everything moving.
How do you make “you time” to recharge?
I’m still working on perfecting that. What has become nonnegotiable are early-morning workouts three to four times a week. They set the tone for everything else. Beyond that, I’ve learned to find small pockets of time that might otherwise go unnoticed. Sitting in a parking lot during a lesson or practice has become an unexpected gift. I’ll listen to an au diobook or just take a quiet moment. It’s not always traditional “me time,” but it’s meaning ful, and right now, that works.
Husband: John Fincher
What are some of your family’s favorite activities?
We love experiences. Whether it’s something simple close to home in Arkansas or a bigger trip, our favorite memories come from being out and doing things together. My kids love to explore, and we try to lean into that — new places, new activities and just being together as much as we can.
CHILDREN: Ethan, 9, and Bennett, 4
OCCUPATION: Chief administrative officer and designated institutional officer, Conway Regional Health System
What do you hope to accomplish by the time your children are ready to head out on their own?
In the words of my 9-year-old, “Upgrades are good.” I hope we’ve created a life full of opportunities and experiences that prepare them to be meaningful contributors to the world. I want them to be confident enough to go out and build their own path — but grounded enough to always want to come back home.
FAVORITE QUOTE:
“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”
NNicolle Sherrie Fletcher was a stay-at-home mother for most of her children’s upbringing, and that season profoundly shaped her eventual career path as a doula, childbirth educator and trainer of other birth professionals. Motherhood did not delay her journey by any means. In fact, it prepared her for exactly the kind of work she has been called to do with hundreds of other women during some of their most vulnerable, transformative moments as they prepare to welcome new life into the world. Seeing women “step into their strength,” empowered by supportive, compassionate care, has only deepened Fletcher’s belief that motherhood is “sacred work,” she said. “When I look at women in the Bible, I see courage, obedience, sacrifice and legacy,” Fletcher said. “That reminds me that motherhood is not just a role; it’s a calling with generational impact that is honored in heaven. This work has made me more intentional, more compassionate and more com mitted to ensuring women don’t just survive motherhood but truly thrive in it.”
How did your upbringing influence your parenting style?
Growing up, I watched my mother make a way out of no way. I didn’t always understand how things would come together, but I trusted that they would. That faith and resilience became the foundation of how I parented. I also had the support of my husband, my chil dren’s father, well into their adulthood, so my parenting style became a blend of both of our upbringings, grounded in faith, consistency and showing up no matter what.
What has been one of the most memo rable lessons you have learned as a mother?
There was an impactful memory that I have from my son’s junior year in high school. He was a starting linebacker, and Conway High School was in the champi onship game in Springdale. I also had a client in labor. I struggled with whether I should be with my client or my son. I called a back-up doula and attended the game in Springdale to support my son. Well, they lost that game. At the end, I could see him looking for me. Others were attempting to approach him, and he just kept his gaze on me. Once we reached each other, he just hugged me and cried his eyes out. It was that moment that mattered the most to me. It was a moment like that, that I support, encourage and empower women to have with their own families. It’s the moments that may seem micro in the end that have the greatest and longestlasting impact.
How do you make “you time” to recharge?
than the little-people stage. Raise humans you like and want to be around. You won’t always get it right; keep listening, learning and growing.
What is the biggest misconception people have about doulas and midwives?
CHILDREN:
Phillip Nicollus, 27, Najeé Nicolle, 25, and Nichelle Sherrie, 24
OCCUPATION:
Certified doula; doula trainer and mentor; executive director, The Ujima Maternity Network; apprentice midwife
FAVORITE QUOTE: “Go and be great!”
For me, “me time” is rooted in connection with God, my family, inner circle of friends, fitness outside, the beach, travel and, of course, a little dance party! Whether it’s quiet moments in prayer, sitting in the sun or simply allowing myself space to breathe, I’ve learned that I can’t pour into others if I’m running on empty. Recharging doesn’t always have to be elaborate; it just has to be intentional.
What has caught you by surprise about being a mom?
How quickly it all goes. You spend so many years pouring into your children day by day, and then one day, you look up, and they’re grown. It taught me to be present and to cherish every stage, even the hard ones. Realize that you will parent adult children for much longer
A common misconception is that doulas and midwives simply “assist” or replace medical professionals. The reality is that this work is deeply rooted in service, sacrifice and unwavering commitment. Doulas in particular show up on call through sleepless nights, long labors, missed family moments and unpredictable schedules to ensure that no woman has to walk through her birthing experience alone. Midwives, likewise, provide skilled, holistic clinical care while building deep, trusting relationships with the families they serve. This work is not just a role; it’s a calling. It requires heart, endurance and a willingness to pour into others continuously.
What other “moms” or mother figures in your life do you look up to?
First and foremost, my mother. She modeled strength, faith and perseverance in a way that shaped who I am today. I’m also inspired by the mothers I serve every day, as well as the mothers in my family. Their resilience, their love and their willingness to show up for their children no matter the circumstances continues to inspire me.
What are some of your family’s favorite activities?
We enjoy spending quality time together, whether that’s sharing meals, having meaningful conversations or simply being in each other’s presence. As my children have grown, those moments have become even more meaningful and hard to come by.
What is your favorite part of motherhood so far?
My favorite part of motherhood is the honor of pouring your life into another human being. There’s something so powerful about seeing your reflection in them not just physically but in their personality, their spirit and the way they move through the world. Beyond that, I truly cherish watching them “become,” growing into who they are uniquely called to be. That unfolding is one of the greatest joys of my life.
CHILDREN:
Maggie, 22, John Jr., 20, and Bobby, 17
OCCUPATION:
Stay-at-home mother
FAVORITE QUOTE: “You are only as happy as your unhappiest child.”
RRachel Shipman Batson welcomed baby No. 3 while her husband, John, was deployed to Iraq. Upon his return and acceptance into an oral and maxillofacial surgery residency, the Batsons moved to North Carolina. Batson, then 12 years into her career as a flight attendant with Southwest Airlines, met a crossroads. The couple had no family nearby, and uncomfortable leaving her children with strangers in a new place, Batson decided to step away from flying and become a stay-at-home mother. It was a difficult choice, but Batson has no doubt in her mind that it was the right one. “Staying home with my children allowed me to watch them grow into the amazing young adults they are today, and I wouldn’t trade that time for anything,” she said.
How did your upbringing influence your parenting style?
My parents were very laid-back and always trusted my judgment. I grew up feeling deeply respected and loved, and that’s exactly how John and I have chosen to raise our own children. We don’t impose curfews or a lot of strict rules. Our kids have turned out to be wonderful, responsible young people, and I feel truly blessed that they’re mine.
What is a typical day like for you?
My days don’t follow a typical schedule. Every single one is different. I’m basically on call for my family 24/7, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love being there for them whenever they need me.
What has caught you by surprise about being a mom?
What surprises me most about being a mom is just how deeply I love my three babies. The love I feel for them is absolutely breathtaking. I’m amazed by the sacrifices I’d willingly make and the bears I’d fight for my family. It’s kind of crazy — in the very best way.
What other “moms” or mother figures in your life do you look up to?
My mom, Margaret King, is fun, strong-willed and incredibly stylish. She has a natural flair that still makes me call her for advice when picking the perfect outfit for myself or Maggie. John’s mom, Nena Batson, is brilliant, kind and equally strong-willed in her own way. John and I often laugh about how both of our moms are such
formidable, independent women, and we love that about them. I feel incredibly blessed to have such an amazing mom and mother-in-law.
What are some of your family’s favorite activities?
My family loves to work out — all of them except me. I absolutely hate it. I joke that I must be allergic to exercise because I get hot, break out in a sweat and feel miserable the whole time.
What do you hope to accomplish by the time the “nest” is empty?
I can’t even talk about the empty nest without getting emotional. I keep telling all three of my kids that I’m ready for grandchildren. They just roll their eyes at me. Truth is, I’m only partly kidding. I help my husband a little with his practice now, and I’ll become more involved once Bobby leaves home.
Is there anything else we should know about you and your family?
If we were stranded on a deserted island, here’s who I’d want with me and why:
Maggie would be the one pushing us to work hard, figuring out every possible way to get off the island. She’d have us rescued in no time.
John Jr. would know every plant and animal there, happily teaching me all about them and turning the whole experience into an endless nature lesson.
Bobby and I would just laugh, make the best of it and have a great time together. Honestly, with him, it might not even feel so bad.
CHILDREN: Virginia, 4, and Woodrow, 2
OCCUPATION: Senior commercial account manager, Gallagher
FAVORITE QUOTE:
“Bite off more than you can chew, and figure out
Husband: Jake Sparrenberger
TThere is no such thing as a typical day in Cassidy Sparrenberger’s line of work, and with her husband, Jake, having recently launched an insurance agency of his own, Sparr & Co., the young parents have learned to plan carefully, stay flexible and be fully present whether in the boardroom, at an industry event or at home. Sparrenberger understands the fleeting season of childhood will pass far sooner than she is ready for, she said, so her approach to self-care is balanced against the needs of her family. Adding yet another layer to those considerations is Type 1 diabetes, which Sparrenberger said has deepened her awareness of how she spends her time and listens to her body. “That perspective has strengthened how I show up as a mother,” Sparrenberger said. “I’ve learned to balance vigilance with grace, to honor my limits, and to model resilience and responsibility in ways I hope my children carry with them.”
Photos by Lori Sparkman
How did your upbringing influence your parenting style?
I grew up with two very different parents with two different parenting styles: one hippy, one drill sergeant. I like to think I harnessed the best qualities from both of these styles into my own. I try to keep daily life light and fun but I also set strict boundaries when needed.
What has caught you by surprise about being a mom?
I am not so sure it was much of a surprise, since everyone warns you, but children literally never stop talking. I always felt parents were being dramatic about that part, but they weren’t. This is my formal apology for not believing all of those parents over the years.
What other “moms” or mother figures in your life do you look up to?
Of course, I must mention my mom on this one. She has been dealt some cards that I would have never made it through, but she did — always with a smile on her face.
What are some of your family’s favorite activities?
We love camping, exploring, hiking and really anything outdoors.
What is the biggest misconception people have about being a mom?
A lot of people assume we don’t want to do anything. Please invite me. I will do my best to make it work — beach parties, trivia at the bar, etc. Us moms are still cool!
What is your favorite part of motherhood so far?
My favorite part of motherhood so far is watching the subtle and sometimes surprising ways my husband and I show up in our children. There’s something profoundly meaningful about seeing your values, quirks and resilience take shape in another human and realizing that while they are influenced by us, they’re also entirely their own people. That ongoing discovery is what makes motherhood endlessly rewarding.
What do you hope to accomplish by the time the “nest” is empty and your children head out on their own?
Honestly, I hope they don’t want to leave. I hope to build a family so rooted in love and connection that home is always a place my children choose, a place where they feel supported, understood and eager to return, even as they grow into lives of their own.
By DWAIN HEBDA // Photos by KATIE KAUSS
Country superstar and Arkansas homegirl Ashley McBryde opened her eyes as her brain tried, like a flooded old Ford on a frosty mountaintop morning, to turn over. The night before had been a sold-out performance followed by a party to match, both of them of her trademark raucous kind.
The hellraising followed more than a month off the bottle, just long enough to tell herself she had a handle on her drinking. That there was more than ample evidence to the contrary — such as not having the first clue where she was at that moment four years ago or how she got there — could go to hell.
“I wasn’t being pressured to drink, but it doesn’t take a lot to pressure an alcoholic into drinking,” she said. “I woke up the next day in not my house, not my bed, not my pajamas. I woke up really thirsty, of course, and I didn’t know where I was, so I thought, ‘OK, I’m going to need to find the kitchen so I can have a glass of water,’ and on my way to the kitchen, I found the living room.
“In the living room was my manager, my day-to-day manager, my glam-artist-slash-best-friend for the last eight years and the artist whose house I was at. They were all on the couch. I walked in, and they said, ‘We need you to sit down,’ and I said, ‘Yep, OK.’”
Popular music is what the audience needs it to be. Like all modes of entertainment, music speaks what we cannot say, fills the spaces of life in ways that defy reality and weaves in us, be it over a two-hour concert or a three-minute record, a life we could not otherwise live.
The artist is key to that, of course, and perhaps nowhere more so than in music, where success often lies beyond a song itself to how well one carries off the attitude and ethos that goes with it. The more authentic the artist, the more we love them, especially the misbehaving types, if for no other reason than they allow us to sniff the dangerous and destructive parts of life without the hangover, the rap sheet or the monkey on the back.
Country musicians are especially loved when bare naked, be they selling stories of bucolic rural life and small-town Saturday nights or darker, smokier poetry on themes gritty and guttural, the stuff you do that gets harder and harder to sleep off or live with.
No one knew that better than McBryde, who earned her spurs in Nashville on a knee-weakeningly honest voice — both the songwriting kind and what went into the mic — paired with saucy take-no-lip attitude that all but dared rednecks and city slickers alike to doubt her capabilities on stage or off.
There was plenty of support for the image: A Rolling Stone writer called her “a whiskey-swilling high priestess of dive bars,” and fellow artists, of which Eric Church was just one, welcomed her to the stage to the introduction of “the whiskey-drinking badass.” McBryde did everything she could to live up to the moniker.
“It was literally the brand and how I even referred to myself. I would call myself Wiki pedia because not only did I drink too much; I knew too much. I was one of those annoy ing bourbon nerds,” she said. “When it came to choosing not to drink anymore, I tried a few times. I tried 14 days here, 30 days there, 29 days here, 16 days there. The last time, I did like 32 days where I thought, ‘Oh, I’m probably fine.’
“When I went to treatment, it was inter vention style, but it wasn’t that I didn’t want to go. I didn’t go kicking and screaming. I said, “Absolutely. OK,’ because I thought I had a handle on this, and I just woke up, and evi dently, I have not even anything close to a grip on this.”
McBryde’s latest effort, ily on the truths of her drinking, starting with “Arkansas Mud,” a sledgehammer of a song that ranks among her very best. Long known for effective storytelling, McBryde screams back at the world and herself, expertly illus trated in the video that portrays her alternat ing between the flash bulbs of the red carpet and the dim lighting of a budget motel room. In the latter, she peers into the camera as if staring at her reflection in the mirror while taking hits, alone, from the minibar, unspool ing from happy drunk to self-loathing seether.
In case the message is too subtle, that this is not the glamourous part of being a success ful recording artist, the next-morning cut, the quieter, “The Bottle Tells Me So,” shows her in the same clothes and the same motel room, waking to pick up the empties, at one point hanging her face over a wastebasket to vomit. It is imagery as stark and palpable as the cheap motel room (“No king bed covered in roses. Just a room without a view.”) she described in her 2019 smash “One Night Standards.”
McBryde went deeper into the kinds of things beyond the pressure of fame and the image she was feeding with
“What if We Don’t,” a song about choices and chances that has its roots in a traumatic expe rience she had in high school where she lost close friends in an auto accident. The accom panying video is filmed as a flashback during an eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, or EMDR, therapy session, which McBryde has openly talked about as a means of coping with the long-held grief about the incident.
The track follows an arc of personal vulnerability McBryde has always shown in her work, from remembering her father in “A Bible and a .44” in tribute to a man whose disapproval of her career made for a difficult relationship, and “Stone,” which eulogizes her brother who died by suicide.
She originally recorded “What if We Don’t,” co-written by Terri Jo Box and Randall Clay, a decade ago and has performed it live for years but never felt the right moment to release it. Deciding it was finally time to bring
: I want to borrow a lyric from that, and you tell me how this manifests itself in your music. When you say “That Ozark streak sure runs deep, and it sticks to me like Arkansas mud,” what does that actually look like in the way you go about writing and singing?
McBryde: I think when it came to recording, and it’s maybe even, to some extent, my entertainment style, there are certain things that the environment around you, even if it’s ever-socharmingly, suggest you do less of or suggest that maybe you don’t do it that way. Maybe you should do it this way, or that looks a little bit nerdy. You start to turn those parts of you down. In songwriting, absolutely not. That’s just not going to happen, but in other ways, I did start to worry about, like, “Oh my gosh, is that too Podunk? What does that even mean?” I
began realizing that in allowing that to hap pen, there was this frustration that was in me that wasn’t always visible, but I started to look at footage of me and things on stage and going, “Oh my gosh, you can see on stage that I’m frustrated inside here about something.
Some of that, at different times, did have to do with alcoholism, and then after that, it had nothing to do with alcoholism. I’m still seeing this frustration, and there’s this ingredient mising, so when we wrote “Arkansas Mud,” I was in a very angry-at-myself place, and I said, “I just want to do everything. I’m going to do everything anyone told me not to do. My hair is going to be the texture that it is, it will not be giant and perfect. My skin is going to look and my tattoos are going to look the way they look, and I’m going to dance around the stage
That moment of making the decision to take the risk or not take the risk, is immediately followed up by, ‘Wow, I get to live with these consequences,’ no matter what they are.
–Ashley McBryde
like a complete idiot if that’s what I wanna do.” And holy crap, it was the ingredient that was missing.
We started referring to the white stripe in my hair as the Ozark Streak because that is an iconic part of the look. One of the things that makes me what I am is being from the Ozark mountains and being proud of that, being proud of our resilience and proud of our abilities because we have to do things ourselves a lot where I’m from. I guess what I put on my back making this record was if I don’t do it, nobody’s going to do it. Anyone who’s made a suggestion on how to represent me has been wrong. Only I can do it, and it needs to be without the seatbelt on.
AY: With everything you’ve been through, the good and the not-sogood, how do you define yourself as an artist?
McBryde: Now I think it would be best to say, if you’re listening to our record, it’s chick rock with a Southern accent. Sometimes the words “country music” right now can feel divisive and can feel like it means a certain thing religiously or it means a certain thing politically. I want absolutely no part
of that. My band and I are two bluegrass kids, a jazz guy, a space fusion guy, a kid who plays every instrument and a fourth grade teacher. Like, that’s what that sounds like.
I would say it leans more on the Southern rock side of things, and don’t let that scare anybody away. I’ve got you on the finger picking and diddly dees. That’s my bread and butter. You won’t find anybody who enjoys it more. It’s in my wheelhouse, but what my band and I love to create when we’re together is Arkansas mud. That is the sound that, when we get together in my garage and bang through songs to decide what goes on a record, that’s what it sounds like.
I think maybe putting a label on it would be kind of boring, but what we are is energetic and what I am is forward and honest, even more so now. Especially on this record, I took that I-don’t-give-a-shit-what-you-think attitude into the studio, and John Osborne is like, “Absolutely. I also do not give a shit. Let’s ‘Ozark streak’ the crap out of everything.”
AY: It sounds like you are surrounded by people who have a way of keeping you grounded.
McBryde: I think my guys and I, we are not afraid to hurt each other’s feelings for the most part. I think having “yes people” is an absolute death sentence. Some of our most successful hits on radio I wrote with songwriter Nicolette Hayford, and our process is mostly we just argue with each other. We don’t “yes” each other. Having Quinn Hill in my band, a native of Mountain Hill, Arkansas, since he was 19 years old, this guy has seen me play in every place, in every condition. Sick, drunk, hungover, blackout, COVID[-19], flu — he’s seen all of it. He’s not afraid to hurt my feelings at all. He’s not afraid to disagree with me.
We are a collaborative band; I want your opinion, even if it’s different than mine, and we all understand I’ve got to land the plane, but my ideas aren’t the only ideas. Most of the time, they’re not the best. The whole gospel truth, you can probably find a way to improve it. I think being trusting of each other to have input and then them trusting me to land the plane properly is where it’s at.
AY: Last question: Looking at yourself in 2026, are you the artist that you envisioned, say, at 16, and if not, what remains?
McBryde: I could say no because I think 16-year-old me thought I’d be playing arenas by now. I think more accurately, I can look in the mirror and say, “Congratulations, you are what you wanted to be when you grew up.” I’m a member of the Grand Ole Opry. I’m a Grammy winner. I’m a songwriter. The lights are on in my house because of songs I’ve made up. If that’s not success then what, Ash? What is your standard? How many Grammys is that going to take?
I am really, really proud of the artist, of the entertainer I am, and I think 16-year-old me is really pleased. One of the things you think about when you quit drinking, you’re like, “Man, all my music’s going to suck.” Turns out I had that completely backward. Everything got better.
I know that 6-, 7-year-old me thinks I’m the coolest because I’ve done extensive work with my therapist on that. Sixteen-yearold me, she’s a little harder nut to crack, but I think all of those parts of me look at grown-up me now and go, “Look at us. You turned a red plastic gas can into two buses and a semitruck.” I just want to make everybody proud.
By AY Staff
Country music’s biggest night in the Natural State, the Arkansas Country Music Awards will soon shine a bright light on the best musical talent the state has to offer across multiple categories.
Slated for June 1 at Reynolds Performance Hall on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, the red carpet event will also feature live performances, four Arkansas Country Music Hall of Fame inductees and even a couple of surprises.
“Those who attend can expect an event that is produced so well that they will experience every emotion coming out of that place,” said Nathan Hunnicutt, founder and president of the nonprofit ACMA.
Awards will be handed out across nearly 30 categories recognizing the best in vocal, instrumental, songwriting, production, promotion and video talent in the world of Arkansas country music. A select few of the nominees are profiled on the pages that follow.
“The show’s been successful from the very beginning, and I think one of our strong points is the fact that we have changed very little, but the participation and interest just continue to grow,” said Charles Haymes, vice president. “We have seen artists time their projects to accommodate our two-year eligibility period, and we’ve had people collaborate who met at the awards, so it’s actually resulted in music that otherwise would not have happened.”
Lifetime Achievement Awards, presented to incoming Hall of Fame members, will also be awarded to musical group The Whites, superstar producer Allen Reynolds, and longtime performers/club owners Jimmy Doyle and Patsy Gayle Brewer.
The evening also included performances by country music legends Crystal Gayle and Ricky Skaggs to round out an incredible event.
This is the eighth installment of the awards show, a star-studded event that continues to gain fan momentum with each passing year while sticking to its core mission of recognizing the best in country musicianship, marketing and promotion in Arkansas.
“I think the most popular genre in Arkansas is probably country music, so it is hard to believe that before 2018, there wasn’t an Arkansas Country Music Awards, and there wasn’t an Arkansas Country Music Hall of Fame,” Haymes said. “I think it was needed, and it was long overdue.”
Hunnicutt agreed, saying one look at the current state of country music overall shows the impact of Arkansas talent both behind the mike and in the recording booth.
“It would probably surprise most people how many great musicians come out of Arkansas per capita,” he said. “In fact, if you look at the country music charts on Billboard at any given time, you probably are going to have an Arkansan touching something in the top 40 at all times throughout the year, whether they’re a musician or a producer or a vocalist or a songwriter or performer.
“That’s a huge impact and a real point of pride for our state, and we’re proud to put on this event to recognize those achievements.”
Photos courtesy of honorees unless otherwise noted
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
David Adam Byrnes
Cliff & Susan
Tyler Kinch
Sylamore Special
Waylon Wyatt
AMERICANA ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Ashtyn Barbaree
Common Roots
Mark Currey
Jesse Welles
Waylon Wyatt
BLUEGRASS ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Arkansauce
Front Porch
Harmony Hollow
Mountain Heirs
Sylamore Special
COUNTRY ARTIST OF THE YEAR
David Adam Byrnes
Ward Davis
Blane Howard
Kelsey Lamb
Kish Moody
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Marybeth Byrd
Mallory Everett
Mary Heather Hickman
Kelsey Lamb
Abbey Pierce
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
David Adam Byrnes
Ryan Harmon
Blane Howard
Tyler Kinch
Waylon Wyatt
VOCAL DUO/GROUP OF THE YEAR
7 South
Cliff & Susan
Copper Flats
Midnight South
TRIPPP
ACOUSTIC ACT OF THE YEAR
Batterton and Edwards
The Creek Rocks
Trey Johnson
Cam Shelton
Robert Taylor Smith
MUSIC COLLABORATION OF THE YEAR
“Are You a Real Cowboy?” by Amanda Kate Ferris featuring Jenee Fleenor and produced by Jimmy Ritchey
“Human Together” by Lance Carpenter featuring Jess Antonette and produced by Lance Carpenter
“Just Wait (Mom’s Version)” by Kelsey Lamb featuring Sharon Lamb and produced by Matt McVaney
“Sunday Supper” by Waylon Wyatt & Bayker Blankenship and produced by Brett Truitt
“Why You Been Gone So Long” by Molly Clair featuring Maddie Dalton and Tim Crouch and produced by Clay Hess and Darrell Turnbull
YOUNG ARTIST OF THE YEAR
The Armer Sisters
Noah Gattis
Addyson Kennedy
Presley Shipp
Grace Wells
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Don’t Call Me Darlin’ by Abbey Pierce, produced by Jeremy Huddleston
Echoes from the Open Road by Kish Moody, produced by Kish Moody
Now I Know by Blane Howard, produced by Blane Howard and Derek George
Songs & Time by Kenny Drain, produced by Jeremy Huddleston
Til the Sun Goes Down by Waylon Wyatt, produced by Waylon Wyatt and Tommy Trautwein
SONG OF THE YEAR
“Dancing With a Cowboy,” written by
Darren Barry and performed by Tyler Kinch
“Human Together,” written and performed by Lance Carpenter, featuring Jess Antonette
“Introduce Myself,” written and performed by Luke Williams
“Me Being Me,” written by Jim Femino, D. Vincent Williams and Vickie McGehee and performed by Pamela Hopkins
“West Virginia,” written by Cliff and Susan Prowse and performed by Cliff & Susan
SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Barrett Baber
Jason Lee Campbell
Lance Carpenter
Brittany Moore
Trey Stevens
MUSIC PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
Darren Crisp
Jeremy Huddleston
Jon Raney
Eric Spahn/Josh Noren
Andy Wallis
SOUND ENGINEER OF THE YEAR
Bob Breazeal
Darren Crisp
Sam Duncan
Jeremy Huddleston
Bryce Roberts
PROMOTER OF THE YEAR
Rickey Crawford
Jenna Friday
Trent Goins
Erica Holthus
Tyler Parsley
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
“All American” by Lance Carpenter, directed by Steve Batres
“Clueless” by Brittany Moore, directed by Oceanna Colgan
“Introduce Myself” by Luke Williams, directed by Sharpe Dunaway
“Spitfire” by Cliff & Susan, directed by Trenton Johnson
“Tease” by Kelsey Lamb, directed by Ben Oaks
INSPIRATIONAL RECORDING OF THE YEAR
“Give It to Jesus” by Anna Brinker, produced by Don DeMumbrum
“I’m Going Up” by Boone & Co., featuring Jake Stogdill, Sam Cobb, Gary Cook, Roger Adams, Robbie Boone and Andrew Thompson and produced by Jake Stogdill
“Revival” by Woodshed Revival, featuring Justin Keith, Big Shane Thornton and Andy Wallis and produced by Andy Wallis
“Shape of a Cross” by Lance Carpenter, produced by Nick Schwarz
“When I Think About Home” by The Villines Trio, produced by Landon Villines
RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR
KDXY The Fox 104.9, Jonesboro
KHPQ Hot Country 92.1, Clinton
KKYR Kicker 102.5, Texarkana
KTCS 99.9, Fort Smith
KWCK Continuous Country 99.9, Searcy
RADIO DJ OF THE YEAR
Beemer, KHOZ, Harrison
Billy Coble, KTPB, Pine Bluff
Greg Geary, KWCK, Searcy
Jess Jennings, KSSN, Little Rock
Marty Scarbrough, KASU, Jonesboro
PUBLICATION/BLOG/
PODCAST OF THE YEAR
AY About You
Cleveland County Herald
The Pam Setser Show
Stuttgart Daily Leader
The TeleTime Show
VENUE OF THE YEAR
Collins Theatre, Paragould
The Farm, Eureka Springs
The Hall, Little Rock
King’s Live Music, Conway Woodlands Auditorium, Hot Springs Village
BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Dennis Crouch
Doug Deforest
Garrett Jones
Aaron Mashburn
Michael Rinne
DRUMMER OF THE YEAR
Ryan Cotroneo
Quinn Hill
Evan Hutchings
Adam Parker
David O’Neal
FIDDLE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Nathan Agdeppa
Tim Crouch
Jenee Fleenor
George Mason
Mary Parker
GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Kyle Bruich
Jon Conley
Randall George
Billy Lowe III
Luke Williams
SPECIALTY/UTILITY
MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Michael Heavner
Jeremy Huddleston
Josh Matheny
Dewayne Rice
Walker Robinson
In addition to the slate of categories being recognized at the 2026 Arkansas Country Music Awards, the evening will also see the induction of four legendary figures in country music inducted into the Arkansas Country Music Hall of Fame. Singing ensemble The Whites, producer and songwriter Allen Reynolds, and performers and venue entrepreneurs Jimmy Doyle and Patsy Gayle will take their places beside other luminaries of Arkansas country music.
“For an Arkansan in the country field, this is the pinnacle for there is no greater honor in the Natural State,” said country music journalist and historian Charles Haymes. “The class of 2026 is a fine mix of deserving Arkansans. From a much-loved hit-making trio to a most incredible songwriter turned music producer to a husband and wife that have worn many hats in the Arkansas entertainment business, this is another wonderful hall of fame mix of very deserving recipients.”
“The honorees for 2026 have certainly carved their own special place in Arkansas music history,” said Nathan Hunnicutt, Arkansas Country Music Awards president. “Once again, this list solidifies the magnitude and importance of the Arkansas Country Music Hall of Fame by way of the Lifetime Achievement Award and the ones that have received it, both past and present.”
The 2026 Arkansas Country Music Hall of Fame inductees will be honored June 1 at the Reynolds Performance Hall on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas in Conway in conjunction with the Arkansas Country Music Awards red carpet event.
A true Arkansas original, Jimmy Doyle was born near Stuttgart in 1936. Growing up, he knew farm work and moonshining from his father, as well as playing fiddle from an early age. In 1954, he joined the U.S. Navy, and during his hitch, he formed a country band called The Hayseeds. Following his discharge, he landed in San Jose, California, and was soon a fixture in the growing country music scene on the West Coast, opening for and backing artists such as Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, Freddie Hart, Wynn Stewart and others. Later, he relocated to Nevada and had a regular engagement in Las Vegas and a television show in Reno.
By 1974, he was back in Arkansas, where he met Patsy Gayle, a young vocalist who grew up in Humnoke. Performing together led to marriage and opening Jimmy Doyle’s Country Club in North Little Rock. Through the club and a stint on local television, the duo became staples in Arkansas and known coast to coast. Over 47 years in the honky-tonk business, Doyle and Gayle entertained thousands, backed by their group The Arkansas River Bottom Band.
Jimmy Doyle’s Country Club, which occupied two different locations over the years, was also a favored spot to perform for a roster of legendary musicians, including such members of the Country Music Hall of Fame as Little Jimmy Dickens, Tom T. Hall, Jean Shepard, Jim Ed Brown, Alan Jackson, Marty Stuart, Toby Keith and John Anderson. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members Carl Perkins, The Platters and Percy Sledge also graced the club stage, leading Jimmy Doyle’s Country Club to twice be awarded Venue of the Year by the Arkansas Country Music Awards. Doyle and Gayle retired in 2021.
ne of the most influential producers and successful songwriters of his era, Allen Reynolds’ impact on country music is nearly immeasurable. Born in North Little Rock, he began writing songs while attending Southwestern College, now Rhodes College in Memphis. While there, he befriended Dickey Lee and “Cowboy” Jack Clement, which launched his songwriting career.
In 1963, he and Lee co-wrote “I Saw Linda Yesterday,” and two years later, Reynolds scored again with “Five O’Clock World,” a pop hit for The Vogues. In 1970, he moved to Nashville, where he quickly established himself among the elite songwriters community there. He churned out a string of hits, a mere sample of which includes “Catfish John” by Johnny Russell; “I Recall a Gypsy Woman” and “We Should Be Together” by Don Williams; “Wrong Road Again” and “Ready for the Times to Get Better” by Crystal Gayle; and “Dreaming My Dreams With You,” which has been recorded by Waylon Jennings, Alison Krauss and Patty Loveless, among many other artists. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2000.
Reynolds’ accomplishments as a producer are equally phenomenal. In the early 1970s, he produced several hits by Williams. In 1975, he purchased Clement’s Jack’s Tracks recording studio and began producing countless hits for Gayle, including the standout “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue.” He also produced successful albums for Kathy Mattea, Emmylou Harris and Hal Ketchum, as well as the lion’s share of Garth Brooks’ catalog, including monster successes “No Fences” and “Ropin’ the Wind.”
Family harmony has always been a staple in country music, as evidenced by The Whites, comprised of the late Buck White and his daughters, Sharon and Cheryl White. Buck honed his performance chops over years playing in Texas dance halls and radio shows. In 1962, he and his wife, Pat, moved the family to Mansfield in Sebastian County, where Sharon and Cheryl learned to sing harmony and the popular trio The Down Home Folks, to be changed later to The Whites, was born. The family relocated to Nashville in 1971, and in 1984, they became members of the Grand Ole Opry.
The list of accomplishments is long, including hits and favored recordings “You Put the Blue In Me,” “Hanging Around,” “Pins and Needles,” “If It Ain’t Love (Leave It Alone),” and “Doing It by the Book.” The Whites won awards from the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music, including Sharon and her husband, Ricky Skaggs, being named Vocal Duo of the Year by the Country Music Association in the mid 1980s.
The Whites also gained CMA, ACM and Grammy acclaim for their involvement in the soundtrack to the motion picture O Brother, Where Art Thou, in which they also had a cameo appearance.
ARKANSAS COUNTRY
MUSIC HALL OF FAME INDSUCTEES AND LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD RECIPIENTS
Elton Britt
The Browns
Ed Bruce
Albert E. Brumley
Shawn Camp
Glen Campbell
Bill Carter
Johnny Cash
Floyd Cramer
Jimmy Doyle & Patsy Gayle
Jimmy Driftwood
Barbara Fairchild
Kye Fleming
Lefty Frizzell
Randy Goodrum
Levon Helm
Wayland Holyfield
John Hughey
Irby Mandrell
Patsy Montana
Wood Newton
The Original Rhodes Show
K.T. Oslin
Wayne Raney
Collin Raye
Allen Reynolds
Charlie Rich
Bob Robbins
Conway Twitty
The Whites
The Wilburn Brothers
Mark Wright
Reggie Young
Entertainer of the Year
Amusician and performer for as long as he can remember, David Adam Byrnes always seemed all but destined to make a name for himself. Learning the music business hands on is an uphill battle, however. He was initially beset by bad record deals and struggled at times to find his voice, but he used those episodes as fuel for his growth as an artist and as a person.
“You can write all the songs and play all the shows that you want, but without the fans behind you and showing up, then you don’t have a career,” he said. “Getting out there and meeting them each night and hearing their stories and why you and your music connects with them is what it’s all about.”
Once reconnected with the classic country sound at the heart of his earliest musical ambitions, Byrnes quickly strengthened his position as a crowd favorite. The voting public and Arkansas Country Music Awards rewarded those efforts with such accolades as Entertainer of the Year in 2022, three-time Country Artist of the Year honors, two-time Male Vocalist of the Year wins, and Album
of the Year in 2021. This time around, Byrnes is also up for Country Artist of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year.
“I feel like I pay a lot more attention to the little details,” he said. “You’re not there just singing songs to people. You’re giving them an experience. When you realize it’s not about you, it’s about the people in the crowd, it’s the moment, it all starts to click.”
The sound might stay familiar, but the content of Byrnes’ lyrics has continued to evolve as he gains perspective with every passing year. A new father, he “sees the world a little differently these days,” he said, and he expects fans to notice that each chapter in his life has “added a little something” to his writing.
Asked what makes the Arkansas music community special, Byrnes pointed to the wide diversity of inspiration available — Memphis and the Delta to the east, Texas to the west, the reemergence of mountain bluegrass among younger acts, and ever-strong traditional and outlaw currents. Arkansas is a bit of a hidden gem musically, he said, but he also does not see it staying that way for long.
“As far as support, there’s just that thing about being from Arkansas that creates a bond,” he said. “I’ve been gone from home now as long as I lived there, but as soon as I hear someone is from the Natural State, it instantly creates a connection.”
Entertainer of the Year
usband-and-wife duo Cliff and Susan Prowse are no strangers to the Arkansas Country Music Awards, having taken home last year’s Entertainer of the Year honors, in addition to Vocal Duo/Group of the Year and Album of the Year. The awards mean a lot to the couple, Susan said, because they represent home and the place where the pair built their careers from the ground up through hundreds of shows and countless connections.
“On a personal level, being recognized by your own community never gets old,” she said. “It’s not just about the awards themselves; it’s about the relationships, the venues, the fans and the other artists who are all part of this ecosystem we’ve grown together. Arkansas has a very real, very hardworking music culture, and we’re proud to be part of it.”
On top of being a popular act in their own right on stages around the world, Cliff & Susan have been instrumental in the development of Arkansas’ music and festival scene through their company Big Red Dog Productions — work that earned them the title of Promoter of the Year at the 2021 awards.
“As promoters of Arkansas music, we see these awards as a spotlight,” Susan said. “There is so much talent here that deserves a bigger stage, and anything that helps elevate the visibility of artists coming out of this state is a win. We’ve always believed you don’t have to leave Arkansas to build something meaningful, and these awards help reinforce that.”
Once again nominated for Vocal Duo/Group of the Year, as well as Song of the Year and Video of the Year, the couple is also at an exciting time creatively as they work toward the release of their sophomore album. Susan described the direction of the upcoming project as dance-first, communitydriven country music.
Entertainer of the Year
In addition to being up for his third Entertainer of the Year award in four years, Lonoke native Tyler Kinch is the reigning Male Vocalist of the Year and performer of the 2025 Song of the Year, “Frontlines.” Kinch has been nominated once again for both categories in 2026 — this time for a song from his latest extended play, Dancing with a Cowboy
“To me, being an entertainer shows when one doesn’t just show up to play songs but shows up to make people relate to the songs,” Kinch said. “To do that, you have to be able to read the room, feel the energy and be able to adjust to every situation you’re in. Sometimes that may happen by hitting the perfect notes night in and night out, but more [often] than not, if you’re doing your allout best as an entertainer, the crowd will feel [and] connect to it.”
Growing up in a musical family gave Kinch the vision early on, but he was the only member of his circle to take to country music specifically. Prior to notching his first Entertainer of the Year win in 2023, Kinch made his name playing acoustic sets across Little Rock at venues such as Stickyz Rock ‘N’ Roll Chicken Shack and Rev Room, later joining fellow Arkansas native Justin Moore at sold-out shows and opening for several other acts.
“I feel as if Arkansas has some of the most hard-working folks in music out there, and everyone is supportive,” Kinch said. “I feel as if we all have each other’s back and will help each other in any way we can.”
Known for engaging, heartfelt performances, Kinch’s ability to light up a stage has only strengthened as the size of his audience grows. Some of that has simply come with time and the settling of nerves, he said, as he got comfortable being his authentic self both on and offstage.
“It takes awhile to sink in that people are there to see you,” he said. “You don’t have to spend so much time trying to be perfect but to just be you.”
His sound has likewise evolved as Kinch has found more and more of his own voice among the backdrop of his heroes and inspirations. The six-track Dancing with a Cowboy EP released last summer reflects Kinch’s dedication to outdoing himself with every new project as he keeps carving out his sound. After all, he said, as with many independent artists, he is keenly aware that “it only takes one” song to change everything.
“I feel [it is] not only the music and approach to bring a more professional show but the lyrics,” Kinch said. “I challenge folks to listen to the words as much as the melody.”
Entertainer of the Year
F
ormed in 2021, Mountain View bluegrass outfit Sylamore Special made a splash as Young Artist of the Year at the 2022 Arkansas Country Music Awards. The group followed that up with Inspirational Artist of the Year in 2024 and is now in contention for what would be their third Bluegrass Artist of the Year award in a row.
“We’ve been incredibly honored to win Bluegrass Artist of the Year in the past because it celebrates the music at the heart and craft of what we do,” said fiddle player Mary Parker. “Entertainer of the Year would be special in a new way because it’s less about the notes themselves and more about the experience someone will take home — the connection, memories and the hope that our music might lift someone’s day, even just a little. To be recognized in both ways would be humbling, but at the end of the day, it’s enough to know our music is reaching people.”
Joining Parker are her brother, Gordon, on mandolin, Turner Atwell on guitar, Lillyanne McCool on banjo and her mother, Crystal McCool, on the upright bass. Carrying on the Ozark tradition of their hometown and the folk music capital of the world, Sylamore Special has played festivals and gatherings of all sizes, from Mountain View’s own Bean Fest to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C. The group released their eponymous debut album in late 2024 and, just last year, took their talents abroad for a bluegrass festival in Ireland.
“We genuinely enjoy being around each other. When we’re practicing or on stage, it doesn’t feel like work; it feels like hanging out with your friends and making something we all love,” Parker said. “Everyone brings their own style and ideas, and we push each other creatively, which is part of how we’ve built the sound we love performing. That excitement and energy comes through in our music, and it’s something we’re really grateful for.”
Entering this year’s awards as the reigning Acoustic Act of the Year and Young Artist of the Year, Hackett native Waylon Wyatt’s budding career is a testament to the way social media and the internet are shaping the next generation of artists. From an employee of his father’s construction company to overnight TikTok sensation and currently traversing the U.S. and Canada as part of his Everywhere Under the Sun Tour, the 19-year-old has amassed millions of streams, an international fanbase, and festival appearances as far away as Europe and Australia.
“So many people come up to me before or after shows or even just in the most random places to tell me how my music has helped them through their life journeys,” Wyatt said. “At the shows, though, it’s a whole different atmosphere. I can feel the energy coming off the people and even see how their emotions align with each word I sing or note I play. Music is such a beautiful thing, and being an entertainer is a blessing and a half.”
In addition to Entertainer of the Year, Wyatt is up for another handful of categories for the 2026 Arkansas Country Music Awards, including Americana Artist of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Musical Collaboration of the Year and Album of the Year for his 2024 debut extended play, Til the Sun Goes Down. Part of the singer-songwriter’s appeal is in his stripped-
Ever since she exploded on the American consciousness in 2019 on The Voice and then again in 2023 of American Idol, Marybeth Byrd has been the standard-bearer for female vocalists in Arkansas.
Yet few know the wages of fame and the pressures of performing as the crush of popularity forced the girl from tiny Armorel to take a step back from her art form. She never went away, exactly — just hit pause. As her recent work demonstrates, the break did nothing to dim one of Arkansas’ purest voices.
“I feel like every musician goes through this little bow where they just don’t really want to be seen or they don’t want their art to be seen,” she said. “I’ve been through that, and I’m ready to get out of that. I will say a lot of that quiet time gave me a ton of perspective on what I wanted and what my definition of success was. I just couldn’t be more happy than I am right now.”
Recently married to Canon Walling, Byrd has been hard at work on “Elephant,” a single that landed this spring and that she said represents the next chapter in her evolution as an artist. As far as performing, Byrd has adopted a new strategy to help her balance her life, as well as her checkbook.
“Something that I’ve actually found a lot
back, lyrically rich blend of Americana, red dirt country and folk sounds. His inspirations are likewise a mix of old and new; Wyatt cited Hank Williams and Tyler Childers as major influences.
“Though they are both incredibly different artists, they work on the same wavelength for me. Argue with a wall,” Wyatt said. “To bring it back to being an old soul though, I believe that, as years go on, that old soul keeps getting older. My way of writing and singing has definitely improved over time. I believe they will continue to, as well.”
Another result of Wyatt’s meteoric rise has been the chance to become acquainted with the breadth and depth of the Arkansas music community. He called it refreshing to see so much talent, particularly young talent, coming from his home state. While his network of label connections, managers, fans and friends now extends well beyond the Natural State, the encouragement of his hometown and family is still closest to his heart.
“Even after all the shows, I can still come home to a family that supports me for what I do, and I can’t stress that enough,” Wyatt said. “Not many people get that privilege, so I definitely don’t take it lightly. I’m very thankful for everyone who has supported me and continues to.”
Entertainer of the Year
of fun in — and I know this sounds crazy — is not advertising a lot of my shows like I did previously,” she said. “I think it’s really fun to see fans be super excited and surprised seeing me pop up at certain festivals and places.
“Really and truly, I’ve been focusing on the music business side of things because that’s really where the money’s at while performing has slowed down a bit. I’m hoping that within the next year or so, I’ll really start advertising that again, but in the meantime, I love to pull everyone’s leg and just have that surprise.”
As for being nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year, a title she claimed in 2024, Byrd remains humbled.
“I’m so thankful. It’s really nice to know that people still think of me even when I am quiet,” she said. “That’s truly the most validating, comforting feeling a person can have to get that unconditional love from people that I may or may not have even met. It’s just a really sweet award just be nominated for, and hopefully I can take it home.”
Mallory Everett grew up about as authentically Arkansan as one can get, driving a tractor on her childhood farm, hearing her favorite songs through the static of local radio stations.
“I started playing guitar when I was 8,” she said. “Music’s always been a friend to me.”
She said none of her immediate family was particularly musical themselves, but they did open up her world with the various genres they listened to.
“My parents did a great job of introducing me to James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt, Aretha Franklin — all of those things plus classic rock and all that,” she said. “Country was on all the time too. I mean, we live in the country, so that was on most of the radio stations. I was a big Tim McGraw fan in the ‘90s.”
Aside from singing in church, Everett’s desire to sing and play was kept largely to herself all the way into college. Her first real opportunity to step out on stage came in an unusual manner but set the hook for what she wanted to do from then on.
“I played classical guitar in college and wrote songs, but it was sort of just my thing. No one in my house played an instrument or sang, so I didn’t think that they were really interested [in my music],” she said. “A friend of mine was
in an accident and a gas fire, and they had a benefit for her. They wanted me to book the music, and I was trying to fill it with bands.
“I thought, well, heck, I can do some covers. I can sing something, you know? It’s a benefit. If I suck, no one will harp on me too bad — and they liked it, and we just started playing gigs.”
Everett’s best education as a musician has come from paying her dues on the road. She has spent time in Nashville and cut a record last year at a studio in Memphis. She has also toured regularly with her band, which has taken her to Nebraska, Kansas and North Carolina.
Of all the places she has been, nothing compares to Arkansas for inspiration and rejuvenation, she said, which is why Wynne is still home for the prolific performer and songwriter. Being nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year is just icing on the cake.
“I’m honored, and it just feels good to be recognized by my state, but I was shocked for being nominated as female vocalist. I mean, I am a female vocalist, but my voice is pretty raspy, and it’s an acquired taste, if you will,” she said. “I always tell people, ‘It ain’t going to sound pretty, but it’s going to make you feel something.’ That’s all I came to do anyway.”
Female Vocalist of the Year
Texas born and now Nashville based, female vocalist of the year nominee Mary Heather Hickman has carved out a name for herself as a songwriter and a performer thanks to God-given talent and family-inspired work ethic.
“I just released an EP last year with six songs called Now, and I’m already working on the next thing. These past couple of months, I’ve been back in the studio, writing more songs for myself and working on the next project,” she said.
Hickman said she considers herself primarily a songwriter. Despite having been groomed for the stage early on, she has never been far away from a notebook with which to jot down a random lyric or capture a thought to be developed later.
Female Vocalist of the Year
“I’ve always said at the end of the day, I’m always a songwriter first,” she said. “I remember from a very young age making up songs and writing them down
in my little notebook. I think I always was very drawn to music and singing, but I don’t think anyone realized that I had any talent for it until I did.
“In fact, even today, I laugh a little when I get nominated for female vocalist of the year. I’m very glad to be nominated for it, but I never considered myself an amazing vocalist. I know I have a good voice, and I like to sing, but I’m certainly not a Carrie Underwood or Martina McBride type of voice. It’s always been a little bit of imposter syndrome for me.”
Born in El Dorado and raised just outside Dallas, Hickman won a talent show in elementary school, and a light went on. She begged her parents to take her to whatever gig they could find.
“My mom started taking me all around to different opries in Texas and I even played a few in Arkansas,” she said. “Basically anywhere I could get onstage, I would get up there and do it.
“I got a lot of experience playing with live musicians, which I’m appreciative of now. I think it definitely helped me with the confidence aspect of it, as well. I’ve always considered myself shy, but I really don’t get shy when I’m on stage.”
Little Rock native Kelsey Lamb can’t remember a time in her life when she wasn’t singing. In fact, music has been such a familiar part of her life that her singular vocal talent didn’t really hit home for her until she was in it as a professional.
“I grew up in church, and I was always in choir. Everyone can sing in my family, and it’s always just been like a normal thing to do,” she said. “I really just grew up around so many talented singers that that wasn’t something that I felt like was unique to me.
“I think when I realized that it was special for me, really wasn’t until, gosh, I was probably 22 and I was doing a musical called The Toy Shop. It was a Kenny Rogers musical and the first night after I performed on stage, alone, people were coming up after the show and talking to me about it. That was the first time I realized like, ‘Oh, not everybody can do this, this is special.’”
Lamb’s first recording effort was 2015’s Christmas with Kelsey. She moved to Nashville a few years ago and watched her career blossom, releasing a string of soul satisfying singles and poignant, selfreflective ballads.
The multitalented Lamb has also
appeared in multiple movies including Hallmark’s Christmas in Homestead and Traces. Her first original single, “Warning Sign,” made its debut in the Lifetime Original Movie, Bad Stepmother
Of late, she has reveled in being a new mom and indulging in her art form.
“I am putting lots of music out. I’m putting a new song out every six weeks right now, which is really fun,” she said. “It’s almost like I’m putting an album out all year, but it’s just kind of little vignettes of my life. I am also on the road quite a bit this year, which is going to be fun, playing shows in places I’ve never performed before, so that’s exciting and nerve wracking.”
Despite her other interests, music remains her center. She has never seriously swerved out of her country music lane, saying the genre reflects most closely who she is as a person.
“I was always meant to be in country music; it’s a lifestyle more than it is music,” she said. “I think that country music is storytelling and it’s songwriting at its core. I tried pop when I was, like, 16; I thought I wanted to be a pop singer. I remember going out to LA and thinking this is not me. It’s a totally different genre; I’ve always been someone that likes to feel cozy and safe and country music just feels like home.”
ississippi County native Abbey Pierce said she could not believe it when informed she was once again nominated as Female Vocalist of the Year for the Arkansas Country Music Awards.
“Last year, I thought it was a fluke,” she said. “I had just started releasing music in late 2024, and getting nominated within the first few months of me releasing my own stuff, I was like, ‘Lord!’ Then the second time around, I was like, ‘OK, well that’s a mistake. They made it two times in row.’”
All kidding aside, fans cannot get enough of the singer-songwriter and her rock-tinged country, laced with just enough steel guitar and fiddle to keep it real. Her latest effort and her first album, nominated as ACMA Album of the Year, sums her best: Don’t Call Me Darlin’
Abbey Pierce
Female Vocalist of the Year
“I’m an Arkansas gal, born and raised,” she said. “I grew up in a really musical family on my mom’s side. My mom, my aunt and uncle, my mamaw and granddaddy, everybody sang or played an instrument, and I would just always chime in, you know?”
Pierce’s down-to-earth approach to her craft comes honestly. Raised in a single-parent household, she put aside thoughts of a music career to focus on more practical pursuits after high school.
“I always kind of knew after graduating high school I’d have to support myself,” she said. “Went to college, got a bachelor’s degree and then, right out of college, moved to Fayetteville. My husband and I would go out to restaurants and see these incredible acoustic performers. It just struck me like lightning, out of nowhere, that I had to get back to this.”
Now with her first album out and multiple Arkansas Country Music Award nominations to her credit, the straight-talking, smoky-voiced siren feels closer to her musical ambitions than ever.
“I see music as truly the dream. Right now, I feel like I’m taking baby steps, but I feel like it’ll all be worth it,” she said. “It’s definitely scary to drop everything and completely change your life for something that is not guaranteed. I’m still building that foundation so when the right opportunity does come and that door does open, I can walk right through it with complete confidence.”
Ryan Harmon likes to describe himself as a product of 1980s rock and ‘90s country — a unique blend of classic Van Halen and Travis Tritt. It takes a unique voice to pull that off, and Harmon has launched a career doing just that.
The Lamar native, who impressed the judges on Season 18 of American Idol in 2020, launched his career as a singer-songwriter in 2017 with a self-titled debut album. One track, “You Left, My Dog Died, and My Heart Did Too,” was featured on National Public Radio.
Though he did not advance to Hollywood, Idol celebrity judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie were complimentary and encouraged Harmon to trade Hollywood for Nashville. The Idol appearance did what it needed to do, which was to open up a whole new audience for Harmon.
Male Vocalist of the Year
S
hould Blane Howard be named the 2026 Arkansas Country Music Awards Male Vocalist of the Year, he will be right at home.
Born in Kansas but raised in the Natural State and a diehard Razorback fan, Howard was the 2025 Arkansas CMA Country Artist of the Year and a three-time Arkansas CMA Male Vocalist of the Year, having been awarded in 2023, 2019 and 2018. In 2023, he took home the win in the country category for unsigned artists. This year, he is also nominated for Country Artist of the Year and Album of the Year.
“It’s always an honor to be nominated and recognized by this organization and my home state of Arkansas,” he said. “It’s an even greater honor to know that I have fans that continue to support me and listen to my music.”
Howard’s music blends traditional and contemporary strains of country, and artists who influenced him include classic performers from both country and rock, including Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, Brooks & Dunn, Johnny Cash, Steve Miller Band, Eagles, and Van Morrison.
His 2021 single, “Promise to Love Her,” has more than 160 million streams and became an unofficial wedding song for fans across the continent. The song spent 17 weeks on CMT’s “12-Pack Countdown.” He has opened for major artists, including fellow Arkansans Justin Moore and Joe Nichols, as well as honorary
His 2020 album, Country Fried, featured a release, “I Knew This Would Happen,” that hit more than 1 million streams that year alone and was featured by national media outlets such as Billboard and USA Today. His blend of country with a strain of rock ‘n’ roll was catching on.
In 2022, he was named
Male Vocalist of the Year
Acoustic Artist of the Year at the Arkansas Country Music Awards, but life threw him a curve ball — he lost his voice after an illness and did not record for two years.
In 2024, he got back on the horse with a five-track extended play, The High Road, which was produced by fellow Arkansas singer-songwriter Travis Mobley. The opening track, “The Likes of Me,” featured country star Jerrod Niemann on lap and pedal-steel guitars.
Now Harmon is up for Male Vocalist of the Year at the 2026 Arkansas CMAs, slated for June 1 at the Reynolds Performance Hall on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.
“Coming off of a two-year battle to get my voice back after an illness, it was quite the surprise to see my name in the mix for Male Vocalist of the Year,” Harmon said.
“It’s always a nice feeling to have someone take time out of their day to think of you, and I’m blessed to have such wonderful friends and supporters who have made my dream job possible. It doesn’t matter if it’s a love song, a sad song or a funny song: life throws all of those different emotions at us. As long as people can relate to it and enjoy it, I feel like I’ve done my job.”
Arkie and Ark-La-Tex legend Trace Adkins and The Charlie Daniels Band.
As a songwriter, he has collaborated with the likes of chart-toppers Bobby Tomberlin (“One More Day”), Jordan Reynolds (“Tequila” and “10,000 Hours”), Keesy Timmer (“Yeah, Boy”), Ricky Huckabee (“Beer with Jesus” and “Muddy Water”) and Doug Johnson (“Three Wooden Crosses”).
Perhaps Howard’s biggest claim to fame is his unofficial status as troubadour to the Kansas City Chiefs. A lifelong fan, Howard wrote “Run It Back” in 2020 about the playoff-bound Chiefs, and it became an unofficial/official anthem. He wrote two more for KC — “Take It Back” and “How ‘Bout Those Chiefs?”
In 2024, his latest album, Now I Know, dropped in October, along with an EP of his Chiefs songs and a two-track release dedicated to his home state — Arkansas, Y’all
Howard said he is once again honored to be nominated for an Arkansas CMA award.
“I, along with my fellow nominees, know all too well the amount of time, love, effort and dedication that we put into everything we create, often finding very little financial return on the back end,” he said. “I can’t think of a better way to prove just how much we love what we do. I’m so lucky to say I’ve won a few of these awards in the past, and I’ll always be proud to say I’m from Arkansas, y’all.”
Ward Davis has made a home for himself in Nashville, but it took the Monticello native a while to get acclimated.
The singer-songwriter made the move to country music’s mecca in 2000 and soon found a genre in flux.
“It was really cool when I moved there, and then the whole thing just kind of went to shit. It got real cliquey, and the music changed, and the attitude changed among the writers and the producers and everything,” he told Little Village magazine in 2019.
“It went from songs about life and songs about country people, and then it turned into Fireball and trucks and short shorts,” he added.
Davis looks the part of the old-school “outlaw country” artist, and his catalog includes multiple songwriting credits for many stalwarts of the subset, including Trace Adkins, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Wade Hayes, Sammy Kershaw, Bucky Covington, Jimmie Van Zant, Buddy Jewell, Cody Jinks, Paul Cauthen, Whitey Morgan, Carolina Rain and The Roys.
Davis’ major debut album, 15 Years in a 10 Year Town, featured Nelson and Jamey Johnson lending their talents, and Davis’ 2016 hit, “I’m Not the Devil,” co-written with frequent
Born in Blytheville, Century II Records recording artist Kish Moody launched his journey in music at age 11, when he started taking guitar lessons in Gravel Ridge.
Just three years later, Moody was playing shows all across the Natural State, eventually opening for country and rock acts such as The Kentucky Headhunters, Black Stone Cherry, David Allan Coe, Days of the New and Nonpoint.
Moody has become known for his willingness to play anywhere — honkytonks, juke joints, revivals. He just wants to play for everyone. His first release on Century II was described as a modern country, bluesy song written by Nashville hitmaker Rickey Treat, produced by country music legend Bobby G. Rice and perfect for Moody’s baritone voice — “Whiskey Train.”
Moody said he remembered being snuck into a bar underage by the band Third Degree so he could jam on its cover of The Charlie Daniels Band
collaborator and tour partner Jinks, reached No. 4 on the Billboard U.S. country charts.
“Unfair Weather Friend,” a song Davis wrote with Marla Cannon-Goodman, was recorded by Nelson and Haggard for the duo’s final album together, Django and Jimmie. The song was played at Haggard’s 2016 funeral at the artist’s request.
Davis told Little Village he knew he had arrived when got word in 2015 that Nelson and Haggard planned to record “Unfair Weather Friend.”
“I think that was the moment where I realized ‘Hey, I’m a songwriter,’” Davis said. “I may not be a great songwriter, but the craft of writing a song is just a wonderful, beautiful process to me, and the thought of dumbing it down so that I could make money … when that happened, I just decided that if I’m going to go down to Music Row every day and try to write songs, I’d just be doing it to make money, and if that’s all I’m doing is trying to make money, then I might as well get a job or go out and try to do this on my own.”
Earlier this year, Davis released his fifth full-length album and fourth studio album, Here I Am, which Nashville.com called “raw, reflective and unflinchingly honest.”
country rock staple, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.”
“That was my first taste of the stage — and I’ve been chasing it ever since,” he wrote on his site.
Moody is a potent jambalaya of rock ‘n’ roll, country, blues and soul.
A finalist for the 2026 Arkansas Country Music Awards Country Artist of the Year, Moody’s musical influences range from George Strait to Jimi Hendrix, and it shows in his music.
In releasing his personal playlist on his website, Moody said the selections were not just a random mix. He called them the soundtrack that shaped him.
“Every one of these songs has left fingerprints on my own music — the outlaw edge of Hank III, the heart of George Strait, the anthems of Toby Keith and the humor of Ray Stevens,” he said.
In April, Moody debuted his latest release, Echoes from the Open Road, featuring “Southern Girl Strut,” which has been nominated Album of the Year.
The members of the country band 7 South pride themselves on leading normal lives alongside their music careers. The bandmates still work day jobs in law enforcement, nursing and as entrepreneurs, meaning the majority of their time to play falls on weekends.
They have not let that slow down the band’s success, however. Last year, the group played more than 90 shows, and bassist Mike Blocker said 7 South is likely to play even more this year.
“It’s kind of built, and we’ve got a following, and it’s just progressed to where it is nowadays,” Blocker said. “We’re busier than ever.”
“[Our sound] is kind of all over the place, but ultimately, our roots are kind of a ‘90s country band,” he said. “We pride ourselves on catering to the crowds we play to when we go to any venue. I think that sets us apart from a lot of other bands.”
Kent, who plays fiddle, guitar and provides vocals for the group, has always been musically inclined, Blocker said.
Blocker and his best friend, Anthony Kent, formed the group in late 2019. Since then, the lineup has grown to include Drew Klenczar on drums, Dayton Evans on acoustic guitar, Jake Moore on piano and Walker Robinson on steel guitar.
Blocker did not pick up an instrument until he was about 19, when he got into playing through his church. He said steel guitar gives 7 South its unique sound, which also borrows from Southern rock, country, red dirt, and even a touch of gospel and bluegrass.
“That man can play anything with strings on it,” he said.
In addition to traveling around the South for shows, 7 South’s epicenter is in its home base of Harrison, where the group plays at many local venues around town.
The name 7 South pays homage to Arkansas 7, which runs through Harrison and is near Blocker’s home, where the group got its start.
“That’s where most of our fan base is at, and they’re the ones that love us,” Blocker said.
7 South’s hard work has paid off in many ways, including a nomination for Vocal Duo/Group of the Year at this year’s Arkansas Country Music Awards.
“We’re just blessed,” Blocker said. “It’s just an honor to be nominated. There are so many other groups and artists that are just killer, phenomenal groups, and just to even be in the same running with them is incredible for us.”
Copper Flats, which debuted in 2025, is made up of the talented trio Brandon Kelly, Drew Smith and Jeremy Castaldo. All three members got their separate starts in music thanks to church.
“My mom was the children’s choir director, so me and my sister didn’t have much of a choice,” said Kelly, the band’s lead singer, “but I really did enjoy being on stage at a young age.”
Castaldo, who plays keyboard, guitar and provides background vocals for the band, has been heavily involved in music since a young age at church and was also part of an indie punk rock band in high school. He went on to major in music in college and was a percussion instructor for a marching band in Oklahoma.
“The church was always my main outlet for music until around 2019, when I started booking and building connections around the country,” Smith said. He plays acoustic guitar and lends background vocals to the band.
In 2024, Smith introduced his two friends, Kelly and Castaldo, to one another and the band formed soon after.
“Looking back, it’s been just a cool journey that is just getting started,” Smith said.
Castaldo described the band’s sound as “a perfect blend of classic country with a modern vibe.”
“Brandon’s thick, Brooks & Dunn-style vocals with our three-part harmonies mixed with guitar choruses and lyrics that resonate with both old
and new country fans really puts us right down the middle of the genre,” he said.
The band enjoyed a fast rise to local fame, yet the three men all still work day jobs.
“I tell people I do music full time and work a full time job,” Smith said. “My schedule is absolutely insane. Playing music is the easiest part of my day.”
“How do we balance it all? We’ll sleep when we’re dead,” Castaldo said.
Not only do they have 9-to-5 jobs, but they are family men, as well.
“The secret to the balance is that my family isn’t just ‘at home’; they’re part of the journey,” Kelly said. “Between my wife’s belief in this band and my kids’ excitement about their dad being a singer, I’m backed by the best team imaginable. We pride ourselves on creating an environment on the road where our families can be present and thrive alongside us.”
The trio are also thankful for their fans, who nominated them as the Arkansas Country Music Awards Vocal Duo/Group of the Year.
“At the end of the day, everything I have and everything I will accomplish in this life is all a gift from God,” Smith said. “None of it belongs to me.”
This June, Copper Flats will tour Arkansas with a more stripped-back set than previous shows, but fans can still expect all the band’s released originals such as “Household Name,” “Country People Do,” “Golden,” and even some unreleased songs.
“You’ll have to come to a show to know which ones,” Castaldo said.
The country band Midnight South is no stranger to the Arkansas Country Music Awards, taking home the title of Vocal Duo/Group of the Year in 2023 and 2024. The group was nominated again this year.
“We’re honored,” the group’s drummer Darin Davis said. “We’re excited. It’s always an honor.”
The current lineup of the group is Davis alongside lead singer Matt Sammons, guitarist and banjo player J.L. Jones, and guitarist Billy Lowe III.
The group was originally formed in 2021 by Jones and Sammons. Sammons started learning music in third grade and was in choirs throughout high school and college. Jones played in bands throughout college. When the two met, they started playing and writing music together and, in 2021, formed Midnight South.
Sammons described the group’s distinctive sound as big and harmony driven. Members also pride themselves on always playing live with no backtracks, harkening back to “real music,” Davis said.
“What we put out in a live show is authentic,” Davis said.
Listeners have taken well to the group’s sound and shows. A breakout moment came in April 2022, when the group opened for Easton Corbin at TempleLive in Fort Smith. Now Midnight South has toured around the country.
“We have been to so many places,” Jones said.
Another memorable moment for the group was in May 2023, when Midnight South performed at the Gulf Coast Jam in Panama City Beach, Florida. Midnight South com-
peted against seven other bands for the chance to open for Kenny Chesney and won, leading the group to play for its largest audience ever, about 25,000 people.
Recently, Midnight South has been making trips to Nashville to record new music. Jones said the band has a lot of new songs fans will really appreciate, tunes that capture the sounds Midnight South is known for.
“We’ve been intentional with the last couple songs we’ve been recording,” Davis said.
One of the new songs is about the hardships of having a family while being on the road for the band.
“We’ve all had ups and downs,” Davis said, “but we’re lucky to have very supportive families.”
The group is excited to set its sights back on its roots, Jones said, and plans to tour more around the South, including Arkansas, this summer. Not willing to rest on their past success, members say they do not plan on slowing down anytime soon. Instead, as Sammons said, fans should “stay tuned” for more.
The members of TRIPPP were born to become a band — literally. Triplet brothers Treyson, JD and Chaz Stafford comprise the group, which is making waves in the country music world.
“We’ve been playing music together basically since we came out of the womb,” JD said. “We fell in love with it immediately.”
He said the brothers realized they had something special when they were in high school, and it was then that JD decided to give up playing basketball to focus on music. In 2020, the brothers moved from Jonesboro to Nashville to chase their dreams.
Making it in the music business is hard enough and even more so for one of the brothers, Treyson, who is on the autism spectrum. He does not let that impede him, however, as his brothers are quick to attest, be it in his pursuit of stardom or his academic studies. He already has a degree in biblical studies from Belmont University in Nashville.
The trio gave credit to several mentors they have met along the way in their music careers, such as musicians Jon Conley and Mark Alan Springer, who helped produce the group’s first singles.
“We decided to chase this and try to make it our living and our life, [but] it took Jon Conley and Mark Alan Springer to believe in us and tell us, ‘Hey, you all are special, you can write songs, and not only that, you all can play and entertain,’” JD said.
“He struggles from time to time, but he’s really overcome all of it,” Chaz said.
“He is a really big inspiration and a great role model for any kids growing up with special needs and, for parents of kids with special needs, just to show you can live a full life, you can achieve things that even people without special needs struggle to achieve,” JD said.
However, the brothers were quick to point out that they have also met some people who did not have the band’s best interests in mind. One of their latest releases, “Made It,” is a song about the struggles they have overcome.
“We’ve been very blessed, but the industry is crazy, and we’ve had our share of hardships and troubles,” JD said.
The group won the Young Artist category of the Arkansas Country Music Awards in 2021, and the brothers said they feel honored to be nominated as Vocal Duo/Group of the Year this year. Chaz and JD said they look forward to seeing friends and other Arkansas musicians at this year’s awards event.
“Every time we have been able to go to the award show, it feels less like a competition,” JD said.
“It feels like a family reunion,” Chaz said.
The Armer Sisters are both the name of a group and a roster of its members. Comprised of siblings Kaitlyn, 19, on guitar, and Lillian, 16, on fiddle, the duo play an eclectic mix of gospel, bluegrass, old-school fiddle tunes and classic country.
The sisters got their first couple of gigs after attending a music camp in Branson. Since then, they have graced the stages of the Buffalo River Bluegrass Festival, the Brentwood Bluegrass Show & Jam Arkansas, the Northwest Arkansas Bluegrass & Folk Art Festival, and more. This year, they played at the Arkansas Fiddlers Convention and a variety music show called Cabin Fever
“We really like playing live,” Lillian said.
Noah Gattis is country through and through.
Growing up on a cattle operation near Branch, he said he remembers first falling in love with music when he heard “Stand By Your Man” by Tammy Wynette on the radio while feeding cattle with his father and grandfather.
“That’s just kind of when it bit me, and that was before I even picked up a guitar, picked up singing,” he said. “I just realized music is something that I love.”
He started playing guitar at age 10, and though he has never taken a singing lesson, he said he has also been singing since he was little. Over the years, he has had the chance to play at local venues and has released original songs, including “Comfier Alone.”
He said he draws a lot of inspiration from classic country, western and red dirt musicians, saying his favorite classic country artist is Merle Haggard. He said he is drawn to musicians whose music contains meaningful lyrics.
“You can listen to a song multiple times over, and you can always pick up on something different if the song is well written,” he said.
Gattis officially started playing gigs in high school, and in 2023, he opened for country music artist James Otto, which Gattis said was his biggest audience to date.
Currently, he is attending school at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, where he
Kaitlyn, the lyricist of the group, writes original songs for them to perform alongside country classics. She began singing at church at 3 years old, and since then, her passion has led her to piano lessons, guitar lessons and her songwriting.
Last year, one of Kaitlyn’s compositions earned her a finalist spot at the HOOKED!
plans to earn a degree in business and may go to law school afterward. Between school and his time at his fraternity, he said he has not played as many shows this year but has a good lineup of gigs planned for the summer.
While he would love to pursue music full time after college, he said, he is realistic about how hard that will be. He said it can be difficult to play to a large, excited audience one night and then a small crowd that is not paying attention the next.
“It’s a really hard thing to do when you’re booking these gigs and playing these gigs to keep that drive,” he said. “There’s a quote I’ve heard: ‘I felt all the pressure playing to an empty room.’ It is one of the most high-pressure situations I think you have as a musician.”
Gattis said he feels gratitude for being nominated as Young Artist of the Year, especially since he has not released new music lately. He is currently working on an album, however, and said people should stay tuned for its release.
“It’s cool that I’m still being recognized and still getting recognition,”
Gattis said.
“I’m glad people still have me on their radar.”
Songwriting Contest. That honor earned the sisters the opportunity to perform at the awards ceremony, where they played another original song by Kaitlyn called “Let Me In.” Kaitlyn said she really enjoyed going to the awards and meeting other people in the music community.
The two are also working on ways to get some of their original works recorded so they can put them on streaming platforms while still playing live shows. Both sisters agreed that sharing their music with a wider audience is an important next step for them.
When they are not performing, they help out on their family’s farm, Yonkipin Legacy Farms in Green Forest.
“Our spare time goes to taking care of the cows,” Kaitlyn said.
Lillian also stays busy with her high school work and a new job at Silver Dollar City. Kaitlyn is currently attending North Arkansas College in Harrison, where she is pursuing a degree in agriculture science. Despite their packed schedules, they would not trade their musical careers for anything else, and their hard work has paid off in a nomination for Young Artist of the Year at the Arkansas Country Music Awards.
Addyson Kennedy, 17, started music when she was about 8 years old.
“I was playing softball, but then I started to really find a love of music,” she said, “so not long after that, I had to make the choice between softball or music, and I chose music.”
She started studying at Jettway Performance in Bryant, a music school program created by musician Zac Dunlap. There, she took piano, guitar and vocal lessons. Through Jettway Performance, she not only honed her musical skills but has also toured with a summer tour group through the company.
“I went there, and they really just nurtured my love for music,” Kennedy said. “It’s a family to me. They’ve taught me a lot about the music industry.”
This summer, the group will tour Colorado, Dallas, Branson, Panama City Beach, Florida, and Gulf Shores, Alabama.
Her mentors at Jettway Performance also helped her release a few songs and a music video, and she hopes to write more music and find time to get back in the recording studio soon. She said balancing her music with her junior year at White Hall High School is “exhausting, but I love it, so I think it’s worth being exhausted.”
After high school, she plans to go on to college to get a music business degree. She hopes to attend Belmont University in Nashville and continues to hone both her skills and her approach to music.
“I’m trying to go more of a Christian route with my writing,” Addyson said. “I feel like that’s my testimony.”
Faith is not just a hook for the young Arkansan but an integral part of her life as a performer and in general. Before she takes the stage to perform, she makes a point to pray with her fellow performers.
“We pray to go up and shine God’s light,” she said. “Then we go up there and have fun.”
Nominated for Young Artist of the Year by the Arkansas Country Music Awards last year, Addyson said she is grateful to be nominated again. She thanked God and her Jettway Performance teachers for guiding her in her music career.
Singer Presley Shipp comes by her love of music naturally. Her father, with whom she performs in a duo called The Presley & Michael Shipp Show, has been playing and producing music his whole adult life.
Though Presley has been singing since she was a baby, she said she really fell in love with making music at about age 14, after joining her worship team at church. She took voice lessons in junior high school and said they helped strengthen her voice and teach her proper technique.
She found her love for the stage during a trip to Nashville in 2022, when, at age 15, she was invited to come on stage and sing with the band. She described the experience as “the first moment I was like, ‘I kind of like this,’” and has been playing gigs across central Arkansas ever since.
Her father, who has watched his daughter develop as an artist up close, playing guitar as she sings, said her talent and an “it” factor are readily apparent on stage. He described performing alongside her as “surreal and emotional,” especially given the amount of work she has put into her craft.
“I had nothing to do with her vocals,” he said. “She’d sound like Bob Dylan if I taught her.”
Presley's life today revolves around writing new music whenever inspiration strikes her, playing local shows, and balancing life as a college student between her classes at the University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock and working at the River Center in Benton.
While she would love a career in music, she sees it as her passion more than anything and said it is not her goal to make a lot of money performing. Meanwhile, the family connection continues to be part of the process. Her brother plays drums at some shows, and Michael said they plan to get into the studio this year to record some of her originals.
When Presley found out she was nominated for Young Artist of the Year honors through the Arkansas Country Music Awards, she said she was “shocked” and that she is thankful for her fan base that keep supporting her.
“It’s a big deal for me,” she said. “It’s an honor.”
Young Artist of the Year
Grace Wells, 19, started taking piano lessons when she was only 4 1/2 years old, and ever since then, “music has been my life,” she said.
Her father plays piano, and being exposed to that growing up likely sparked her love of music, she said. She added that she feels lucky her parents and two siblings have always been very supportive of her pursuing music.
“My whole family has always been there for me,” she said.
Before she decided to focus on music, Wells had a “try everything” attitude toward extracurricular activities, including soccer, karate and softball. She began her music career singing covers and then decided she wanted to create her own music, recording her first song, “My Favorite Chapter,” when she was 13 years old.
“My voice sounds way different now, but it was a really cool experience,” she said.
Throughout her music career, Wells has had to learn time management in order to balance her education with her performance schedule. She currently attends Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia and is working toward a music industry degree.
“I’m trying to learn as much as I can and then see where that takes me and what opportunities end up presenting themselves,” she said.
Wells has recorded some songs available via streaming, including her most recent song, “GUILTY!” She said she plans to record more music in the future but is saving up the money to do so.
Even though she has been singing for a while now, she said she does still get nervous about performing live. Once she gets on stage and starts to perform, however, the nerves go away.
“The only limits that you have are what you put on yourself,” she said. “I want people to look at me and think, ‘Oh, she doesn’t limit herself, and I don’t need to limit myself.’”
This is her third year being nominated for Young Artist of the Year at the Arkansas Country Music Awards. She said she enjoys spending time with other musicians while at the awards show.
“Every single year, I’m just thrilled and excited to go,” she said. “I didn’t realize how big of a community Arkansas has for music, and that is really cool to see and really encouraging.”
“I think the most popular genre in Arkansas is probably country music, so it is hard to believe that before 2018, there wasn’t an Arkansas Country Music Awards, and there wasn’t an Arkansas Country Music Hall of Fame. I think it was needed, and it was long overdue.”
— Charles Haymes, vice president
IBy DWAIN HEBDA
n the music world, there are some stages that stand out as bucket listworthy for true disciples. Madison Square Garden in New York City, the Grand Ole Opry and Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, and The Troubadour in Los Angeles comprise a short list of stages where lifealtering performances are the specialty of the house.
Arkansas has its own share of venues that offer a good time for customers and performers alike. While most lack the name recognition and history of The Fillmore in San Francisco or NYC’s Radio City Music Hall, they still deliver the kind of vibe that lingers long after the last curtain call.
AY About You salutes five of these elite venues, each of which has made the final cut for 2026 Venue of the Year honors by the Arkansas Country Music Awards. Be sure to add these stages to your summer concert plans and soak in the best music the state has to offer.
acma nominee
Over just five years, The Hall in Little Rock has become a stalwart venue for all manner of music in Little Rock, hosting about 100 concerts a year. Boasting standing room for 1,300 and about half that if seated, The Hall is a place designed for musicians, as well as fans.
“As far as the bands, we offer high-quality audio in there, an easyto-access stage and load-in process, comfortable green rooms,” said Miranda Hall, operations director. “That sounds just like basic needs, but it all makes a really big difference.
“For fans, I think it’s the accessibility, being a venue where we can get lots of people in here to see the bands, and it’s still a comfortable experience for everyone. We’ve got the mezzanine experience that’s a little bit elevated if you’re looking for something like that, or if you just want to get in and be on that barricade and be right up close, we’ve got that too.”
Hall said another fundamental element of the venue is the diversity of acts that can play there. She said while she appreciates being singled out by the Arkansas Country Music Awards, The Hall has never been about just one category.
“We want to hit every genre there is,” she said. “We want a little bit of something for everybody, you know? We do hardcore shows. We do country shows. We do EDM. We do comedy. Anything that we can get
our hands on that people want, we want to do it.”
That musical agnosticism is a welcome feature of the venue given the scarcity of local stages that fit into the medium-sized category. Bar venues abound, and big acts can play Simmons Bank Arena, but venues the size of The Hall are at a premium in the city.
“We knew that Little Rock didn’t have this size of venue and that there was a need and there’s been a need for a while,” Hall said. “Different people have tried it, and it hasn’t worked, but when the building came open and we discussed with the landlord what we were interested in doing, we made a good partnership there. Everybody was on the same page about it being a venue and what that would bring to the area, you know? It was just the right kind of a partnership from the beginning.”
Five years into the venture, the concept appears to not only be working but going strong, and Hall said she has seen a strengthening of the local music scene.
“I think it’s growing. I think that there is an uptick,” she said. “For a while there, it was kind of hard because it’s an ecosystem. We’ve got to have our little venues, midsize and the big ones to get people to come through Little Rock. We’ve got to have every piece of it, right? I think that we helped complete that circle.
“We’re seeing our openers come back from shows and play at some of our smaller local venues. Some of our headliners get too big for us and go to the arena. I think that we’re in a really good place right now and people are paying attention to Little Rock.”
Whether King’s Live Music in Conway wins the 2026 Venue of the Year at the Arkansas Country Music Awards remains to be seen, but regardless of that outcome, the fact that the venue got open at all — much less has survived for 15 years — is worthy of its own plaque on the wall.
“I graduated from the University of Central Arkansas here in Conway,” said Marcus Bobbitt, owner. “When I graduated, the city was still pretty dry. We had, like, an Outback Steakhouse that served alcohol, and then Mike’s Place had alcohol. With my business degree, I thought, man, there’s nothing in this city for people to go do anything.
“I knew how to write a business plan, so me and a buddy of mine, a pledge brother in my fraternity, we put our heads together, and we thought, ‘Let’s write a business plan for a live music venue, something that wasn’t a burger joint where you could have a beer but something you could actually go do,’ so we wrote the business plan, we sent it to every bank in central Arkansas, and they all looked at us like we were crazy that they would give a couple of young guys like us money to fund a project like this.”
The partners found a private investor who bankrolled King’s Live Music, and the venue has been a must-play central Arkansas venue ever since. Bobbitt said being in a smaller community does not work against the venue. In fact, there are some advantages to it that both the artists and the patrons appreciate.
“I would consider us a kind of that hometown, small, country-town venue,” he said. “You’re not 30 feet away from the stage. It’s not too big of a venue. The artists love it here, and I’ve never had somebody tell me they’re not coming back because of the experience they had.”
Part of the reason for the user friendliness of the place is that Bobbitt did his homework about how to design the venue long before the first band ever hit the stage.
“Right after I graduated college, I had an opportunity to be in the book-buying industry, so I went to different college towns within an eight-hour drive,” he said. “I used that as market research, where when I would get off work, I would go to a venue, and I would take a notepad, and I’d write down what I liked and what I didn’t. That’s what we built the business off of.”
King’s Live Music hosts between 100 and 110 shows a year, all booked by Bobbitt personally to include everything from funk to blues to country to bluegrass. He said in addition to the amenities, the venue’s location plays a major role in its continued success for both established acts and those just getting started on the dream.
“We try to keep it about 60 percent local acts and 40 percent regional acts,” he said. “We try to catch them when they’re on tour, when they’re coming through Arkansas from Florida or from Nashville to Austin.
“You know, we thought we had a good idea, we thought we could execute it, and then all the things fell in line for us. We opened it up, and we kept it going, and it’s still rocking and rolling.”
acma nominee
Ever since the legendary Woodstock Music and Art Fair of 1969, the music industry has been trying to recreate that long weekend through various outdoor festivals, none of which quite captured the magic of the original.
The Farm Campground & Events in Eureka Springs might never host anything as large as the original Woodstock, but the venue is as tranquil and beautiful as anything to be had, nestled into nature and feeling the vibes.
“We’re actually a Grateful Dead-themed campground. All the road names on the property are Grateful Dead names. I’m a Deadhead,” said owner Jon Walker. “We’ve got a lot of cool art installations that have been built from past festivals. One of the main attractions is we have a shrine for Jerry Garcia. We really just kind of set out to make a fun place to come and hang out.”
Walker opened the venue 13 years ago on the grounds of a former Arabian horse ranch. The site plays host to a handful of music festivals every year, nearly 40 music events in all since it opened.
“It’s like anywhere from one to three [a year]. It really depends on kind of how we’re feeling,” Walker said. “This year, we’re hosting the Hillberry Music Festival, a five-day, huge event. It’s one of the largest bluegrass festivals in the Midwest. We really put a lot of time and effort and energy into that.
“In the past, we have had, like, a Berry series is what we call it. It initially started out, we threw festivals that were called Highberry. Then we’ve had Funkberry, you know, Spaceberry. It just really depends on kind of the musical genre.”
Walker has invested heavily in other amenities to make The Farm more of a year-around attraction, including mountain biking, a disc golf course and a stocked fishing pond. He also gets in on special events in the area, serving as the official campground for this fall’s Bikes, Blues & BBQ for instance.
The effort pays off with repeat business and multiple recognitions from the Arkansas Country Music Awards, as well as the satisfaction of furthering the music and art scene in the Natural State.
“You know, I’m a huge music fan, a huge, huge music junkie,” Walker said. “What I think is really cool about this space is that up here in Eureka Springs, we have a lot of really talented musicians. It’s almost, I think, in a lot of ways, underrated because I don’t think people realize how good some of these folks are up here, so it’s great, you know, bringing a lot of the local musicians into the fray and allowing them to be a part of it and start to shine.
“[Being nominated] really feels awesome, you know? It’s really kind. We had been putting out events for years and years and years, and it was just a few years ago we started getting that recognition. We’re not in this to make a bunch of money. I mean, it’d be great if we did, but it’s up and down. You never know how things can go, but honestly, we do this because we really love music, and we want to make people happy.”
One of the best-kept secrets in the Arkansas music scene, Woodlands Auditorium is the epitome of a diamond waiting to be discovered. It is a description that Terry Wiley, Hot Springs Village’s director of parks and recreation is eager to change, starting with a little-known fact about the venue, located in a gated and guarded planned community.
“Our challenge is getting the word out that you don’t have to live in the Village to go to a show,” he said. “We get a few people from Little Rock, a few people from Hot Springs, Benton and Bryant coming in, but we’re not widely known yet. We do about 50 concerts a year, and people will see that we have a band coming up, but they don’t think they can attend because it’s in the Village.”
Wiley is not only eager to change concertgoers’ perceptions for its own sake but also to showcase the many improvements that have been made to the venue, making it a great place to play and take in a show.
“It’s a 654-seat venue, and we have basically done a lot of improvements to it over the last several years, everything from a professional lighting system to laser capability for laser light shows,” he said. “We’ve bought a video programming system where we film the concerts and showcase it on two huge monitors on each side. We just really turned it from what it was historically, a venue for speaking engagements and maybe theater, to a top-notch concert venue.”
In addition to well-known touring musicians, which, in the past, have included country stalwarts Lorrie Morgan and The Bellamy Brothers, the concert lineup runs the gamut of tribute concerts, including acts that pay homage to Bob Seger, Tina Turner, Aerosmith, Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith and KISS. These mix in with shows from area talent, including bluegrass band The Petersens of Branson; “AY’s Best of 2026” honorees BAD HABiT of Little Rock; and two performances by the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.
“It’s a good combination between a lot of national touring acts, topnotch Hall of Fame, Grand Ole Opry-caliber acts, and a lot of tribute bands,” Wiley said. “We’re really particular about the tribute acts we book. We do a lot of research on them, and we’re confident these are the best not only in the nation but in the world.”
With all of the work and investment that has gone into improving The Woodlands venue, being nominated as Venue of the Year by the Arkansas Country Music Awards was a particularly gratifying moment. Wiley said.
“I mean, I don’t even know how to express how it makes me feel,” he said. “I was excited to get the call and surprised to get the call. It really makes myself, our community and my team especially feel really good about what they’ve done. We’ve made so many bold changes, and to see that it’s been noticed outside of our community is just a special feeling. I don’t know how else to express it. I just can’t wait for people to come check us out for themselves.”
The best venues have their own stories to tell, crafted over time and experience with the ups and downs of local times and tastes. By that definition, few buildings in Arkansas have a longer or better back story than the Collins Theatre in downtown Paragould.
“We have a unique story, I think, that sets us apart from everyone else,” said Meredith Smith, general manager. “Our anniversary date on Oct. 15, 2025, was our 100th birthday. The original start date, the opening night, was Oct. 15, 1925.
“When I first started working here, I didn’t know all the ins and outs of what all went on inside. I just knew that I was in love with the building and the architecture and how they used to put so much more effort and beauty into things 100 years ago than they do now.”
Built as the Capitol Theatre by Bertig Realty Co., the structure began in the era of silent movies, its debut performance being a screening of The Coast of Folly, starring Gloria Swanson. As one of only three theaters in northeast Arkansas equipped with a stage and orchestra pit, vaudeville acts and stage shows, as well as silent movies, frequented the Capitol in the late 1920s and the early 1930s.
A sample of the performers who entertained audiences there include Edgar Bergen, Yodeling Jimmie Rodgers, Tex Ritter, Roy Acuff, Ernest Tubb, Smiley Burnette, Cliff Edwards as Ukulele Ike, Lash LaRue, and Johnny Downs and Mary Kornman, members of the original Our Gang series.
The theater served many other purposes other than entertainment through the years, from war bond rallies during World War II to shows
benefiting local charities and organizations. It even hosted Sunday school for a local church that had to close its doors during the Great Depression.
In 1936, the Collins family purchased the Capitol, becoming the sole owners-operators, and 50 years later, the family deeded the structure to the Greene County Fine Arts Council to be developed into a local center for the performing arts. The name was changed to the Collins Theatre in memory of Frances and Orris Collins. Subsequent renovations and repairs have returned the venue to a gem for live performance of all kinds.
“We have a lot of bluegrass,” Smith said. “KASU radio station in Jonesboro sponsors Bluegrass Mondays once a month. We also put on a festival every July called the Big Grass Bluegrass Festival, and it’s an annual thing. We don’t want to be specifically known for only bluegrass, but it is very big in our area, for sure.
“We have something pretty much every single weekend, sometimes two or three. If we’re lucky, we’ll get a Thursday, Friday and a Saturday booking, from country to rock to bluegrass.”
The Collins Theatre is no stranger to the Arkansas Country Music Awards, having won Venue of the Year in 2022. Smith said if civic pride counts for anything, the century-old spot is a runaway favorite to win again this year.
“We get nominated almost every year, at least in my tenure there,” she said. “When we won, it was really exciting, but in my opinion, we should be the winner every year hands down. I mean, I’m the manager. I don’t have any ownership, but if they ever offered it to me, I’d jump on the opportunity.”
TCountry legends Gayle, Skaggs to honor Arkansas’ musical future
By DWAIN HEBDA
wo of country music’s best-known and most-decorated artists, Crystal Gayle and Ricky Skaggs, will be on hand to celebrate the nominees for the Arkansas Country Music Awards. The event is slated for June 1 at the Reynolds Performance Hall in Conway. AY About You caught up to the two legends to talk about their careers, their art forms and the state of modern music.
A 12-time honoree by the Academy of Country Music Awards, American Music Awards, Grammy Awards and Country Music Association, including ACM’s Cliffie Stone Icon Award in 2015, Crystal Gayle is a member of country music royalty. Born Brenda Gail Webb, the younger sister of Loretta Lynn, Gayle had a string of giant hits in the 1970s that defined crossover appeal and led her to become the first female country artist whose album went platinum with 1977’s We Must Believe in Magic.
Among her hits, “Talking In Your Sleep” was awarded BMI’s Most Performed Country Song in 1978; “You and I,” a duet with Eddie Rabbitt, ranked seventh on CMT’s Top 100 Greatest Country Duets of All Time; and the mammoth “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” was recognized by ASCAP as one of the 10 most performed country songs of the 20th century.
AY About You: What was it like to grow up in such a famous musical family?
Crystal Gayle: Well, the form of entertainment for our household was music. It was just a way of life. In Kentucky, people would get on the porch and sing and play, and then the other hol ler could hear what you’re doing. Then we moved to Wabash, Indiana, when I was about 4, and we’d be in the living room with all the music and all the instruments. Music was just always there.
AY: At what age did you recognize that this was going to be something more than just fun, something you wanted to pursue professionally?
Gayle: My mother said I could sing before I could walk, really. I was very shy as a child, and she would make me sing for anybody that walked in that house because she was try ing to pull me out of the shell that I had. That probably came when my dad died. I was about 8, and I just went inside myself. I think she knew I loved singing, and she loved to show off my voice. I think I knew I was going to be a singer. I just didn’t know where or how.
“Prodigy” is a word thrown about loosely, but in the case of Ricky Skaggs, the term is apt. Gifted a mandolin at age 5 by his father, he shared the stage with bluegrass luminary Bill Monroe by age 6 and played on television with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs at age 7.
The holder of 12 No. 1 hits, eight awards each from CMA and ACM, 15 Grammys, and seats in four music halls of fame, Skaggs brought bluegrass to prominence starting in the 1980s, prompting guitarist and producer Chet Atkins to credit him with “single-handedly” saving country music. His forthcoming appearance in Arkansas coincides with his wife, Sharon White’s, induction into the Arkansas Country Music Hall of Fame as a member of singing group The Whites.
AY About You: Your father started you on mandolin early. How long did it take you to master other instruments?
Ricky Skaggs: I guess I went to guitar second. I would watch my dad play, and then I would sit in front of a mirror when he was gone. I would try to place my fingers where I saw him put his and strum and learn the chords. I think fiddle was probably next. The mandolin and fiddle are tuned the same, but there’s not double strings on the fiddle like with the mandolin. I was just curious, you know, of what I could do, what I could learn.
AY: Your sister famously told you at one point that you were trying to sing the wrong songs, including her stuff.
Gayle: She told me when I started in the business, “We already have a Loretta Lynn. You need to go in another direction.” She knew I loved singing everything. It’s what I grew up doing, so she said, “You go middle of the road, and don’t sing anything that I would record.” That’s why my songs were so different than my sister’s. I knew all her songs, and I knew that inside out and backward, and I love singing them, but I listened to her, which I’m glad I did. She knew the business, and it was good advice.
AY: Your biggest record, "Don't it Makes My Brown Eyes Blue," was produced by Arkansan Allen Reynolds, who is also being honored at the June 1 event. What was it like to work with him?
Gayle: I was very fortunate to be put with Allen. To me, it was one of the best parts of my career. He actually is the one that, in a lot of ways, helped me expand myself. He taught me how you can make a song more country, you can make it a little more pop — it just depends. A good song is a good song.
“Don’t it Make My Brown Eyes Blue” was a first take in the studio. I went in and tried to resing it, but it didn’t work. It was just like a performance, like we were in a small club somewhere performing together. That’s how it felt to me. Allen went back and added strings, but that’s the only thing we did. What we did first take was what wound up on the radio.
: Jazz and blues are almost always mentioned as the great American musical art forms, but bluegrass is every bit as fundamental. Does it get its due, in your
I’ve always said that when country music loses its way, bluegrass music starts rising to the top. There’s so many young kids who are really making a mark in bluegrass music and taking it to new levels and new heights. I’m proud of them, and I’m just real proud of where bluegrass is
: An art form does not survive if it does not move forward. The old masters did it, and then the baton was passed to you. Once that happened, how did you innovate without straying from your roots?
Skaggs: Well, you know, God doesn’t make copies; he makes originals. We all have a voiceprint, as well as a fingerprint. I think you just need to be yourself and not try to play like somebody else. I saw Tommy Emmanuel recently, and I’d never really seen him do a whole concert where I was sitting in the audience. It was the most entertaining thing and done with such incredible precision. I know he spent years developing that style to where now he’s one of a kind. I love the people that leave breadcrumbs for the rest of us not to follow them but to follow the music and be inspired. I’m thankful for all the people that came before me, and hopefully, I’m leaving something that someone else will pick up and not try to sound like me but be inspired to do what God gave them the ability to do.
AY: Do you find your audiences are a little more musically advanced, meaning more musicians in your audience, typically, who really appreciate what goes into what you do?
Skaggs: We definitely do have people who are musicians that come out to see this band, and that’s always good. I tell moms and dads if you’ve got kids that really want to play an instrument, and they really want to learn how to play, bring them out to our show, and watch my band play. I think that’s part of the whole thing, watching a band play and being there in front of it.
There’s nothing like live music. It’s been such a part of my life all of my life. I’ll be 72 in July, and I still love it as much now as I ever have.
By DWAIN HEBDA // Photos by RYAN NOLAN
Last month, Arkansas Roots Music Festival in Dyess celebrated Sister Rosetta Tharpe with a concert headlined by Nashville recording artist Erin Enderlin. Hosted by Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, the event might have been merely entertaining, but no one who was there would ever capture the moment in such frail praise. It was, in fact, a channeling of two of the state’s most interesting artists, one long gone from us, the other far, far beyond.
Tharpe, a musical tour de force who rattled the gospel through an electric guitar amp, showed the founding fathers of rock ‘n’ roll how it was done. Enderlin, heiress to the Tharpe throne as reigning Arkansas badass, cuts even deeper by telling stories raw and unflinching in their honesty. Laying one over the other — performed at the Johnny Cash Boyhood Home, no less — was palpable in its energy, a pulsing musical artery that extended from the billowing fields of the Delta to the foothills of the Ouachitas.
Forget what you have heard about bro-country and hillbilly hip-hop; the heart of the genre still exists in all of its gut-wrenching,
sawdust-covered, bloody mary morning best. Our heroes of the genre have always been cowboys, but they sure as hell ain’t right now. These days, the truth can be found floating above a cadre of unapologetically uppity women, artists sharing tales and insights the rest of us either have not figured out yet or wish we had learned sooner.
Enderlin is right in the thick of this new awakening. The central Arkansas native has become a celebrated figure from Music Row to Hollywood, particularly for her writing artistry. More than 50 of her songs have been recorded by artists, including Lee Ann Womack, Reba McEntire, Willie Nelson, Luke Bryan, and The War And Treaty on the strength of, as Rolling Stone put it, “the stuff of country classics — concise, tear-stained and all too relatable.”
Sir Elton John, another admirer, called her a “country artist I absolutely love,” and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum featured her in its American Currents exhibit as a breakthrough artist. Most recently, she kicked in “Blood in the River” and three more songs for The Gray House, an Amazon Prime series produced by Morgan Freeman and Kevin Costner.
AY About You sat down with Enderlin to talk about her craft, staying true to her roots and being one of the new breed of outlaw.
“
I want to love the music I’m creating and not necessarily just like the image of what you see as an artist. I want to love that completely because at the end of the day, that’s what I have to offer the world.
AY About You: You’ve been busy in the state lately, between the Arkansas Music Roots Festival and Arts & the Park in Hot Springs. Does it put a different spin on performing to be back home?
Erin Enderlin: I love playing back in Arkansas. First of all, it’s a beautiful state, so I’m usually somewhere very pretty when I’m playing. I love the people there, and the music from there. I think Arkansas’s a little bit of a best-kept secret in terms of the music scene. Arkansas’s been hugely influential on the music of the United States and beyond. I just find that I meet a lot of people that I really get along with and end up working with long term.
AY: How far back does your fascination with music go as far as being that thing that pays the bills?
Enderlin: Very early on. I’m really deeply obsessed with music, especially country and folk music. I started taking guitar lessons when I was 13 from a guy named Terry Holmes. He had played guitar with folks like Chet Atkins and Emmylou Harris for different things. He was the first person who was like, “You know, people do this for a living. Like, if you move to Nashville, you could do this.” That was when I first started having it click in my brain that, you know, maybe there was a pathway for that and the possibility for a career.
AY: Did you always express yourself through the context of your songs, or did you start off, for instance, being a writer and learned how to set that to music?
Enderlin: Emmylou Harris has this quote that I love that basically says the best way to study music is to turn it up really loud and listen. I just absorbed a lot from music I was listening to growing up from the people around me. I remember when I was 10 years old I got the idea to start writing songs, and I would bring them into my music class. Luckily the other students, they might have thought it was a little weird, but they were encouraging. They weren’t looking at me like I was a monster with two heads or something.
Sometimes I wonder if it had been later on when I started writing if I would’ve been more self-conscious about it because there’s something about that age, you know, around 8 to 10, 11 years old, where you still get to be really creative and really free to express yourself without that fear of the spotlight. I was lucky to get into it at an age where you’re still encouraged to express yourself and be creative and play around with things.
AY: I have a theory that the vast majority of
women in country music automatically fall under the header of outlaw country because most of them were singing about something they’re not supposed to sing about.
Enderlin: I love you so much.
AY: Do you consider yourself a rebel or an outlaw sort of thing? Your art certainly fits under that header.
Enderlin: You know, I do in a way. It’s so interesting; the most important thing you can bring to music, I think, is to be yourself. That’s the easiest and the hardest thing to do, especially as we get older. A lot of times, people end up being really big only after being laughed at first because people don’t get it or it’s outside of the box. I’m not sure; maybe it was some of the people that I had in my life and the influences I had, folks like Loretta [Lynn] or Reba [McEntire] or Suzy Bogguss, different people that were so wonderfully themselves in music that helped me navigate that and drill more into who I am.
AY: Since you mentioned her already, I do pick up influences of Emmylou Harris in your music. Was she an influence, or is that just coincidental?
Enderlin: Well, first of all, that’s a huge compliment to me. She was really influential. I was just thinking about another quote of hers, “You can’t sell your soul to the devil and expect to get it back,” talking about when you’re making music, when you’re deciding who you are as an artist, what songs you want to record, what songs you want to sing maybe every night for the rest of your life, that that’s something you really need to think about.
I was on a major label for a while, and I’ve had different managers and booking agents and things over the years, and sometimes I tried to be a little bit more malleable I guess is the word. I found that wasn’t the best work that I did. I want to love the music I’m creating and not necessarily just like the image of what you see as an artist. I want to love that completely because at the end of the day, that’s what I have to offer the world. Where that fits in, if that’s the head of the Billboard chart or if that’s a coffee-house performance, it is what it is. I want to truly love it because I feel like if I love it, someone else will identify with it.
AY: Who else would you point to as foundational to you, male or female?
Enderlin: Willie Nelson was one of my first big influences. Johnny Cash — if you’re from Arkansas, you have to listen to Johnny Cash. It’s mandatory. A lot of my grandpa’s record collection: The Statler Brothers, Conway Twitty, Kenny Rogers.
When I was 4 years old, I saw Reba McEntire singing on the Ralph Emery show, [Pop! Goes the Country], and I remember having the thought, “Girls do this too. This is what I want to do.” When I really started listening to records, I got into Reba, Emmylou, Dolly Parton, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Suzy Bogguss, Terri Clark, Trisha Yearwood — I could go on all day.
AY: It is a really fantastic period in some corners of country music, particularly when it comes to very strong, outspoken female artists having something to say and not being afraid to say it. Where do you think that’s coming from?
Enderlin: There’s so many incredible women out there making music right now, and I love it, but as far as mainstream radio goes, for a lot of the last 20 years, it’s been 10 percent or less of women on radio. That’s not just artists; that’s writers who are writing the songs too. I think in some ways, women are feeling a little more empowered now to say whatever they want because they aren’t trying to fit in that pigeonhole anymore. It’s opened up because people have these new
opportunities, whether it be on YouTube or social media, for them to be heard outside of commercial music, so women especially are not playing that game. They’re saying what they want to say and be who they are, and they’re finding their audience that way.
Sometimes through social media, when you’re talking to people directly, you start really connecting with more of your people. Once you find them, the more drilled in you are on who you are, and the clearer you are about what you stand for and what your world is.
AY: Let’s talk a little bit about The Gray House. Tell me how you got involved with it.
Enderlin: I’d been writing with Jim “Moose” Brown, who produced a couple of my records, Faulkner County and Whiskeytown Crier, and he called me and was like, “Hey, I’ve been writing some with this actor who’s getting into songwriting. We’d love to write some old cowboy stuff for Western movies. Would you want to join us?’ and I was like, yes, any excuse to do that, please sign me up.
We got together, and we hit it off and within, like, six months of us working together, Jeff Fahey, the actor that we’d been writing with, got a call from a friend of his who’s one of the executive producers on The Gray House asking him for some music folks that Jeff knew because [the producer] was looking for songs for a soundtrack. Jeff said, “Well, actually, I’ve been writing songs with my friend Moose and Erin. Would you be OK with us trying to write one for the show?” so we sent one, and it went over really well, and then that grew from one song to four songs that ended up being in the show, including the main theme song and three of the end title songs that are on the soundtrack.
AY: Did you get to meet either of the celebrity producers, Morgan Freeman or Kevin Costner?
Enderlin: Actually I sang for Morgan Freeman years ago, and I got to go out to LA to watch a screening of the entire series with a lot of the actors from the show. Morgan and Kevin were there, and [producer] Lori McCreary. It was so cool.
AY: That is one moment among many, I would imagine, for this small-town kid, from getting a shoutout from Elton John to sharing the stage with or having your work recorded by your heroes out of your grandfather’s record collection to turning on a streaming series and hearing your music playing back to you. What is that like? Enderlin: It’s really magical. Honestly, the longer I do this, the more I realize what a miracle it is to be able to do this for a living, and the miracle of every time all of those moments come together just right. Like, Willie Nelson singing “The Heart of America” in The Gray House; we started off, they wanted a song that encapsulated all the emotions and kind of summed up the TV series. We tried four or five different approaches to the song. Then trying to connect with Willie’s team and for him to get on board and be willing to do it and all of those steps remind you how magical the process is.
AY: What’s next for Erin Enderlin?
Enderlin: I still have so many dreams — places I want to play, records I want to make and just continuing to grow as an artist and a performer. I am a lot more confident now, and part of that, to be honest with you, is the older I get, the more I know that if I want to do this for my job, I don’t have the luxury of having too much pride, of getting embarrassed. You do it because if you don’t do it, you miss the moment, and there’s just so much that I still want to do. There’s a lot of gratitude in that, too, you know? I mean, I don’t know how many people who at 3, 4, 5 years old had these dreams and grow up and get to experience exactly what they were dreaming about.
By ALEX HARDGRAVE // Photos courtesy of BAD HABIT
Jack Bennett, lead singer of the Arkansas-based band BAD HABiT, always dreamed that he would be a full-time musician, especially when the jobs he worked after earning a communications degree were less than fulfilling.
“I thought, ‘This isn’t how I want to be spending my time,’” he said. “For a while, I thought [music] was just going to be a dream.”
Finally, he crunched some numbers and resolved to go full time with his music career, a decision that led him to gig constantly either solo, with BAD HABiT or one of his other groups.
“It’s worked out really well,” Bennett said. “I’m a lot happier.”
Two of the other bands he plays with are tribute bands. One, The Normal Noises, is a Tom Petty tribute, and the other, The Handsome Devils, is an Eagles tribute band. His most recent project pairs him with keyboardist Jackson Rogers under the name Pair of Jacks. The band plays more contemporary rock and pop compared to the hard rocking songs BAD HABiT is known for, along with occasional acoustic shows called BAD HABiT Unplugged.
Bennett and his brother, Sam, the drummer in BAD HABiT and
the tribute bands, were first brought into the world of music thanks to their father, who is a musician, as well.
“We fell in love with what he played in the car,” Bennett said.
Growing up, Bennett and his brother also watched a DVD of a Rick Springfield concert “religiously,” he said. He remembers thinking to himself that he wanted to be up on stage like that one day. This led him to take guitar lessons as a youth and to form his first band for a showcase at his music school.
BAD HABiT came together 11 years ago, when Jack and Sam played a Pulaski Academy class reunion. Their mother, a teacher at the Little Rock school, was asked if her sons would perform for the event. Even though the boys did not have a formal group, she agreed to it, so the brothers quickly put together a band and named themselves BAD HABiT.
Today, BAD HABiT’s lineup includes Jack Bennett on lead guitar and lead vocals, Sam Bennett on drums, Kaleb Hatley on bass guitar, and Brodie Horton on rhythm guitar. Over the past 11 years, the band has cemented itself as a mainstay for local venues, corporate gigs and weddings.
BAD HABiT plays all around the South with a particularly rabid fan base in Hot Springs and Little Rock. Jack Bennett said those fans, as well as the experiences he has had performing, are what has kept him in the music game this long.
“The people I’ve come to meet and the friends we’ve made through
the shows have been great,” he said.
BAD HABiT is also somewhat of a family business for the Bennetts.
“None of it would be possible without what our parents do behind the scenes,” he said.
When Bennett plays solo, he tries to not perform the same music as BAD HABiT so fans can enjoy a different experience. The BAD HABiT sets are also switched up often so that concertgoers are always getting something slightly new and different from the time before.
“I don’t want to be a one-trick pony,” he said.
An honoree in the Local Artist category for AY About You’s “AY’s Best of 2026,” Bennett said he also enjoys the challenge of crowd requests when he is playing — he just wants the audience to have fun and hear what they want to hear. He has been performing long enough that he
does not get nervous before shows, he said, adding that the band members are supportive of each other and look out for each other. The quartet also always prays before a show.
Bennett said he is appreciative of the support of his bandmates and said his solo career would not be as strong if it were not for the fan base BAD HABiT built. People can keep up with where he is performing and which group he is performing with through BAD HABiT’s social media.
“I’m appreciative of everything the band has given me,” he said.
By SARAH DECLERK
One of the sweetest fundraisers of the year, Cupcakes for Goodness Sake will return to Argenta Plaza in North Little Rock from 3 to 6 p.m. May 2. Supporting CareLink, an organization that works to be the premier resource for senior services in central Arkansas, the event offers vendors, music, children’s activities and thousands of miniature cupcakes.
“We’re very excited for people to come out and try those sweets, to interact with the bakers and the businesses and the craft vendors that we have involved,” said Michelle Gilbert, vice president of development at CareLink. “Also, it’s a great opportunity for everybody to get a little closer to CareLink’s sweet mission.”
Many are familiar with Meals on Wheels, a program offered by CareLink and others that delivers meals to seniors in their homes. However,
Gilbert said the organization provides much more to both older adults and their caregivers.
“Our overall mission is to keep people independent and in their own homes as long as possible because that’s where they want to be, and scientifically, there are better health outcomes for people being able to age in their own spaces,” she said. “To that end, we offer that Meals on Wheels service. We also offer in-home care, transportation services. We help people through Medicare benefits.”
In addition, the organization’s Bone Appétit program helps provide seniors with pet food and other necessities to ensure a population often faced with choosing whether to spend money on groceries or prescription drugs does not have to also juggle expenses related to their pets, Gilbert said.
“Especially the Meals on Wheels recipients, some of these people, the person delivering that meal is the only person that they see all week, especially if they don’t have friends or family that are living nearby,” Gilbert said, “so for a lot of those individuals, their pets are a very big source of socialization and interaction and are very important to them.”
Low-income individuals are not the only ones with a need for CareLink’s services, however; Gilbert said the challenges associated with aging in place extend across all income brackets.
“These are our grandparents, our former teachers, our neighbors that are in need of these services,” she said. “When you look at Meals on Wheels, for example, someone might have all the financial resources in the world, but if they’re not able to drive to the grocery store, if they don’t have the ability to stand long enough to cook a meal for themselves, they’re just as much in need of this service as someone who doesn’t have those financial resources.”
CareLink also supports active seniors by offering classes, workshops and congregant meals at its senior centers. Classes range from fitness focused, such as Zumba, line dancing and chair volleyball, to hobbies such as quilting and genealogy.
The organization provides for caregivers, as well, helping them navigate what Gilbert called “the maze of available services.” Through the information assistance service, anyone can call CareLink with any question about older adults, Gilbert said, and the organization will provide answers and connect callers with resources through CareLink or other agencies.
“Caregiving can be a very alienating, isolating experience,” Gilbert said, “so it means a lot for them to just have somebody who is an expert on these services to walk them through all that sort of thing and help point them in the right direction.”
Other resources CareLink provides caregivers involve connecting them with counseling and support groups.
With 10,000 people turning 65 every day in the United States, CareLink’s services are only becoming more vital, Gilbert added.
“By 2030, 25 percent of the Arkansas population will be above 65, and then those folks will be 75 and 85, so we have a tidal wave coming,” she said. “The population is aging, and we need to have these support services in place to meet that growing need.”
CareLink receives funding from the state and federal governments, Gilbert said, but the organization must also rely on community support through fundraisers such as Cupcakes for Goodness Sake to meet the growing demand for its services.
Now in its 11th year, Gilbert said Cupcakes for Goodness Sake began as a way to make people of all ages aware of the need for senior services before they find themselves in an urgent situation and unsure about who to call.
Our overall mission is to keep people independent and in their own homes as long as possible because that’s where they want to be, and scientifically, there are better health outcomes for people being able to age in their own spaces.
— Michelle Gilbert, vice president of development at CareLink
“We wanted to start an annual fundraiser, and we wanted not just to raise money but to raise awareness for CareLink’s services and also highlight the need for what we do in the first place,” Gilbert said. “I think when you are looking at senior services, it’s a mission and a cause and a need that not everybody thinks about until it’s upon them.”
David Porter, board member at CareLink and principal at Polk Stanley Wilcox, said after learning about CareLink’s mission while helping build one of its senior centers, he was able to connect his
We have dozens and dozens of stories that CareLink has been able to come alongside those folks and do those little things that sometimes didn’t cost a lot of money but made a huge difference to them to be able to stay in their home and have some quality of life. I think those kinds of undesignated funds that we’re able to raise through development allow us to do those things.
— David Porter, board member at CareLink and principal at Polk Stanley Wilcox
aging parents to a similar agency in their area that helped provide necessary services.
“Certainly food — not because my parents couldn’t afford it,” he said. “It’s just that when your mobility is limited, you have to rely on someone to bring that food to you. Being able to have meals delivered to my parents for a period of time when it was difficult for anyone in our family to be available to do that, was a great way for us to know that they had nutritious meals. It also took a great burden off of us of having to be there every day to do that.”
He added that he truly believes the services help extend people’s lives. While state and federal funding help cover CareLink’s basic functions, he said Cupcakes for Goodness Sake and other fundraising efforts provide the organization with
discretionary funding that can be used to help with services such as repairing an older adult’s air conditioning or replacing a broken microwave.
“We have dozens and dozens of stories that CareLink has been able to come alongside those folks and do those little things that sometimes didn’t cost a lot of money but made a huge difference to them to be able to stay in their home and have some quality of life,” he said. “I think those kinds of undesignated funds that we’re able to raise through development allow us to do those things.”
The event attracts about 1,000 people each year and last year raised $100,000 to help fund CareLink’s mission, Gilbert said.
Attendees vote on their favorite cupcakes, the top winners being awarded the people’s choice awards for best amateur and professional baker. Heather Baker, president and publisher at AY Media Group, also presents an award for her favorite cupcake. AY Media Group is a sponsor of the event.
Gilbert said the bakers enjoy decorating their booths and cupcakes to fit each year’s theme, which this year is “circus.”
“People go all out on the decorations,” Gilbert said. “It’s not just any cupcake that you’re coming out to taste; it’s people that have really thought about it. They’re really excited about the event and want to interact with the community in that way the day of.”
Anne-Marie Williams, owner of The Sugar Plum in Mabelvale, said she plans to make strawberry funnel cake and churro funnel cake cupcakes to fit the circus theme.
“We’re going to dress up as clowns, and then I bought a whole bunch of different cupcake trays,” she said. “I got a Ferris wheel cupcake tray, and yeah, we’re going to circus it up.”
This is her third year to participate in Cupcakes for Goodness Sake, which she said helped her ease back into baking after having a child. The organization is also dear to her heart because of her grandmother, who lived at home throughout her golden years.
“That gave her a lot of independence,” Williams said. “I know if we’d put her in a nursing home, that would have been devastating to her, so these [organizations] that let these elder people stay in their own homes, give them the services they need. It makes a whole world of difference for them.”
Kelli Marks, instructor at the University of Arkansas-Pulaski
Technical College Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Institute in Little Rock, who has a cottage bakery called Sweet Love, has participated in Cupcakes for Goodness Sake since its inception and said she has only missed one or two years.
One year, she even won the people’s choice award in the professional category while representing a restaurant she then owned.
“It’s nice to support events that the money is going to go to something fun, but this money goes to feed people, people who have probably spent their lives taking care of others,” she said. “Now they’re in their last years, and you don’t want to forget those people.”
The year she won, the event had a “fair” theme, so she spun cotton candy on-site to decorate one flavor of cupcake. The other was injected with buttercream, dipped in funnel cake batter, deep-fried and topped with powdered sugar.
She advised new bakers participating in the event to stick to only one kind of cupcake and choose an uncomplicated recipe, adding that she has decorated hers on-site in the past so that they are easier to transport.
“It’s just such a great event,” she said. “You’re going to leave with a sugar buzz from the cupcakes, but you’re going to leave with a warm feeling, knowing that you’ve helped [CareLink] do something amazing for the seniors in our community.”
Gilbert said she hopes to attract more bakers, vendors and attendees in the future, but regulars such as Marks have been integral to the event’s success.
“People like that are what make this event possible,” she said. “The funding that it raises, they are part of making that happen. We have some of those arts and crafts vendors and local makers that have come back year after year, and then we have attendees that look out for us. This is kind of a standing tradition for them to come each time, so we’re excited for that longevity and to continue building on it.”
To purchase tickets for the event, visit carelink.org/cupcakes. For questions about services available to older adults, call 501372-5300.
By DWAIN HEBDA
Stop us if you’ve heard this one, but Chocolate Fantasy Ball is once again ranked high in “AY’s Best Of” voting. The annual gala benefiting Ronald McDonald House Arkansas & North Louisiana is a much-loved and much-decorated fixture on the social calendar, raising money to assist families whose children are undergoing medical treatment.
“Everyone has certainly heard of Ronald McDonald House,” said Janell Mason, CEO. “It tends to be a household name, but until you’ve taken a tour or heard a family’s story, you can’t really begin to grasp all that happens here.”
Since 1981, the organization has provided suite-like accommodations, meals and encouragement to families from across Arkansas and out of state, serving more than 2,500 families with more than 19,000 nights of rest and nearly 151,500 meals last year alone. Families are never charged for the services, even when children require treatments that stretch into weeks or months. Ronald McDonald House Arkansas &
North Louisiana maintains a presence with houses in Little Rock, Fort Smith, Fayetteville and ShreveportBossier, Louisiana, as well as smaller family-room accommodations at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock and Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas in Rogers.
In addition, a new house is under construction inside Baptist Health in Little Rock, and a new family room is being built inside St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe, Louisiana. Both new locations are slated to open this year.
Funding for the far-flung operation comes from a variety of private and corporate donations, as well as a roster of events, including Chocolate Fantasy Ball. Funds raised by the Little Rock event, which reached a record of nearly $900,000 in 2026, stay local in Arkansas.
“I say Ronald McDonald House is like the church nursery; you don’t know you need it until you need it,” said Sharri Jones who, with her husband, Bill, was honored this year for their longstanding support through the family’s company, Sissy’s Log Cabin.
“When you’re suffering with a sick child, the last thing you need to be worried about is where you’re going to sleep, what you’re going to have for dinner or where you can get a little rest. This provides a shelter, a very nice place to be where there are other people around who understand what you’re experiencing. It’s a support system.”
Mason said in addition to physical upgrades, funds
raised are also making possible new programming to further assist families dealing with children facing serious medical issues.
“We are finalizing program details to support families through creation of a new psychosocial support program,” she said. “Our guest families arrive with needs that existed even before their child became ill or injured. We are hiring a licensed social worker and a support team that will allow us to assess families when they arrive, support them during their stay and ensure that they are connected to much-needed resources when they return home.
“Research shows programs like these significantly improve the overall hospital experience and lead to better outcomes for children by enhancing family coping skills, reducing perceived pain and promoting more effective recovery. Eventually, we will offer this in all of our Ronald McDonald House programs.”
Alejandra and son Azariel Monge (Photo by Caroline Holt Photography)
As an event, Chocolate Fantasy’s popularity is not hard to figure out; in addition to supporting a great cause, the evening is a really good time offering a dessert-first menu, chocolate goodies galore and an upscale inventory of auction items. That has solidified the event as one of the premiere philanthropic happenings in Arkansas. Its AY About You accolades alone include being honored as Gala of the Year in 2018 and “AY’s Best Of” recognitions in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025 and 2026. The event was also named to Arkansas Money & Politics’ ”Best of 2023” for charity event.
All of that is nice, of course, but pales in comparison to the impact the organization can make in the lives of families thanks to the funds that are raised. Alejandra “Allie” Monge of Springdale spent more than 250 days in Little Rock while her infant son, Azariel, received treatment, something that would have been next to impossible to afford paid lodging and meals for.
“I had two jobs trying to save up for Azariel and trying to figure out where I was going to be staying here in Little Rock,” Monge told AY About You in 2024. “After he was born, one of my friends was like, ‘Go ahead and look
into the Ronald McDonald House.’ I’m like, ‘What’s a Ronald McDonald House?’ They’re like, ‘It helps families that are in need that have kids in the hospital.’
“If I had not been able to stay at the Ronald McDonald House, I honestly really do not know what I would have done because that would have been an extra stress for me. Just being here at the Ronald McDonald House is home to us.”
Monge’s story has been echoed over and over again by other families of other children facing a common set of fears of an unknown future. Shala and Brett Foster of Bakersfield, Missouri, had no idea how they would manage work and the care of their twin newborn daughters, Millie and Mazie, while they received treatment 200 miles away in Little Rock.
“Being able to stay at the Ronald McDonald House meant everything to our family during an incredibly overwhelming time,” Shala told Arkansas Money & Politics in February. “It relieved a tremendous financial burden and allowed my husband and me to stay close to the hospital. More than that, it gave us a peaceful place to rest and regroup so we could focus entirely on Millie and Mazie. The warm meals, comfortable space, and constant kindness from staff and volunteers reminded us we weren’t alone, and that support made it possible for us to be present for our girls when they needed us most.”
“To the donors that have supported the Ronald McDonald House throughout the years, your support has meant far more to our family than words can fully express. Because of your generosity, we’ve felt hope, stability and the reassurance that we are not facing challenges alone. The impact you’ve made goes beyond the dollars raised — it has truly changed lives, including ours, and we are deeply grateful for your commitment and compassion.”
In a message prepared for the 2026 Chocolate Fantasy Ball, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders summed up the organization’s impact, made possible by the fundraising gala and generosity of attendees and donors.
“When a child is in the hospital, what families need most is support and the ability to be close, and that’s exactly what Ronald McDonald House provides,” Sanders said.“It’s more than a place to stay; it’s a lifeline for families walking through some of the hardest days of their lives.”
courtesy
Having just celebrated its seventh year in January, the Arkansas Duck Derby has been calling in the fans since its inception. Not only has the event raised more than $3.7 million for the Conway Regional Health Foundation over the years, but AY About You readers have consistently found the event to be something to quack about, this year voting it into the top three fundraisers in “AY’s Best of 2026.”
“What we love about the Duck Derby is it really brings in a group of people who might not otherwise think to support a community hospital foundation, but that support that they are providing is truly allowing us to do great work and impact the community,” said Maegan Dyson, chief development officer at the foundation. “We just love that Duck Derby brings together people who might not otherwise be within our circle and allows us to do good work and provide exceptional care for our patients.”
The Duck Derby was the brainchild of Dr. Thad Hardin, board member at Conway Regional Health Foundation, who modeled the tournament off a similar fundraiser for NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital in Jonesboro.
By SARAH DECLERK
CONWAY REGIONAL HEALTH FOUNDATION
A fundraiser for Conway Regional Health Foundation, the Arkansas Duck Derby has been growing in popularity since its inception in 2019.
“When I moved to Conway back in 2010, I thought that our community is pretty similar to Jonesboro as far as it’s very community centric, younger, a lot of outdoorsmen, a lot of people that care about the community,” he said. “In 2017, I joined the hospital board, and while I was on that board is when I brought the idea to the hospital and the foundation to have our own duck hunting tournament.”
The inaugural Duck Derby in 2019 was an instant success, raising upward of $310,000 for the foundation, Dyson said. This year’s event raised more than $681,000 and attracted 37 teams to the hunt plus more than 1,000 attendees to the accompanying banquet.
“You don’t really think duck hunting and a community banquet go
hand in hand, but they do,” said Elise Southerland, events manager at the foundation. “I feel like that’s something you really don’t see outside of Arkansas, so I would say that is what makes it really interesting, and then also just the fact that it is a fun time, and you can win a great trip or a necklace or a gun, but at the end of the day, the money that the event makes really does make a lasting impact and goes toward our community members.”
Originally started to fund a mobile health unit for a men’s health initiative at Conway Regional, the Duck Derby has since expanded its impact to support various needs at the hospital system and community.
Hardin said money from the fundraiser has helped purchase an MRI machine at the hospital and helps fund need-based scholarships for two fitness programs — Rock Steady Boxing, which is specifically designed for those with Parkinson’s disease, and Script to Fit, which helps rehabilitate patients recovering from stroke or managing conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.
“Those are two of the programs that I’m proudest of,” he said. “Those are really, really meeting a community need that people wouldn’t be able to get otherwise.”
The committee works to recruit landowners throughout the year, and registration opens for hunters in fall. The fun kicks off in December at a special dinner, during which four-person teams are paired randomly with landowners.
“It’s really fun,” Southerland said. “We get everybody together, and we do a big spin on the wheel. It’s completely random how they’re paired together.”
Most properties are within a two-hour radius of Conway, Dyson said, adding that the landowners provide assistance to the teams during the hunt in January.
“The hosts are there with them, so they’re not just providing their land, but they are also truly hosting the hunt the morning of,” Dyson said. “A lot of times, some of these guys aren’t as experienced in duck hunting, so the host is out there, calling in the birds, sending the dog out to get them when they do shoot them, helping guide them on when and how to shoot.”
That makes the Arkansas Duck Derby a good opportunity for novices to try their hands at the sport, Hardin said.
“It’s a great place for someone that’s never done it before to try it because there’s no pressure,” he added. “You don’t have to do anything other than show up, point the gun and pull the trigger. You might be hunting in flooded timber. You might be hunting in a rice field. You might be hunting in a slough. There’s all kinds of scenarios because we have a pretty wide variety of landowners across the state.”
Hardin, who previously filled in for teams that were missing a hunter, said this was his first year to hunt as a team with his two teenage sons.
“In the past, my brothers, my father-in-law and my nephew have all hunted together as a team and my sons just come to the banquet, but this year, my oldest son said, ‘Hey, can we have a team?’ and I was like, ‘Well, yeah, of course we can,’” he said. “That was a lot of fun to get to spend the day with them and hunt with no pressure.”
The hunt is followed by a banquet at the Thomas C. Courtway Student Recreation Center at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.
“It’s a very low-key vibe, casual event,” Dyson said. “Lots of camo is
Derby attendee Brandon Meeks this year took home the prize from a newly added 50/50 raffle.
worn. The women really showed out this year with lots of really great duck-branded attire. There were some great sweaters.”
In addition to live music and great food and drinks, the event offers raffles and live and silent auctions featuring items for both men and women.
“I think we do a really good job with our prizes. We have really, really nice prizes, really, really nice things for the raffles and our live auction and silent auction,” Hardin said. “While it is the Duck Derby and it is a hunting event, we have stuff for every single person there, whether you’re a hunter, a male or a female, young, old. We’ve got trips to France, trips to Iceland, hunting trips, guns, purses, jewelry. There’s something for everybody.”
The banquet also includes a food drive to benefit the food pantry at Conway Regional and this year added a 50/50 raffle that reached a pot of more than $33,000.
“We had no idea how it was going to do,” Southerland said. “In previous years, we’d done a side-by-side as our big-ticket item, and we just never made a lot of money off it, so we were trying to brainstorm some new ideas that we could do to bring in some money and get people involved that maybe weren’t just interested in hunting. It ended up doing really well.”
The most anticipated moment of the event, however, is when dice are rolled to determine the point values of duck species and sexes, ensuring every team has a fair shot at winning regardless of the kinds of ducks at each location.
“If you’ve killed ducks, then you’ve got a chance to win,” Hardin said.
Southerland said her ultimate goal is for the Duck Derby to raise $1 million each year. The key is going to be attracting more landowners, since the number of teams is limited to the number of landowners who participate.
“The demand for teams is there,” Southerland said. “I think we sold out of teams in four minutes this year, so we really just need landowners so that we can fill those extra spots for teams. That’s probably the biggest thing.”
Hardin said he would also like to attract more corporate sponsors. From volunteering or donating items to participating in the hunt or simply attending the banquet, there is a way for everyone to get involved, he added.
“We have a place for you at the Duck Derby,” he said. “You don’t have to be a duck hunter. You don’t have to be a landowner. While we need those, we need people to help in all kinds of places, so if you’re looking for a way to plug into your community and meet new people and make a difference, the Duck Derby is a fantastic option to do that.”
The Arkansas Duck Derby is scheduled for Jan. 8, 2027. To learn more, visit conwayregional.org/foundationhome/events/duckderby, or email foundation@conwayregional.org.
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Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge scores big in ‘AY’s Best of 2026’
eureka Springs has long been the state’s haven for the odd, quirky and unusual, a place where people who might not feel totally accepted elsewhere find their tribe. It makes perfect sense, then, that one of the most unique attractions anywhere in the Natural State would land there, offering a home for animals that, like many of the local human residents, have come there via eccentric circumstances.
Welcome to Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, a home for exotic animals rescued or surrendered that are given a place to live out their days in tranquility and care. Originally founded just to adopt and care for big cats, the nonprofit refuge has since expanded to accept a much wider range of animals, many of them languishing in tragic conditions.
“We changed our mission statement, which was previously to rescue and provide sanctuary to abused and neglected big cats with an emphasis on lions, tigers, leopards and cougars,” said Cheryl King, marketing director, for a 2025 piece in AY About You. “We have now changed that to be a sanctuary and provide refuge for exotic captive wildlife. We did that because we did see the need to make a pivot and be prepared to help with other species.”
Turpentine Creek began nearly 50 years ago when Don Jackson, a former Dallas Zoo employee, and his wife, Hilda, and their daughter, Tanya, acquired a lion cub named Bum, which had landed with a family friend as payment on a debt. Knowing he could not care for the cub, the acquaintance reached out to the Jackson family, which built a large enclosure in their backyard and adopted the cub, shortly thereafter adding a second lion named Sheila.
For the next decade, Bum and Sheila were literally lions living in the backyard. The Jacksons began talking to an acquaintance about acquiring a larger property outside Eureka Springs. Things accelerated in 1991 after the Jacksons received an unsolicited visit from Catherine Twiss, an infamous breeder and black-market dealer running from the law, who had crammed 42 lions, tigers and cougars into three cattle cars on a farm not far from where the Jacksons lived.
Moved by the animals’ squalid conditions, the Jacksons worked fast to save them, relocating to a 460-acre ranch upon which they built Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge. Since then, the population of rescued residents has grown substantially, along with the staff and infrastructure to contain them safely and humanely for the rest of their days.
“Our habitats are all species specific, designed for the animals that go in them,” King told AY. “Bears, for instance, are a lot harder to keep than any of the cats. One, they’re harder to feed because they require such a diverse diet. They need produce. They need fruit. They need nuts. They need berries. They need meat.
“Second, a bear needs a large area to roam around in, and you can’t fully enclose it. It wouldn’t be economically feasible. Plus, bears climb, so we’ve had to electrify our big bear enclosures, which encompass several acres, to keep the bears from getting out or exploring. We have two of the largest natural bear enclosures in America, where they den, they forage, they climb trees, they live the life of bears.”
The lovability of the Turpentine Creek beasts belies their heartbreaking backstories. In best-case situations, the animals came from well-intentioned owners who underestimated the needs of an exotic pet or that aged out of a zoo. Sadly, most residents there do not fit the “best case” scenario and have endured sickening, cruel and illegal treatment at the hands of their captors.
“There are three types of people: the hopeless romantics that just believe their love is going to overcome the [animal’s] natural instincts and the ego-driven and the criminal,” King said. “I can understand the first one. These animals are amazing. I look at a tiger cub, and I’m like, ‘Oh, please let me play with it,’ but … there’s not enough love in the world that will replace an animal’s normal environment and obeying what Mother Nature tells it.
“The second kind of people who keep exotic pets, the ego-driven, are the ones that think, ‘I’m more powerful because I control this beast.’ Well, no, you don’t. The third are the criminals, the profiteers.”
The sanctuary has built a nationwide and even international reputation for animal advocacy, work that has resulted in stricter federal regulations concerning private ownership of such beasts, which keeps the park’s population growing.
That can wreak havoc on the park’s operations because of the unpredictability of new arrivals, as well as the numbers involved, which pushed the park to expand. A capital campaign has paid for 44 additional enclosures, but refuge officials do not kid themselves about the need for more for the animals, to better serve the many visitors to the refuge each year, and to better educate the public about matters of conservation and humane treatment of big cats and other exotics.
“We hope the day will come — and hopefully the legislation — to close gaps of animals that are not protected,” King said. “Current law doesn’t protect bobcats, doesn’t protect cheetahs. We don’t see it as much in our country, but there’s a tremendous trade in cheetahs in Saudi Arabia and Dubai, where they are considered a status symbol. I was also reading somewhere recently where private ownership of lions in Pakistan is now a big issue, so there are issues worldwide.
“We’re hoping that we’ll make progress here in America with new laws. In the meantime, we’ll continue to offer a forever home and our commitment to take care of these animals for the rest of their lives.”
Estrangement is an issue, but not a death sentence — for one’s self or the relationship
In her book Overinvested: The Emotional Economy of Modern Parenting, published earlier this year, sociologist Nina Bandelj outlined some of the key assumptions shaping relationships between parents and children in the 21st century. As she explains, many aspects of childrearing — how it is “supposed” to feel, how others view it and its outcomes — are the result of decades of influence from such corners as media, pop psychology and economics. Having waded through a mountain of parenting books published since the early 1900s, Bandelj raises a pivotal question: “How did raising children become a preoccupation with feelings?”
“Emotion has become the defining feature of what it means to be a parent, aided and abetted by the ascent of popular psychology and the parenting advice industry. … Over the years, parenting advice culture has entrenched parenthood as a dominant aspect of adult identity that is emotionally fraught and needs to be performed as hard work.” Bandelj writes.
One need not take a sociologist’s perspective, however, to see the family itself in a unique moment, one reflective of cultural turbulence that has only accelerated, it seems, in a post-COVID-19-pandemic, ever-more-online world. From internet communities and support groups to influential voices such as Oprah Winfrey dedicating space to the discussion, the idea of an estrangement “crisis” has proliferated.
By MAK MILLARD
“I’ve noticed even in my own practice over the last six years — really, since COVID — that there is more divide and even estrangement between family members in particular that comes up,” said Dan Hunt, a marriage and family therapist based in Little Rock. “When COVID happened, I saw this divide happening politically because people were masking or not masking at family gatherings, for example, and that became a political problem for people.”
Politics is just one example of the many disagreements that might arise between family members. It is the response to those disagreements that has left many families adrift in the face of estrangement — actively or passively chosen distance — between relatives. Hunt said he tends to think of the issue in terms of “emotional cutoff.”
“Sometimes it’s avoidant, emotional cutoff, where people are too overwhelmed or anxious, and they don’t know how to necessarily deal with the big feelings that come up as a result of the differences I feel between you and me,” he said. “What happens is I just naturally gravitate away from that because that’s too much for me.”
Karlene Johnston, who posts on social media and offers coaching under the name Making Sense of it with Katt, understands complex family
dynamics as the result of both generational differences and the spread of therapeutic language into common vernacular. Younger generations “can name it, but they can’t manage it” when it comes to relational friction, she said.
Importantly, though, Johnston highlighted issues stemming from older generations, as well. For Gen-Xers, known in many ways as a “forgotten generation,” parenthood was an opportunity to “do things differently,” Johnston said.
“I’m not saying everybody, but a lot of this generation, Gen X, they really tried to meet the needs of their kids and may have done it so much that there’s this sense of entitlement, where there is no discomfort for them,” she said. “Maybe in doing that, part of their [children’s] brain just really didn’t get as developed as it should have because trauma and difficulties and things like that — that builds resilience. That’s how people get stronger.”
Bandelj, the sociologist, similarly notes “a growing preoccupation with fear and an exhortation to insulate children from it” in her book. The other result, meanwhile, is that today’s “invested parenting” becomes not simply about raising children but about parents “meeting the expectation that their whole being will be wrapped up in parenting as their job.”
“I’m speaking for myself, as well,” Johnston said. “We were so enmeshed in our kids, and it was probably not a great, healthy thing to do because then when something like this happens, you have no identity because your identity is being a parent.”
Johnston, who has a master’s degree in clinical social work and more than 25 years of experience across areas such as child welfare, inpatient mental health and behavioral health, observed firsthand a shifting focus in therapeutic settings. In recent years, she said, it has seemed as though therapy “was more about changing the environment to suit the individual instead of building capacity for the individual to live in their environment.”
With growing concern at the phenomenon, she posted a video on social media voicing her opinion that therapy was harming relationships. The video quickly gained traction in the form of close to 1 million views and, unexpectedly for Johnston, scores of comments from estranged parents.
“I had no idea that the estrangement thing was even a thing,” she said. “As I was getting estrangement comments from people, I was also getting comments from kids saying it’s 100-percent always the parent’s fault. I just thought, well, that’s mathematically impossible. Why are we doing that?”
Little did Johnston know she had hit upon a growing vein of frustration and pain from parents feeling hard-done-by in their relation-
not new, Williams said, but with some research putting estrangement among American families at a rate of 1 in 4, “you have never seen it on this level.”
“While estrangement is often framed through the lens of adult children’s healing, we are not talking enough about the growing number of parents experiencing emotional, psychological and even physical abuse from their children,” Williams said. “This is a reality many are suffering through in silence due to stigma, shame, and a lack of resources or language to name it. Bringing visibility to both sides of estrangement is essential if we truly want to support healthier family dynamics and honest healing.”
For Williams, the topic is a deeply personal one. After years of dealing with harmful behavior and an increasingly intolerable situation, she
ship to their children. Elsewhere in the family estrangement space, there is a mounting effort to center those perspectives and help parents navigate emotional distance.
“When it comes to estrangement, in most cases — I’m not saying all — the estranged child is the center of the conversation,” said Kendall L. Williams, whose podcast and online platform Mum’s True Tea has become a resource and community for estranged mothers. “You’ve heard their narrative for so many years, and now parents are starting to feel free to speak up.”
Estrangement and going “no-contact” are
made the decision to distance herself from one of her two adult sons. Choosing to step away was “not an easy thing whatsoever,” she said.
“People feel like, as a mom, you are supposed to constantly deal with the chaos or disrespect or harmful behaviors from your children, and children do harm parents in various ways — mentally, emotionally, sometimes financially and physically as well,” Williams said. “It wasn’t an easy decision, but it was a necessary decision for me, especially as someone who was dealing with cancer at the time. It just became too overwhelming dealing with his behavior and also trying to heal.”
In addition to going against the popular narrative of children always initiating a cutoff, Williams’ experience points to a crucial caveat in any discussion of family estrangement. There is obviously a difference between discomfort in a relationship and real, active harm. As Hunt made clear, distance can be appropriate in cases where there is a need to create safety.
“Boundaries, think of those as a wall in a relationship,” Hunt said. “Sometimes this distancing is appropriate because of harm, but anytime that there’s distancing in a relationship that we care about or love, there’s grief attached to that, whether that’s intentional distancing or those situations that come from abuse or boundary violations or invalidation.”
Williams said she thought it was important to not only share her own story from the perspective of a parent choosing no-contact for herself but to simultaneously find ways to empower parents on “the other side of estrangement” who did not choose the distance between themselves and their children. Many parents are embarrassed to speak about estrangement, she said, or are afraid of being judged, and that silent suffering can take a serious toll.
“I get thousands of emails or direct messages or comments on my platform around [parents] even considering taking their life — not saying that estrangement is the sole reason, but it definitely plays a part in it as it relates to the loneliness, the condemnation, the silent suffering, the judgment, not having proximity to your children anymore, not having proximity to your grandchildren either,” Williams said. “I wanted to build a platform for them to be able to be supported and be heard and be able to share their experiences.”
In line with Bandelj’s description of the “emotionalization” of American culture — and perhaps flowing naturally from the observations of figures such as Johnston and Williams — some critics have taken a skeptical eye toward what they see as “therapy culture.” Bandelj explains it as “‘a certain psychological outlook on the world’ whereby people seek support and offer support to others in coping with life’s challenges and resolving practical questions even outside of therapists’ offices or clinics.” It is not a knock on the work of traditional therapy per se but on a strain of practice, terminology and online influencing that has suffused the way people think, speak and interact.
“The other thing I noticed is that all of these kids are saying the same thing,” Johnston said. “They have the same verbiage, and they’re using it in ways that are not clinical.”
As new generations come up in the milieu of Bandelj’s emotionalized culture, not to mention experiencing the impacts of social media firsthand as “internet natives,” they risk perpetuating misguided, faux-therapeutic practices and language.
“[Children] throw these words that they hear in these pop culture therapy environments or on social media, TikTok, Instagram, all over — ‘emotionally immature parents’ — all of these buzzwords that are regurgitated over and over and over again, and then it becomes propaganda at that point,” Williams said.
Compounding the echo chamber of social media is the outsized influence particular voices can have with enough viral content. That makes it all the more necessary to distinguish the professional work of actual therapists from that of online figures using similar language in fundamentally detrimental ways.
“It could be only a couple, but they have such a big platform,” Johnston said. “I think if you took all of the people who were helping protect families and added up all of their followers, they wouldn’t even equal the followers for one person on the other side — not that we have sides, but their reach and their demand on it is just so much bigger.”
Much of Williams’ work revolves around helping mothers reclaim an identity apart from their children. Indeed, the cultural pressure to make parenthood one’s defining trait is something Bandelj highlights as a hallmark of modern parenting. Williams proves it is possible to move forward, even if “moving forward” does not include the restoration of a given relationship.
“I think the issue is that some of these moms have made this their identity, and this is an experience,” Williams said. “Being estranged, being a no-contact parent, even dealing with abuse, that is not who you are. That is not your identity. That is an experience that you’re experiencing.”
At the center of the work for many is returning to the passions, talents and projects they may have set aside when they became a parent. Williams said she encourages mothers to find something fulfilling, something that makes them feel good and is not centered around their children.
“My objective is for moms to heal themselves, whether it be from their own trauma,
from continuing to ruminate five, 10, 15, 20 years, and move forward to live their lives and reclaim their identity, whether there is reconciliation or not,” she said. “I think people get really irate, upset about that, or something triggers them about that, but your child has moved forward in estrangement. Why should you say stay stuck?”
Between the prioritization of emotions, a decades-long transformation of the “work” of parenting, and an online world that can amplify most any trend into a movement, perhaps it is little wonder if familial relationships feel more strained than ever. At minimum, it highlights the importance of having the right tools — and, often, the humility — to close the distance whenever possible and desired.
“One of the things that I’m doing is helping people figure out the skills on things like how to validate a family member and put the relationship above other aspects of their life,” Hunt said. “I am regularly saying, ‘Did you know it’s possible to validate someone when you disagree with them?’ I can validate the subjective inner world experience that you have without agreeing with your politics, for example, [but] it’s not always politics that does this.”
Another skill people can learn, Hunt said, is repair, which he teaches in three parts: own the behavior; acknowledge and take care of the impact of that behavior; and make and communicate a plan that is measurable to not do it again.
“If somehow I have hurt you, even passively, by the distance in our relationship, for example, I can make repair for that,” he said. “What I’m really doing in a repair attempt is showing you that I care about you, that this relationship is valuable enough to me to fix.”
The point is not that one must make repair for their beliefs but for being harmful in the relationship. Seen through the lens of, “I value this relationship, in terms of priority, above those other topics we’re talking about,” Hunt said that while differences might still become a barrier, they take second place.
“Choosing a relationship does not have to be an on/off switch either,” Hunt said. “It can be on a continuum. I want this relationship in my life at this level but no further. There’s a boundary that I set here because somebody is different and it does affect me, [while] knowing the needle can move and knowing that my, ‘I still love you,’ is communicated over the differences we experience.”
When you walk into the Robinson Nursing & Rehabilitation Center you will feel a comfortable atmosphere different from any other facility you have visited. We feature tall ceilings and an open floor plan. We have a lovely dining room and a covered outdoor patio area.
When you walk into the Robinson Nursing & Rehabilitation Center you will feel a comfortable atmosphere different from any other facility you have visited. We feature tall ceilings and an open floor plan. We have a lovely dining room and a covered outdoor patio area.
We specialize in short-term rehabilitation and long-term care services. The short-term rehabilitation area has its own dining area and day room. From the moment you enter our facility, we want you to experience the difference our facility has to offer. From our light-filled day areas to our beautiful outdoor areas, we want you and your loved one to feel comfortable and safe when staying with us. You will also notice the pride we take in our facility by keeping our building sparkling clean from the inside out.
We specialize in short-term rehabilitation and long-term care services. The short-term rehabilitation area has its own dining area and day room. From the moment you enter our facility, we want you to experience the difference our facility has to offer. From our light-filled day areas to our beautiful outdoor areas, we want you and your loved one to feel comfortable and safe when staying with us. You will also notice the pride we take in our facility by keeping our building sparkling clean from the inside out.
Our team is dedicated to providing a safe and comfortable environment. Robinson Nursing and Rehab offers modern conveniences in a gracious setting. We provide daily planned activities led by certified activity directors, like social events and outings and pastoral services with spiritual care for all religions. We strongly encourage family participation in group activities, meals and celebrating family birthdays and special days.
Our team is dedicated to providing a safe and comfortable environment. Robinson Nursing and Rehab offers modern conveniences in a gracious setting. We provide daily planned activities led by Certified Activity Directors, like social events and outings and pastoral services with spiritual care for all religions. We strongly encourage family participation in group activities, meals and celebrating family birthdays and special days.
To help you plan your visits, we provide a monthly event calendar and a monthly meal planner. Robinson Nursing and Rehab does not have set visiting hours. We view this facility as the “home” of each resident.
To help you plan your visits, we provide a monthly event calendar and a monthly meal planner. Robinson Nursing and Rehab does not have set visiting hours. We view this facility as the “home” of each resident.
We try our best to communicate with patients and families to help alleviate the anxiety that accompanies this journey. Our team of nurses, therapists and support staff work closely together to develop a plan based on the individual needs of each person. We recognize that rehabilitation involves not only the patient but the entire family.
We try our best to communicate with patients and families to help alleviate the anxiety that accompanies this journey. Our team of nurses, therapists and support staff work closely together to develop a plan based on the individual needs of each person. We recognize that rehabilitation involves not only the patient, but the entire family.
By SARAH RUSSELL
On March 22, 1984, Lee and Karen Dixon were murdered in their Fayetteville home. Days later, their presumed killer, Dennis Flowers, was also found dead. Quickly, the case was closed, and that suited the power players of the drug scene just fine. What has never been erased is one very stubborn question: Was an innocent man framed?
They had been business associates of sorts; Lee, a pharmacist, stole the drugs from work, and Dennis distributed them. Their own intake of narcotics had resulted in a substantial debt to those they worked for, making the pair a liability. What is more, the Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy was closing in to conduct an audit of Consumer Pharmacy, where Lee worked, an audit the pair knew would reveal the shortages in inventory and all but assuredly result in a criminal investigation. The mood darkened dangerously.
Lee’s termination from the pharmacy was imminent, which meant the source of the duo’s drugs was about to end abruptly. They hatched a plot to take the last of the pharmacy’s drugs and stage it as a robbery. In a Ford Tempo rented by Lee, Dennis’ wife, Linda, drove to Oklahoma City to offload the stolen narcotics.
The night of the murder, Lee and Dennis were at the Flowers home until sometime between 11:30 p.m. and midnight, when both men left. Whether separately or together is unknown. The lifeless bodies of the Dixons soon would be discovered shortly thereafter, and Flowers would promptly be charged with the crime.
If Flowers was the killer, he had at best a tight time frame. Assuming he was the first to leave his residence at about 11:30 p.m. he would have had to drive to the Dixon’s Sunrise Mountain home, bind Karen with tape, place them in separate areas of the home and then methodically, calmly shoot both twice, execution style. That was quite the task list considering the time of death for the couple was placed at 12:15 a.m.
There are other odd facts that call the official story into question. Flowers’ prints were not on the tape or on the shell casings. There was just one print of his at the scene, a thumbprint on an open, full soda can. That was apparently proof enough that he was there, since no one seemed to ask the question as to how someone opened a can with just their thumb.
The case is riddled with unanswered elements like so many shotgun blasts. For one, why was the heavily pregnant Karen found bound — twice — and why would Lee, whose body was unbound, allow that to happen? In fact, why would Flowers, the presumed killer, even take the time to do that at all if he had intentions to kill both in a matter of minutes?
There has never been a match made to any of the other, multiple prints found, yet Flowers was charged one day after the murders, which many people questioned as suspicious.
The case seemed to turn on a pair of phone calls. The first came to police early the morning of discovery from the owner of a poultry farm about 8 miles outside of Fayetteville. He reported that a man had forced entry into the home, asking to use the phone. Told to keep the lights off and not look at him, the couple supposedly overheard the quick erratic call made to a man named Lamar. Hanging up, the intruder left on foot, the wife said, taking the road north.
That was followed by attorney Lamar Pettus’ call at 6 a.m. to the Washington County prosecutor, which set off the manhunt for Flowers. The transcript of the call states Pettus told authorities Flowers admitted to the murders. Years later, Pettus refuted that account, saying instead that Flowers did not say he murdered two people, only that two people were dead. Flowers was adamant, Pettus added, that he was being framed.
By late afternoon, five agencies worth of law enforcement had descended on the poultry farmer and his wife not so much to investigate as to advance a theory that to all appearances looked like what they had seemed to have accepted as fact: that Flowers was their man. That, despite the fact the couple never identified Flowers as the man who had broken into their house. The farmer appeared to have memory problems, and the wife was also unable to pick him out of a photo lineup.
Whether authorities took prints off the couple’s telephone, used by the intruder, is unknown, but what prints were at the scene did not help the investigators much. As with the murder scene, Flowers’ prints were not on the interior or exterior of the Ford Tempo the intruder left in the ditch, having supposedly driven the car there. Found on the floorboard was a .44 pistol that was also not only clean but not something a man on the run would leave behind.
After a week of police work, the search ended on April 1, when the body of Dennis Flowers was found in a shallow pond across from the
it had been in the water for 10 hours, much less 10 days. It looked like a hit, he said, and an expensive one at that.
On the body was a wallet, but it was Dixon’s, not Flowers’, which had been recovered at the crime scene just a few feet from Lee’s body. Flower’s watch had stopped March 29, days after the official date of his death, and while it was documented and photographed by law enforcement, the watch was not included in the items returned to the family on April 11. It was gone.
During the search, a K-9 tracked Flowers’ scent on the road north just as the wife had said. The dog lost the scent abruptly, which is generally an indicator that the person got into a vehicle. That should have blown up the narrative that Flowers had walked north before circling back to the pond where he allegedly killed himself that night. If that were true, the K-9 would have tracked the scent back to the pond, assuming the scent given to the dog belonged to Flowers in the first place.
If Flowers was the one who got in a vehicle that night, who was the driver, and where had Flowers been for 10 days before his death? Pettus, who lived a few miles away, is on record as claiming he did not pick up his friend and client that night, so it is safe to assume he did not give him a ride back there either.
Other questions exist, spawned by the nature of Flowers’ death itself. The state medical examiner concluded Flowers’ death was “suicide by drowning with cocaine toxicity,” meaning he drowned but also had a large amount of unmetabolized cocaine in his stomach. That Flowers apparently ate the cocaine, as the examiner claimed, was novel to say the least.
The autopsy also noted “emphysema aquasum,” meaning Flowers’ lungs were very heavy and spongy. According to the Coroner Talk podcast episode about the case, that contradicts death by suicide, indicating
the deceased was fighting to breathe. What is more, the water in his lungs was not tested to see if he drowned in that pond or another body of water, and no one seemed particularly curious as to why or how several large fish hooks were embedded in his body.
Underpinning the official story line — that Flowers left, turned back and searched an unfamiliar property in darkness for a body of water to commit suicide in rather than utilizing the .44 Magnum just a few steps away — was the work of medical examiner Dr. Fahmy Malak. Malak had a reputation for incompetence but also for his willingness to create autopsy reports that benefited those in power, something called out by family, law enforcement and media
Nevertheless, with the autopsy concluded, the case was done, the stubborn question of Flowers being framed for the murder of Lee and Karen Dixon and their unborn baby girl reduced to a thorny footnote. Yet it is a scenario plausible enough that both Flowers’ daughter, who has kept the matter alive in podcasts that include Coroner Talk, Hell and Gone, and Southern Fried True Crime, and even Karen Dixon’s brother believe to be what actually happened.
In 2016 a KARK reporter got a quote from the Fayetteville Police Department about the case saying, “It’s a mystery novel, and we don’t have all the pages.” That might be as close to vindication as Dennis Flowers will ever get.
Rehabilitative
We are devoted to providing high quality care which celebrates the dignity and grace of every person who enters our facility.
At Sherwood Nursing and Rehab we are committed to providing the highest quality of patient care. Our qualified staff is here giving support for the tasks of day-to-day living, allowing for the enjoyment of more pleasant and carefree activities.
We specialize in Short-Term Rehabilitation and Long-Term Care services.
Phone: 501.834.9960 Fax: 501.834.5644
Lobbyist/Entertainer | Little Rock
Before co-founding Mullenix & Associates, a government relations and consulting firm in Little Rock representing Fortune 500 companies and professional associations of all sizes, and before serving 16 years in the Arkansas House of Representatives, Ted Mullenix made his living gigging in Hot Springs. In 1983, he opened the Music Mountain Jamboree, Spa City’s first theater of its kind, and delighted audiences for more than two decades. In June, Mullenix will be honored by the Arkansas Country Music Awards as the 2026 Arkansas Honors Arkansas recipient.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN INVOLVED WITH THE ARKANSAS COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS?
I’ve been a dedicated supporter of the industry for years, mentoring fellow artists and helping organizations like the Arkansas Country Music Awards that celebrate and promote our state’s rich musical heritage. My support dates back to my time in the House of Representatives, when I helped draft legislation to establish the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame.
HAD LIFE TURNED RIGHT INSTEAD OF LEFT, WOULD YOU BE ONSTAGE OR IN THE RECORDING STUDIO TODAY?
If I had taken a different path, I could see myself as a full-time entertainer today. I have been singing for as long as I can remember, but I was truly hooked after winning my first talent show at Oden High School. Early in my career, I performed at many different clubs in Hot Springs, a passion that also helped support my family. I continue to play multiple instruments — pedal steel guitar is my favorite — and I love getting the chance to entertain friends and clients.
WHAT HAVE BEEN SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE MOMENTS INVOLVING ARKANSAS MUSICIANS?
Throughout my life, I’ve been fortunate to meet many talented musicians. One of my favorite concerts was by Glen Campbell, whom I consider one of Arkansas’s best entertainers. I met Johnny Cash and watched Jim Ed, The Browns, and Maxine and Bonnie backstage at the Grand Ole Opry. My proudest moments were when I invited talented musicians — then very young — to the Music Mountain Jamboree, including Scott Coney, Steve Smith and Shawn Camp.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR ARKANSAS TO RECOGNIZE AND PROMOTE ITS MUSICAL LEGACY?
Arkansas is blessed with incredibly talented individuals who deserve to be recognized and remembered for their contributions. Without organizations like the Arkansas Country Music Awards, some people might never learn about these artists and their legacies. I believe that if we took a poll on our state’s favorite music, country would be the clear winner. It touches our heartstrings by telling real stories about real people and events.
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE HONORED AT THIS YEAR’S ARKANSAS COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS?
I feel unbelievably blessed. Having the chance to perform on stage and share one’s talent — whether singing, playing an instrument or making people laugh — is a true privilege. Being recognized alongside so many talented individuals is an honor I will always cherish.
The monthly “Diamonds” feature shares the lives and views of a diverse roster of proud Arkansans who are doing amazing things and are outstanding representatives of the Natural State. To nominate someone, email dwain@aymag.com.
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