October 6 | 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
State Historical Society of Missouri
605 Elm, Columbia, MO United States

Additional Information

The public is invited to a free concert in mid-Missouri featuring old-time music by John P. Williams (fiddle) and Robert Mackey (rhythm guitarist), along with Howard W. Marshall, master of ceremonies.

The inaugural Missouri Music Concert Series will debut Oct. 6, noon- 1 p.m., on the north outdoor patio of the State Historical Society of Missouri. In case of rain, the event will move indoors at the State Historical Society’s Center for Missouri Studies, 605 Elm Street in downtown Columbia.

Food will be available for purchase in the SHSMO parking lot by Fresh Harvest Grill. Enjoy local cuisine and music of Missouri. The free concert is sponsored by Missouri Folk Arts Program, Budds Center for American Music Studies at the University of Missouri-Columbia, and the State Historical Society of Missouri.

About the Musicians:  

John P. Williams is an old-time fiddler from Madison, Missouri, and a master artist with the Missouri Folk Arts apprenticeship program. He grew up in rural Monroe County on the family farm where he lives today. His interest in the fiddle began at an early age. By the time he was 12, Williams was a regular performer among fiddle contests and, in 1997 at age 15, he became an apprentice in Missouri’s Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program with the late Pete McMahan.

“In 2014, I started to repay the gifts that the Missouri Folk Arts Program had given me as a teenager. I took on my first student through the very program that helped become the fiddler I am today. I find a lot of comfort in knowing the folk tradition is continuing into the next generation.”

Robert Mackey grew up in Mexico, Missouri, in a musical family, heavily influenced by his father. They played bluegrass, gospel and old-time music at home, onstage and socially with friends. He is the go-to rhythm guitarist to old-time fiddlers in central Missouri. In 2018, Mackey was accepted and excelled in the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. He joined Williams on the 2019 six-track album A Tribute to Lonnie Robertson, Vol. 1.

Free parking is available at the State Historical Society. The public is invited to bring a folding chair and enjoy music on the Society’s “back porch.”