by Dustin Jayroe In a year plagued by social isolation, pain and suffering, perspective and silver linings are hard to come by. But up above, when the days fade away, the heavens are always there to remedy our souls — if we can find them. James Bruce McMath has not always been enchanted…
Marybeth Byrd catapulted to national recognition after competing on NBC’s The Voice. A member of John Legend’s team on the show, she impressed the country with her soulful renditions of songs, from covers of Adele to Bonnie Raitt. Now, a year since she left the show, Byrd is a student at Arkansas State University in…
by Dwain Hebda Lance Carpenter didn’t catch the “go” sign from the bartender following a Nashville set once, and the oversight put him right in the path of a barfly who’d been laying for him all night. What followed next still cracks up the Ozark-born singer-songwriter. “I was playing The Commodore (bar), and I…
To Nashville goes the glory, but its lights are kept on by the talent that comes from far beyond its city limits. Conway Twitty, Charlie Rich, Tracy Lawrence and Collin Raye — producing that level of talent seems to be in Arkansas’ DNA. Once they hit Nashville, though, the city claims them as their own,…
by Joe David Rice Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from Joe David Rice’s recently released thriller/mystery novel, An Undercurrent of Murder. The e-book is available for purchase on Amazon, and a paperback version is forthcoming. CHAPTER ONE Charles Dickens got it half right. It was the worst of times. Period.…
by Dwain Hebda At the distal end of Little Rock’s Rivermarket — two doors down from the highway bridge where the neighborhood yawns into green space surrounding the Clinton Presidential Library — a warm breeze plays about the star-studded night. A mere half-block east from the enveloping neon and noise of the tourist district, the…
America in a Bowl: The Saga of America’s Favorite Comfort Food Being a nation of immigrants, there are very few things culinary that America has not borrowed and thrown into the great melting pot that is our culture. This comes with the territory of being a relative whippersnapper among world powers and other countries around the globe.…
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, many Americans have begun to start new Christmas traditions at home, one of these being the purchase and installation of a real Christmas tree for the holiday season. But many families are left to wonder what to do with a 7-foot tall tree once Christmas is done. AY…
by Janie Jones Mark Alan Smith had roots in Baxter County. His grandmother owned a resort there. But after he murdered Obie Fay Ash in Mountain Home, he moved his wife and infant son back to McHenry, Ill., his native hometown. In less than two months, he killed again. Jean Irene Bianchi was an…
Just as the winds and the rivers shape our ever-changing landscape, Hayden Nix’s life has been molded by the weather. But it wasn’t a fairy tale that led this small-town Arkansas boy down the meteorological pathway — at least not at first. Today, Nix is a self-described “weather nerd,” but as a child, his barometric…
