Area Entertainment: 2026 Cabin Fever, a night of true Ozarks music [Part one]

On February 28, John and I had the great honor of attending the annual Cabin Fever Variety Music Show, a fundraiser presented by the Society of Ozarkian Hillcrofters. This year's event was held at the Branson Event Center at the Shoppes at Branson Meadows. I got a backstage view of the entire evening, and let me tell you, it was one of the best local concert events I've ever attended. 

When tickets went on sale for this fundraiser event on January 18, they sold out very quickly. Five local/regional acts performed; the special guests, The Creek Rocks and Big Smith performed during the second half. The first half was regional bands including the following:

Ozark Mountain Applejacks: They formed together just for this event. They know each other from the OMMA Camps, with the exception of Anna Sheets who is a friend of John Ezell. 

·       Coy Stephen, fiddle 

·       Reid Stephen, guitar

·       John Ezell, guitar 

·       Maggie Ezell, bass 

·       Elliot Crockett, mandolin 

·       Lilyanne McCool, banjo 

·       Anna Sheets, guitar

Mo-Ark Band: They have played around the Ozarks together. They met and have competed in OMMA Bluegrass Camps and Youth in Bluegrass Camps. 

·       Esther Exley, fiddle 

·       Kaitlyn Armer, bass 

·       Lillian Armer, fiddle 

·       Ezra Foster, mandolin 

·       Jubal Stegner, guitar 

·       LilaBeau Davis, dobro

Reeds Spring Ramblers: They know each other through OMMA Camps and Stone County Jam and came together for this Cabin Fever Show. 

·       Jola Davis, guitar

·       Adalie Davis, fiddle 

·       LilaBeau Davis, dobro 

·       Lane Bolliott, bass 

·       Steve Bolliott, mandolin

·       Dennis Pritchard, fiddle

It was great to see The Creek Rocks, who are husband and wife duo Cindy Woolf and Mark Bilyeu. Cindy is a Batesville, Arkansas, native. She brings a distinctive sound with her vocals and is very well known for her original compositions that are folk and old-time themed. She plays banjo in the old-time way, very much Ozarks inspired. Cindy has recorded a number of albums, and back in 2005 released three projects of original music where she collaborated with Bilyeu. They married in 2013.  

Mark Bilyeu, a founding member of Big Smith, brings a very unique sound with his guitar, and still remains true to his Ozark roots. A phenomenal vocalist, Mark is a Springfield native, also with a deep family musical connection. He along with his brother and cousins formed their band Big Smith in 1996.

Cindy and Mark's performance of "Ground Hog" brought instant applause in the opening notes at the Cabin Fever event. I was amazed at their arrangements all night. You will definitely hear the Ozarks' folk tones blended with an Americana sound in their performances. Cindy and Mark were a part of the 2023 Smithsonian Folk Festival, representing the music of the Ozarks, and you can see footage of that event on YouTube. In recent years they have performed at Silver Dollar City and continue to tour all over the Midwest. Cindy commented, "Mark and I have been looking forward to this event for months, and it's definitely a cause worth supporting."

Next week, I'll share part two of the Cabin Fever event and spotlight Big Smith.