Tickets on sale now!
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Updated 05/01/2025
💚🎶SAVE THE DATE: MUSICFEST 2025💚🎶
Friday, May 16th & Saturday, May 17th
Downtown Osceola, Arkansas
LINEUP OUT NOW!!
Headliner and more details to be announced right here and on our social media pages.
#OsceolaMusicFest
25th Annual Osceola Heritage Music Festival
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SAVE THE DATE
May 16th and 17th, 2025 Click here for line-up information. The Annual Osceola Heritage Music Festival will be a great event for all! This annual festival of a weekend of premium musical entertainment brings a variety of music, from the sounds of the 80's, the down home delta blues, classic rock, and country!! We have something for everyone!!! The best food vendors in the area always make the experience that much better. We haven't forgotten the kids either!! There will be plenty of activities and games to keep the little ones busy!! Make plans to join us and meet up with your old friends!!! MusicFest is a homecoming for lots of friends! Use the navigation buttons above to view information about the various facets of the festival, including festival lineup, purchasing tickets and directions & parking. |
Musicfest 2025 poster pays tribute to Dickie Kennemore
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The Osceola Heritage Musicfest is celebrating it’s 25th anniversary.
It was a little over 27 years ago, former Main Street Director Mary Elizabeth Loveall and yours truly were working late one Tuesday night and heard music. Following the sound we discovered Julius Gibson and the Outcast Band playing blues in an actual garage in downtown Osceola. They quickly became the inspiration for the soon-to-be Osceola Heritage Musicfest. We approached then Mayor Dickie Kennemore and Main Street Board President John Newcomb. They jumped on board, and the rest is history. The Osceola Heritage Musicfest has been the stage for some of the greatest Blues and country stars in the U.S. Each year the festival honors one of it’s own greats. We have paid tribute to hometown stars Willie Bloom, Son Seals, Albert King, Reggie Young, Bobby Neal and Buddy Jewell. The poster and t-shirt artwork, designed by myself, and created by Greg Newsom tells the story... it tells our heritage. The Musicfest Committee agreed, the 25th had to be great. What had been consistent at every musicfest? What memory stuck out more than any other? It had to be the late Dickie Kennemore taking the stage to sing “Johnny Be Goode.” The song tells the story of the country boy, the train and the music. It tells the story of Osceola.This one is for the one who served as mayor of Osceola for 28 years and who without his support the musicfest would never have happened - Dickie Kennemore! Born May 11, 1942, in a house on Semmes Drive, in Osceola, Kennemore was the oldest of three kids born to Charles and Mildred Kennemore. He and his brother and sister grew up in a house on East Hale Street where his parents also ran their small business at the time.He grew up going to the Church of Christ and graduated from Osceola High School in 1960. He continued his education at Arkansas State University where he graduated with a degree in business. He had plans to go to medical school, but returned home to help his mother with the family business that was about to go under because of his father’s health issues. He still owned and operated Kennemore-Wilson Agency and Kennemore Real Estate, with his son, Ken Kennemore. He has dedicated his entire life to Osceola and it’s citizens. He started in the 1980’s being a member of the Booster Club, then he ran for school board, and after that the city council. He then ran for mayor in 1989 and he served on the school board for four more years while being mayor. During his time as mayor, the city expanded to include a new Justice Complex, Community Center, Senior Citizen Center, Animal Shelter, city lagoon and updated Riverport. As mayor, Kennemore also served for a number of years on the Osceola/South Mississippi County Chamber of Commerce. He was a longtime member of the Arkansas Industrial Development Commission, a member of the Mississippi River Cities and Town Initiative, Osceola Port Authority and Kiwanis Club. Under his leadership, the city of Osceola landed numerous industrial partners including DENSO, Systex, Actagro, Kagome, SMS Solutions, Arkansas Steel Processing, Watco and Big River Steel, the largest industrial project in the state of Arkansas. Kennemore also saw expansions at American Greetings and Walmart. He was instrumental in forming the Great River Economic Development Foundation and served as its chairman for a number of years. He was also very influential in changing legislation and the constitution to ensure all AIDC agencies function with more efficiency. Over the years Kennemore received many awards including the Arkansas Economic Development Volunteer of the Year by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. He and Harold Ohlendorf are the only two recipients from Osceola to ever receive this award. After being nominated by Osceola Police Chief Ollie Collins, Kennemore was named Mayor of the Year by the Arkansas Association of Chiefs of Police. In January 2019, he was named an Honor Life Member of the Arkansas Municipal League. He passed away Dec. 5, 2020. |
2025 MUSICFEST SPONSORS
Stay Connected with #OsceolaMusicFest
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Headliners and notable acts of
previous MusicFests include:
Clay Walker
Rodney Atkins
John Michael Montgomery
David Nail
Ghost Town Blues Band
Callie MaRae
Blackberry Smoke
Rock Sugar
Tracy Lawrence
Buddy Jewell
Confederate Railroad
Molly Hatchet
Ruby Wilson
The ShotGunBillys
Son Seals
Reba Russell
Eric Hughes
Tom, Dick, & Harry Band
Doctor Zarr's Amazing Funk Monster
Tragikly White
Greasy Tree
The Band Trippp
and many MORE!
previous MusicFests include:
Clay Walker
Rodney Atkins
John Michael Montgomery
David Nail
Ghost Town Blues Band
Callie MaRae
Blackberry Smoke
Rock Sugar
Tracy Lawrence
Buddy Jewell
Confederate Railroad
Molly Hatchet
Ruby Wilson
The ShotGunBillys
Son Seals
Reba Russell
Eric Hughes
Tom, Dick, & Harry Band
Doctor Zarr's Amazing Funk Monster
Tragikly White
Greasy Tree
The Band Trippp
and many MORE!
