May 19

Montgomery County Front Porch

Mount Ida, Arkansas

I had read an article about The Front Porch in the Hot Springs Magazine so we decided to check it out.  Currently there are only concerts scheduled for the 1^st and 3^rd Saturday of the month. 

The Front Porch is an outdoor family friendly live music venue that hosts free performances of bluegrass, gospel and country.   

The artists aren’t paid and concertgoers aren’t charged to attend.  During intermission a container is passed around for donations.

The possum plays a central role for the Front Porch.  According an article I read, “Well, we have a lot of possums around here.  When this all got started there was a bunch that jammed here and one of them decided to play a joke on his wife and enlisted some of the other jammers to help.  He was influenced by the Beverly Hillbillies TV show and had a sash made up with ‘Possum Queen’ on it, a tiara crown and a fox stole.  All of this was delivered one afternoon at a jam session he was hosting at his home.” 

 

Possums Unlimited was invented as the fundraising group for the operation.  The non-profit currently raises money by selling souvenirs. 

 

Prior to the concert we had a bite to eat at the Mt. Ida Café. 

 

 

We both opted for the bacon cheeseburger special.  It was an excellent choice.

The Front Porch is located on the grounds of the Montgomery County Court House. 

Monte introduced himself to the sound engineer, Jerry, and then assisted setting up the equipment on the stage. 

The performer, Dewayne Hodges, is a native son of Montgomery County.  Despite being blind since 1976, Dewayne continues to perform all over the country. 

The weather was perfect and the music very entertaining.

 

Monte and Dewayne Hodges