MixTape Series grant recipient, Dawn Larsen, comes back home to the Ozarks to write
songs and perform at The Medium in Springdale Sept 9.
Singer-songwriter/Performer/Storyteller, Dawn Larsen, grew up in Forsyth MO, a town nestled in the heart of the Ozarks, amid lots of mountain music, arts, storytelling, beautiful hills and rivers. Her family has lived in the Ozarks since 1846, so drawing from those traditions, her songs are roots-based and autobiographical. She taught herself to play guitar at 13. At a family gathering at about that age, after she had finished singing and was taking a break, her mother pulled her aside and asked, “Don’t you know anything besides death and dying music?!” She’s proud to write and play roots music, which is full of “death and dyin,” an integral part of the human condition.
She retired from a university professorship and returned home to the Ozarks in 2025, then was awarded a
MixTape Series grant to write songs about the Ozarks and perform them in a concert on Sept 9 at 7:00pm at the Medium in Springdale, AR. Because her songs typically come from her experiences, Dawn has
previously written a lot of songs about the Ozarks, but she has never had the opportunity to write songs
with an idea in mind FIRST. This project aims to do that and is supported by the Creative Exchange Fund
(CXF) at The Medium, a program that provides artists, creatives, and cultural organizers with funding and
free space to experiment and take bold risks.
Along with the new music she composed for the grant, the concert will also feature original music from her
CDs, Hillbillyland (2019) and The Vicious Hillbilly (2016). She has been described as “part Patty Griffin… part Todd Snider…part Linda Ronstadt…ALL honest, soulful lyrics combining roots, alt-Country, Blues, and Folk musical styles while exploring life as a progressive hillbilly girl.” She has toured her original solo shows and music throughout the US for over thirty years.