On the Front Row with Still on the Hill

Hailing from the Ozarks, Still on the Hill features a unique brand of Arkansan "folkgrass." The accomplished multi-instrumental and 2010 Governor’s Arts Award-winning duo of Kelly Mullhollan and Donna Stjerna has produced seven albums since 2001. The group’s repertoire is primarily their own original compositions interspersed with new arrangements of traditional songs.

Still on the Hill performs songs from their newest CD, "Ozark: A Celebration in Song." The project was born out of their travels in the Ozarks and from collecting song ideas from their audiences during their performances. Mullhollan and Stjerna write about the amazing folks and places they know and love with the belief that the unsung heroes of the Ozarks best reflect what makes the hills distinctive. They hope that by telling their stories in song, they will be nurturing an ongoing tradition.

On the Front Row With Still on the Hill airs Friday, November 4, 2011 at 6:30 p.m.

Additionally, “Ozark: A Celebration in Song,” a 60-minute documentary about the duo, will air November 4 at 11 p.m.

The film is a mixture of storytelling, interviews and song produced by Jones Television in Springdale with support from a grant from the Arkansas Department of Heritage.

The story of the song "Devil Snake" is featured in the film. Violet Hensley from Yellville, Ark., who was voted an Arkansas Living Treasure by the Arkansas Arts Council, caves fiddles and puts a rattlesnake rattle in each one. She said her mother told her that the fiddle was the devil's instrument and the rattle would keep him away. Another song described is about a young ex-slave, Willie, who was found by a Confederate soldier on his way home to Snowball, Ark. The soldier taught Willie how to be a stone mason, and Willie helped to build much of the town of Snowball.