Poplar Bluff family to perform at Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington D.C.

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. (KFVS) - A family of pastors and worship leaders from the Emmanuel House of Praise Church in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, will perform at the 57th annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival at the National Mall in Washington D.C.

According to a release from the church, Pastor Leroy Williams, the father, will perform alongside his wife, Annie, and their children, Dewayne and Latoya, at the festival from July 6 through July 9.

This is the first time the Ozarks region has been featured at the festival. This year’s program is called, The Ozarks: Faces and Facets of a Region, and will explore the Ozarks identity and culture, and present it on a national stage.

According to the release, the family’s musical history has been deeply influenced by life in the Ozarks region, and musical education through Ozarks institutions such as Three Rivers College Jazz Band, Swingsations and Poplar Bluff’s Sho-Me Band. The family has a combined 21 commercially distributed musical singles, including What About You, by Pastor Leroy and Dewayne Williams, and Don’t Look Back, by Latoya Williams, as well as a recently released book, Honoring Heroes by Annie Williams, which was edited by Latoya and Dewayne.

The family will perform a daily set throughout the festival’s second week, but were also chosen to perform Thursday, July 6 at 6 p.m., as part of The Ozarks Opry, on the Ralph Rinzler Stage at the National Mall, curated by Missouri State University.

For more information about the Smithsonian Folklife Festival visit https://festival.si.edu/.

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