Vol.1,  No.9, October 3, 2025

Welcome to The Green Room, friends. 

As we gear up for pledge week here at our public radio station, KSMU, I am filled with gratitude for my role here as arts reporter.

I have met so many people who are contributing to the fertile arts scene we have here. I am honored to bring these folks to you each week here in The Green Room. I have been a musician for a long time here in the Ozarks, but the best part of this job is learning and sharing more about other artistic mediums. 

This week I heard the rattle of spray paint cans in preparation for the Overlay Festival, a two day Midwest-based event celebrating the integrations of visual art, live music, technology and the subculture that connects them. 

Springfield’s culture is climbing higher than ever. This year’s artists are sending color and imagination skyward, splashing entire walls with bold stories that rise six stories tall. 🏙️

On the opposite end of the splash and color that Overlay brings is the quiet of writing and reading. Letters on the page spill into the minds of readers, bringing you Oh The Horror!, the spookier side of October to the Springfield-Greene County Library. Local authors gather here to spin haunting tales, whispering about the eerie and the possessed. 👻

That’s what I love about The Green Room - the chance to share art in all its forms, from bright explosions of color to the quiet weight of words. 

No need to knock - come on into The Green Room with me! 

Jimmy Rea

Host, Arts News

KSMU 91.1 - FM 

Ozarks Public Broadcasting

The Green Room Arts News Letter is presented by 

Overlay Festival, formerly Mid x Midwest, brings street art to the community

Pictured here are muralists Osiris Rain and Emily Ding

Overlay Festival returns to downtown Springfield October 3-4 with a live six-story mural by Emily Ding and Osiris Rain, DJ sets, a new VIP Bird’s Eye Lounge, a pop-up skate park and a community dining hall. I chat with creator and muralist Meg Wagler about this year’s festival...read more.

Friends of the Library put horror front and center 👻

Pictured with Jimmy is Konrad Stump - organizer of Oh,The Horror!

Oh, The Horror! returns this fall with a slate of author talks, spooky folklore and cult-classic fun from the Springfield-Greene County Library and Friends of the Library. I talk with organizer Konrad Stump about this year’s lineup and with Ozarks folklorist and author Brandon Weston about his new book...read more.

Arts News on KSMU is your long-standing source for what's happening in the Ozarks arts scene spotlighting local creators, performances, and cultural events every week. Tune in Fridays at 10 a.m. on 91.1-FM or stream at KSMU.org

👉Got a story, event, or artist I should know about? Share your arts and music tips with The Green Room, and help us shine a spotlight on the creative pulse of the Ozarks! You can email them to me at JRea@MissouriState.edu.

Sponsored by DresslerPeters

October 3 - First Friday Artwalk

October 3 & 4 - Overlay Art & Culture Festival 

October 4 - The Henderson Kids at Tie & Timber Beer Co.

October 4 - The Random Strangers-Album Release at Lindberg's Tavern

October 4 - 99x: Prohibition - A Roaring '20s Masquerade 

October 5 - Gigs in the Garden with Johnnie Angelia King and the Blues Connection

October 9 - “Oh, The Horror!” book series: Ozark Tales of Healers & Magic at The Library Center

🎶Friends don't leave friends out of the music and arts scene - they share all the local arts and music happenings.  Just forward this email to friends! 

Pictured are Liz and Patrick Carney, Guitarist Jason Nunn, and drummer Blake Mixon 

It is 12 years ago, and you live in Springfield, Missouri, and you are cool.  

You might not know it, you might have accidentally stumbled into it, but you are cool. 

You are at a show, maybe even a major (local) venue, and there are, like, a LOT of people there and they are (mostly) young and good looking and they are also cool. 

Perhaps you are too. 

The band is Kids & Chemicals, and I was NOT there, and I am NOT cool. 

This is no greater complaint, just one of those things of life. We were off from each other’s course by just enough, and I never plugged in even though it was right under my nose. I saw them, but I was never “there.” 

What a foolish man. 

I could have been cool. 

I featured Daisypusher a few weeks back (the band that eventually sprung from Kids & Chemicals) and Hitters, (the band that sprung from that prior sprunging), just released a new pair of singles and have been recently featured on the show. With “Spooky Season” now upon us, I thought I would highlight a Local Radar favorite, point you towards some excellent new music through an older tune, and give you a dark bit of a musical treat to enjoy. Give “Under Your Skin” a spin and we’ll see you next week! 

Local Radar with Ran Cummings is a weekly music and conversation radio show on KSMU featuring bands and performances from in and around the Ozarks every Friday night at 9:00 p.m. on 91.1 - FM or stream at KSMU.org. 

Studio Live with Melissa Rea and Jess Balisle airs the 2nd Friday of every month on KSMU. Tune in at 12 p.m. for an hour of live music and conversation with talented artists. Later that evening, experience the music in person at a FREE performance from 6:00–8:00 p.m. at Springfield Brewing Company.

October 10: Matteson Gregory

November 14: Mr. Orange

December 12: Drew Beine

In the mood to stay in? Queue up one of these videos handpicked by our staff at Ozarks Public Broadcasting, perfect for a night in when you're skipping the scene but still craving culture. 

ART21 | Friends and Strangers (Expires 10/20)

Moving Together: A celebratory love letter to music, dance, and cultural preservation 

Encore Presentation: Ellis Wilson—So Much To Paint

NPR Tiny Desk™ Concert - Amerie

These favorites from KSMU and OPT are just the beginning—there’s a whole world of storytelling, music, documentaries, and local gems waiting on you to dive in and discover at your local public broadcasting station. 

Was this email sent to you by a friend? If you'd love fresh takes, local gems, and behind-the-scenes artsy goodness in your inbox every week subscribe to The Green Room Arts News letter.

The Green Room: A Weekly Arts News Letter is a production of Ozarks Public Broadcasting. For more information about our programs and services please visit our website.

Mailing Address:
901 South National Ave.
Springfield, MO 65897

Telephone:

Ozarks Public Television 417-836-3500

KSMU Radio 417-836-5878

Websites:

www.optv.org | www.ksmu.org