This Week in Ozarks Arts: New Music from Matteson Gregory and Why the Arts Matter at MSU

Vol.2, No.25, July 17, 2026

I am heading west to Yellowstone this week with my family for vacation. Many thanks to my teammates here at KSMU for helping me work ahead so I could still bring you The Green Room newsletter this week. I couldn't do this without their hard work, dedication to the arts community, and commitment to our weekly deadlines. I am grateful!

New music, new stages, and new spaces are all part of this week's arts roundup. Springfield singer-songwriter Matteson Gregory celebrates the release of a new EP inspired by the female-fronted sounds of the '90s, marking a new creative chapter built through long-distance collaborations with a New York producer and songwriter partner. We caught up with Gregory ahead of her release show to talk about songwriting, finding her voice, and why her dad now plays guitar in her band.

We also sit down with Missouri State University President Dr. Biff Williams to discuss the role the arts play on campus and throughout the region, from Tent Theatre and Hammons Hall to the new Judith Enyeart Reynolds Performing Arts Complex, now nearing completion.

Thanks for spending part of your week with us here in The Green Room.

Jimmy Rea

Host, Arts News

KSMU 91.1 - FM

Ozarks Public Broadcasting

The Green Room is sponsored by Springfield Community Gardens

Matteson Gregory recording vocals. Photo Credit: Matteson Gregory

Inspired by female-fronted '90s music such as The Cranberries and Sheryl Crow, Gregory's newest studio project features songwriting collaborations and a new producer based in New York. A release concert is scheduled for July 18 at Moontown Sound...read more.

Dr. Biff Williams in the KSMU studio. Photo Credit: KSMU

KSMU's Michele Skalicky sat down with Missouri State University President Dr. Biff Williams to discuss the arts on campus, including the Judith Enyeart Reynolds Performing Arts Complex, which is currently under construction...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 10:00 a.m. on 91.1-FM or stream at KSMU.org or subscribe to the Arts News podcast wherever you get your podcasts. New podcast episodes are released every Friday.

The Green Room is supported by Maple Hill Fine Arts

👉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

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Nick Shouders press photo. Photo credit: Amp Concerts.

It’s easy to forget that “the country” is everywhere. Living in a place like the Ozarks, with so many lush landscapes and rural communities surrounding us, it often seems to be of our own purview, but I’m here to tell you, friends, the country is everywhere you go. And everywhere there is country, there is country music. There are places in New York, New Jersey, and California that are as deeply rural, if not more so, than any number of perfectly placid communities here in the Ozarks. We are a truly diverse country and, just as much so, the concept of “country” is truly diverse.

Despite its most frequent representation or, at least, perception, “country” is more than just the music of the white, rural south. As malleable as any other form, incorporating elements from hardscrabble communities of immigrants, workers, former slaves, and anything else it picked up along the way. We collectively have a caricature of what country music is, but it is truly the music of the people.

Enter Nick Shoulders.

Born and raised in greater Fayetteville, Shoulders came up through the Arkansas punk scene and met early success with his local band, Thunderlizards. After a stint playing banjo and harmonica with a touring group, he struck out solo with a brand of country music bound and determined to defy not the conventions, but the stereotypes and common understandings of country music. A type of country that insists on this is truly the music of everyone.

To quote him from a piece he wrote for In These Times in 2020: “This music and its region of origin deserve more than stale nostalgia and condescension from academia. It needs to be weaponized against the disenfranchisement it was born from and wielded consciously by people who care about history over mockery.”

In 2020 he founded his own label, Gar Hole Records, and started building a stable of young country artists who felt the same. Last month I wrote about our Pridefest headliner, Dylan Earl, and his own people-driven brand of “Outlaw Country.” Earl, by no coincidence, is not only on Mr. Shoulders’ label, he’s also his neighbor in Fayetteville. In fact, they look after each other’s houses when the other is on the road. And that, to Shoulders, is the true spirit of country music. The music of people who take care of people. But - and this is the most important thing - both Shoulders and Earl do not try to hold this to an exclusive group or, more importantly, a specific place. Country music is the music of the people, and people are everywhere. And so is the country.

If Shoulders’ music holds as much interest as I hope it would, good news! You have two chances to catch him next week before he hits the road until November. He’ll be doing a hometown send-off show in Fayetteville at George’s Majestic next Friday, and in Kansas City at Knuckleheads that Saturday. Drink, dance, be merry, hug a stranger (ask first), and remember that country is for all of us, because we’re all people, and country is everywhere.

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. 91.1 FM or stream KSMU.org

Missed an episode of Studio Live or Arts News? Can't listen live? Find them both as a podcast on KSMU or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Studio Live with Jess Balisle and Melissa Rea airs on the 2nd Friday of every month at noon. Tune in at 91.1 FM at KSMU.org for an hour of live music and conversation with talented local artists.

August 14: Patti Steel

September 11: Lyal Strickland

October 9: Drifters Mile

November 13: Pomfret

December 11: Devlin Pierce

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.

America Made in Virginia: 250 Years Together. A star-filled tribute to America's Semiquincentennial from revolutionary Colonial Williamsburg. Featuring live performance, historic interpretation, large-scale spectacle and fireworks. This is the place where the path to independence truly began.

The Drawing Room with Mo Welch: Brett Goldstein on Acting, Writing, and Comedy. When your guest is also your friend, the rules change. Brett Goldstein and Mo Welch sketch each other while swapping stories about the before times, Mamma Mia tryouts, and why great comedy always hurts a little.

Pursuing Light - The Bill Strickland Story. One man's journey to end human suffering with art, opportunity, and hope. Through his youth arts and workforce centers, visionary Bill Strickland proves that talent is universal but opportunity is not, showing how beauty, dignity, and high expectations can change lives and communities.

Sabrina Carpenter: Tiny Desk Concert. Carpenter backed by her band, complimented with pedal steel and a string quartet, she reimagines her biggest hits from "Short n’ Sweet", while sharing the stories in between songs of how these tracks came to life.

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.

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