Born in northeast Arkansas, Joe David Rice attended the University of Arkansas before earning a graduate degree in environmental planning from the University of Illinois. A former owner of a canoe outfitting business on the Buffalo River, he also owned the second largest cave in the state at one time. He retired from the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism in 2017 after 30 years as the state’s tourism director, serving under five governors.

Taking advantage of his vast knowledge of the state, Rice has produced Arkansas Backstories, a two-volume book exploring the state’s lesser-known aspects. Few Arkansans realize the state produced a challenger to John F. Kennedy in the race for the Democrat Party’s Presidential nominee in 1960 or that the first African-American to run for President was a native of Little Rock. Or that Arkansas hosted the world’s first UFO conference way back in 1975. These and other fascinating tidbits make Arkansas Backstories a must for residents and ex-pats alike.

With Musical Guest The Salty Dogs

Started as a lark retro-country act, the quartet immediately found chemistry, along with a lot of joy, as they dug into their craft. Their sound has expanded over a decade and a half, from uber-twang and purist classic country to equal parts 1954 Nashville, 1961 Bakersfield, and 1972 Everywhere.

The band has played countless shows sharing the stage with such likes of Willie Nelson, Hank Williams, Jr., Old Crow Medicine Show, Billy Joe Shaver, Robert Earl Keen, The Gourds, Pete Anderson, David Rawlings,  Kinky Friedman, Junior Brown, Kelly Willis and many more.

The band’s latest collection, Gold, spans a 17 year career including 3 new studio tracks, live recordings, favorite studio cuts, demos, and guest appearances from legends such as Buck Trent, D.J. Fontana, and Lloyd Green.

The band’s music has been featured on TLC‘s hit TV show, Trading Spaces, on the award winning Sundance Channel hit show, Rectify, and most recently the motion picture release, Valley Inn.