Renowned Ozarks storyteller, musician, and community scholar Marideth Sisco of West Plains has been named a recipient of the 2025 Missouri Living Traditions Fellowship, a prestigious award presented by the Missouri Folk Arts Program. The fellowship recognizes Sisco’s lifetime achievements and her profound contributions to preserving and sharing the traditional arts of the Ozarks.
A celebrated voice in Missouri’s cultural landscape, Sisco has spent decades documenting and sharing the rich heritage of her region through music, storytelling, and community advocacy. Her work has been instrumental in keeping Ozarks traditions alive for future generations.
She is joined in the 2025 fellowship honors by fellow Missourians: Ozarks forager and musician Harold “Bo” Brown of Rogersville, Latin Jazz percussionist and bandleader Pablo Sanhueza of Kansas City, and old-time fiddler and folklorist Howard W. Marshall of Fulton.
The Missouri Living Traditions Fellowship highlights artists and scholars whose deep roots in community and tradition enrich the cultural fabric of the state. Sisco’s recognition underscores her role not just as a performer, but as a steward of Ozarks identity and legacy.
For more information on Missouri’s folk arts initiatives, visit missourifolkarts.org.
