Civil War-Era Concert and Presentation, Honey Springs Battlefield and Visitor Center

Honey Springs Battlefield and Visitor Center is excited to announce a Civil War-era concert and presentation by The Loco Focos Band on Saturday, November 17, from 1:30 to 3:30 pm. This program will be held at the battlefield’s new Visitor Center.

The United States was still a young country in the 1820s and had not yet developed its own music style. However, by the 1830s “American-style music” began to take shape. The goal of The Loco Focos Band is to present the birth of this authentic American music style and sound. The band’s name, Loco Focos, historically defined as “A strike anywhere match,” meaning fire on the spot, became associated with a political movement of the 1820s–1870s, defined as Locofocism in the writings of Secretary of State William Seward, who served in President Abraham Lincoln’s cabinet.

As a band, Loco Focos attempts to represent songs of the Civil War period as closely as possible to how they would have been presented by their originators. Period instruments to be played at the concert will include: an 1850 martin guitar, a Boucher banjo reproduction, period tambourine, and bones to name a few. Members of the band include Mr. Curtis Payne, playing Banjo and Guitar. Mr. Payne has been a Living Historian reenactor for thirty-five plus years, serving as First Sargent of the Pelican Rifles Company K. Other band members include Mr. Terry Aziere (vocals and guitar), Ms. Sandy Payne (piano, tambourine, harmonica, bones, and back-up vocals), Ms. Jane Varmecky Hyde, (drum, tambourine, and back-up vocals), and Chris Back (guitar and back-up vocals).

Original time-period sheet music will also be set up around the room for public viewing before, during, and after the concert. Songs to be played will include: “Clear De Kitchen,” “Get off the Tracks,” “Old Lud Gals,” “Oh! Susanna,” “Old Virginia Breakdown,” “The First Gun is Fired,” “The Bonnie Blue Flag,” “Listen to the Mockingbird,” “Give us Back our Old Commander,” “Seward’s Bell,” Dixie with Walk-a-bout,” “Old Jonney Boker,” “Yellow Rose of Texas,” and “The Battle Cry of Freedom.” Historical background of the songs will also be provided throughout the program.

After the program, visitors will have the opportunity to tour the battlefield and learn about key aspects of the engagement and those who fought at Honey Springs. Visitors also can tour the new Visitor Center, purchase items from the gift shop, and learn about the new exhibits that will open in the near future. The program is free to the public. However, donations are welcome.

For more information regarding the presentation and the Honey Springs Battlefield and Visitor Center, please email honeysprings@okhistory.org or alynn@okhistory.org, or call 918-473-5572. Honey Springs Battlefield and Visitor Center is located east of US Highway 69 between Oktaha and Rentiesville. The Visitor Center is located on the northeast corner of the intersection of East 1030 Road and 11th Street, diagonal from the Oklahoma Blues Hall of Fame.