Once again, as has been tradition for the last 35 years, the melodious strains of Ragtime music reigned across the tiny town of Sedalia, Missouri – a place where, as the festival program proudly proclaimed on its cover this year, “America’s music began.” The 2016 edition of the Scott Joplin International Ragtime Festival was graced by the presence of some new faces (Ramona Baker, Jazzou Jones and Sebastien Troendle), and some luminous legends (Dick Zimmerman, David Reffkin, Terry Waldo, and Max Morath), as well as perennial favorites (Jeff Barnhart, Sonny Leyland, Paul Asaro, among others).
The long-standing outdoor free venues spanning the downtown area of Sedalia provided visitors and patrons a sample of America’s original music while they experienced the historic sites where Stark Publishing once stood and the “Maple Leaf” Rag was written. A nice surprise awaited the attendees of the 2pm Kick Off Concert, held at the Stauffacher Center at the State Fair Community College, when Sedalia Mayor Stephen Galliher announced to the audience that Missouri House Rep. Steve Cookson and Missouri House Rep. Nathan Beard had designated U.S.Highway 50 from Limit Avenue to the east end of town as the “Scott Joplin Memorial Highway.”
[Read: Scott Joplin Memorial Highway Designated]
Then, the following day, the significance of Sedalia’s past was again front and center a
