Angel Band

Songwriter and environmental advocate Whitey Markle visits the Ocklawaha, one of Florida's most beautiful rivers. The music is his song, "The Poor Old Ocklawaha" performed by Whitey and his band, the Swamprooters.

Whitey Markle has been a fixture on the Florida music scene for decades. He has been performing and writing songs for over 30 years and continues to entertain audiences to this day. His style of music, known as "Swampgrass", is a mixture of bluegrass, folk, and country with a taste of old fashioned Florida "Cracker" thrown in for good measure. Whitey Markle and the Swamprooters (as his band is affectionately called) have released two CD's, Cracker Blue and Hog Wild. Whitey has also written a book about his experiences in Florida called Whitey Markle's Recipes with Tales and Tunes.

         http://www.whiteymarkle.com/

 Markle was at the Will McLean Music Festival with his band, "Whitey Markle and the Swamprooters"  on a windy day.  Markle has been involved with the Suwannee/St. John's Sierra Club, the Silver Springs Alliance, the Putnam County Environmental Council and Florida Defenders of the Environment.   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHkUmC42Jvc

Read more: Whitey Markle on the Ocklawaha River

Matriarch of Florida Folk, Margaret Longhill
Oct 16, 1921 - March 1, 2018
full article
by Donna Green-Townsend

Honoring Margaret Longhill

President Emeritus of the Will McLean Foundation, Margaret Longhill, is credited for her work helping to get Will McLean into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame. She is also the key person responsible for the establishment of the Will McLean Foundation and the Will McLean Music Festival. In January of 2016  multimedia producer, Donna Green-Townsend sat down with Longhill to have a conversation about Longhill's efforts to keep Will McLean's legacy alive as one of Florida's premier songwriters and poets.

Read more: Margaret Longhill

Douglas E. Naumann (1937 - 2017)

Read more: Douglas E. Naumann 1937 - 2017

Carrol A "Pops" Smith - Rest in Peace
- a kind and gentle man
Carroll Anderson Smith was born in Ft. Meade, Florida on May 7, 1936 to Perry F. Smith and Helen F. Smith.

Read more: Carrol Smith - RIP