Save the date for the Mid-South Music Festival – Oct. 17-18.
Southwest Arkansas’s biggest festival will have a new name and a new look in 2025. Festival coordinators are rebranding the Arkadelphia Festival of the Arts (AFOTA) to Mid-South Music Festival (MSMF), taking center stage in downtown Arkadelphia on October 17-18, 2025.
Named the Arkansas Festival and Events Association’s 2021 Best New Festival or Event, event coordinators hosted their most successful AFOTA in 2024, welcoming over 5,000 people to downtown Arkadelphia over the October 11-12 weekend.
“We tossed around the idea of rebranding the festival in 2023, but after 2024, we knew it was time,” City of Arkadelphia’s Director of Communications, Emma Brown, said. “This festival has grown to be the largest in Southwest Arkansas, and we wanted it to have an identity that represents our region.”
Mid-South Music Festival will continue to celebrate the region’s best music, food, and art. The festival will open Friday, October 17, at 5:00 p.m. with local performances, cooking demonstrations and tastings, and a crafter’s vendor show. The Friday Night headliner, sponsored by Southern Bancorp, is Dial Up, a 1990s/2000s cover band.
Day two of MSMF will begin at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 18, with art workshops, the crafter’s vendor show, a food truck competition, and a live DJ. Groups will perform on the main stage at 1:00 p.m., leading up to Saturday’s Southern Bancorp headliner at 8:00 p.m.
There is no admission cost to attend the Mid-South Music Festival. For more information, visit MidSouthMusicFestival.com.
