Kendricks performing at Heritage Park Friday

Musician Johnny Kendrick (right) and his sons Sam (left) and Jackson will perform a variety of western and bluegrass music during a concert Friday evening at the Heritage Park Pavilion. The family trio, who live in Richards, Mo., also perform musical poetry each year at the annual Echoes of the Trail Cowboy Gathering, which this year is scheduled for June 12-14. (Tribune file photo)

Old-time western music and bluegrass will be on tap when musician Johnny Kendrick and his sons, along with special guest Arnold Schofield, take the stage Friday at the Heritage Park Pavilion near the corner of First and Main streets.

Kendrick and his sons, Sam and Jackson, who live in Richards, Mo., will perform a variety of bluegrass and western songs during the concert, which is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Friday. Jackson plays guitar while his brother plays the fiddle. Both boys sing lead and harmony on various songs. Johnny, who plays banjo and also sings backing vocals, helps complete the group's bluegrass sound.

The one-hour concert will feature a variety of musical offerings including fiddle tunes, hard-driving bluegrass, and historical ballads. The family band also often performs rhyming stories and cowboy poetry set to music about life on the trail during the Old West. The concert is part of the continuing Friday night concert series that is sponsored by the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce Downtown Division.

The show will also feature Kendrick and Schofield performing songs and poems about the Echoes of the Trail Cowboy Gathering that takes place annually at Fort Scott Community College. Both men, along with the help of other people, founded Echoes of the Trail 13 years ago and regularly perform at the event.

Jackson and Sam, also regular performers at Echoes of the Trail, became interested in playing music at young ages and were consistently encouraged by their mother, Ellen Kendrick. The family band has since performed occasionally at many area events, including Pioneer Harvest Fiesta, Echoes of the Trail, and the Friday night concert series, as well as other festivals in Kansas and Missouri, Johnny said.

Many area residents and Echoes of the Trail attendees have watched Jackson and Sam grow up over the years.

Johnny Kendrick and his sons, as well as Schofield, are also scheduled to appear and perform at the 13th Annual Echoes of the Trail Cowboy Gathering which is set for June 12-14 at FSCC. The three-day event features 12 cowboy poets and singers, western arts and crafts booths, working chuckwagons, and performances by winners of a local kids cowboy poetry contest. The event has grown to become the premiere celebration of cowboy heritage in the Midwest and attracts visitors and performers from several states, Johnny said.