By Al Timberlane · Timberlane Entertainment Company LLC
Carolina Mendoza: From the Little Red Barn to the Festival Stage
, and a lifetime of experience. She deserves to have that history heard and her present concerns carefully considered.We are asking for a path we can understand and follow—a way to reconnect the people and information needed for her continuing care.
Know the person. Listen to the history. Keep the connections strong.
Let’s not forget the person in the chair. In this case, that person is Lori T.
— Al Timberlane
Carolina Mendoza: From the Little Red Barn to the Festival Stage
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By Al Timberlane · Good Morning Ozark American Journal™
As you look deeper into the Timberlane story, you will find a wonderful person named Carolina Mendoza. She has been a major part of the musical story we have been building at Timberlane Entertainment Company since our early years, from 2020 onward. Through interviews, radio, and the preservation of music, her story has continued alongside ours.
A Little Red Barn and a Little Red Desk
One of my early interviews with Carolina took place in the little red barn behind the Meeting Place, next to the Wildflower Bed and Breakfast in Mountain View, Arkansas. I remember that little red desk and the simple surroundings where we sat down to talk. You did not need a grand studio to have a meaningful conversation. You needed a microphone, a willing guest, and time to listen.
That small building was part of the beginning of Folk Music Rewind in 2020. Joe Hart, founder of KWMV, helped me learn the equipment and the work of putting a program on the air. Our interviews and music eventually continued at the McSpadden Dulcimer Studios across from the courthouse, but the red barn remains part of our history.
The Smithsonian Connection
One of Carolina’s early interviews with us explored her connection with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. The Smithsonian’s own program records her 2023 appearance in Washington, D.C., including a July 7 performance on the Ralph Rinzler Main Stage. Here was a singer-songwriter from Mountain View bringing her voice to a national gathering of living traditions.
Her music brings together traditional Mexican roots and influences from country, bluegrass, Nordic folk, and old-time Ozark music. Around our own work, we have often introduced her as the “Voice of the Ozarks.” She has continued working as an artist in Mountain View and Eureka Springs, Arkansas, carrying that personal sound into new rooms and new audiences.
Catching Up at OzMoMu
We were able to catch up with Carolina at the Ozark Mountain Music Festival—OzMoMu—at the Basin Park Hotel in Eureka Springs. Becky and I attended with a media pass offered through Mary, the festival coordinator. I am grateful for that welcome and the chance to be there among the musicians.
Our festival coverage included multiple interviews and conversations with different bands. Meeting people in that setting is part of what makes the work worthwhile: hearing a performance, learning who is behind the music, and following those stories beyond a single weekend.
The 2026 festival took place January 15–18. These photographs capture Carolina performing with Adam Collins in The Cave at the Basin Park Hotel. Adam was listed as the festival’s Artist at Large. From the audience to the performers, these black-and-white photographs preserve a close-up moment from our time at OzMoMu.
Photographs shared by Al Timberlane. Artist credit: 2026 OzMoMu lineup — Adam Collins, Artist at Large.
Introducing Penelope
Another voice in this continuing story is Penelope Mendoza. Carolina introduced Penelope during an appearance on The Al Timberlane Show, before their performance on the Stone County Courthouse stage in Mountain View in 2026. It was a chance to welcome an emerging artist and hear the next generation become part of the music around us.
A Story We Are Still Following
Carolina later recorded at Timberlane Ranch Studio on Alberta Mountain in Leslie, Arkansas. That studio work is another chapter in our shared musical history. The unreleased recordings remain preserved; they are not being presented here as a published album.
Our wider interview archive also includes Moonshroom, whose music and conversation became part of our journey. We will return to the individual artists and bands as their interviews and images are brought together. Each deserves a story of their own.
Tomorrow, October 15, we plan to turn to more festival stories and begin sharing additional photographs and material here in the journal. Carolina’s story is a good place to start: a little red barn, an early interview, a national festival, and a friendship that has continued through the years.
Let’s rewind that tape.
— Al Timberlane
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