As Lisa Ray’s angelic voice rings out at Silver Dollar City’s Gazebo, she can’t help but smile at the strife she’s overcome to be there and the blessings it took to bring her “home.”
Behind that sparkle in her eye is the sweet spirit of a 3-year-old Lisa, who started to sing and never stopped. Horse Creek’s fiddler and songstress thinks about those days a lot.
“My grandpa was a Pentecostal preacher who had me memorizing songs before I could even read,” she smiles. “I would just sing my heart out to anyone who would listen!”
Her family of loggers moved from Harrison, Arkansas to follow work in Washington state. By nine years old, Lisa had picked up the fiddle and her family had started a band called Southern Flavor.
“We’d play all over Washington at festivals,” she recalls. “I slowly started to get on stage more and more. By the time I was a teenager, I had a passion for performing and knew I wanted to make music for a living.”
Logging work slowed down in Washington after a few years, and the family traveled back to the Ozarks. Lisa put her dreams on hold to care for her grandmother, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
“I cared for her with everything I had, but, eventually, she declined so much that doctors said she needed more care than I could provide at home. I was so sad and felt so lost.”
Then, 13 years ago, a quick call from Silver Dollar City changed Lisa’s outlook from hopeless to hopeful in a matter of minutes.
“D.A. Callaway was on the line and said he needed a fiddler for the Horse Creek band,” she beams. “I just knew I was finally catching a break. I was getting my shot!”
Lisa’s sweet voice and fine fiddlin’ were the perfect fit for Horse Creek, who had been pickin’ at the park for more than 40 years.
“I just can’t explain the joy I feel when I look out into the audience. Hands are clapping and toes are tapping. I even get to share some somber times with visitors, like the folks who are ill and come to the park for a final visit. I hold tight to that honor of bringing them joy.”
It was her own illness, though, that uprooted Lisa’s morale in 2021. She remembers feeling “off” and having pain doctors couldn’t pinpoint. Medical scans would later confirm she had stage 3 lymphoma that was so aggressive it eventually broke her pelvis and damaged her throat.
“I was so focused on surviving but also worried that —if I lived—I may never sing again. I just gave it all up to God and trusted Him through that battle.”
Part of the armor for the fight of her life was the intense treatment she started on Thanksgiving Day that year. The ruthless regimen forced her to step away from her beloved music to get stronger.
Now back on track with a clean bill of health, Lisa is focused on preserving the love of music for the next generation. You can find her most Monday evenings at The New Testament Church in Reeds Spring, giving free music lessons to area youth at the Stone County Jam Session.
“Oh, we have a ball! We have fiddles, mandolins, banjos and guitars. We work with any kid who wants to learn how to play. If they stick with it a year, they get to keep the instrument.”
Sometimes, those students come to see Lisa at the City.
“We’ve been known to bring them up on stage so they can play for the crowd. Who knows, maybe they’ll grow up to perform and do their part to pass on the tradition of music like I did.”
Through all the peaks and valleys in her life, Lisa marvels at how her struggles led her to complete contentment at this park filled with folks who’ve become family.
“I feel so blessed and so grateful but know there’s always more to give. My ultimate goal is to just love people and keep playing music. That’s all I need for a fulfilled life.”
As Public Relations Manager for the Silver Dollar City Company, she is eager to tap into her journalism background to hunt down “heart tugs” to write about—those stories that celebrate…
