The square in front of the Stone County Courthouse is the social and musical centre of Mountain View. From spring through autumn — most evenings, all day on weekends — small circles of acoustic musicians gather on the sidewalks and under the courthouse porticos to play traditional Ozark music: fiddle tunes, old gospel, Carter Family songs, and the slow-time mountain ballads. The standing rule is that anyone with an acoustic instrument is welcome to join.
The square itself is small and walkable, ringed by 19th-century brick storefronts — a working bank, a couple of restaurants, the Mellon's general store-feel businesses, and the courthouse on the south side. A few benches in the shade are the natural listening spots. Bring a folding chair on a busy Saturday and stay an hour or two. There is no admission and no schedule.