BRISTOL, TENN READIES FOR 13TH ANNUAL RHYTHM & ROOTS REUNION

BRISTOL, THE BIRTHPLACE OF COUNTRY MUSIC, READIES FOR 13^TH ANNUAL RHYTHM & ROOTS REUNION

BRISTOL, Tenn.  (Monday, Aug. 26, 2013) -- Just how big is the award-winning Rhythm & Roots Reunion? It’s a celebration of music so grand, one state can’t contain it.

The annual Rhythm & Roots Reunion, held the third weekend of September each year in Bristol, Tennessee and Bristol, Virginia, is a festival like no other, a three-day celebration of Appalachian music’s roots, past, present and future.

Set this year for Sept. 20-22, R&RR is about both traditional and current country music. It’s also bluegrass and Celtic, Americana, folk, old-time, blues, Indie, rock and reggae. What it is, is a chart-topping music aficionado’s dream.

Now in its 13^th year, R&RR has grown into one of the largest and most successful events in the Southeast after rather humble beginnings. In 2001 the event, which was born as a way to promote Bristol as the Birthplace of Country Music, boasted 30 artists and welcomed a crowd of approximately 7,500.

These days not only has the number of artists grown – this year more than 150 acts will perform -- but so too has the audience. In 2012, the estimated three-day attendance was in excess of 50,000 with visitors coming from 36 states and six foreign countries.  

Originally, only three stages were used for R&RR; in 2013 five outdoor stages, along with 15 indoor stages and a dance tent, will be utilized for the likes of Grammy-winner Lucinda Williams, Keller Williams, Masters of Bluegrass and Deer Tick, some of this year’s headliners.

To say it’s become one of the most anticipated musical events of the year is an understatement. 

“When we started out, we really had no idea how much it would grow,” said Leah Ross, Executive Director of Rhythm and Roots Reunion. “We have so many artists who want to participate... We’ve got more than 150 bands playing over 200 sets of music this year. That’s a heck of a lot of music and it’s also very diverse. You can listen to bluegrass, walk a ways and hear country, move on and there’s rock and so on. If you’re a music lover, it’s like utopia.”

While there have been quite a few big name artists perform at R&RR, i.e. the Avett Brothers, Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart and Patty Lovelace to name a few, the festival largely celebrates hard working, passionate singers who tirelessly promote their music, logging countless miles while performing at small venues around the country.

Last year the festival was honored by Blue Ridge Outdoors Best Fests for best downtown festival, nominated Best Bluegrass Event of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association and recognized in Virginia Living Magazine’s Best of Virginia 2012 issue. Other honors include the 2011 Bronze Kaleidoscope Award for Best Festival from the Southeast Festival and Events Association, the 2010 Shining Example Award – Festival of the Year (Southeast Tourism Society), and the 2009 Virgo Award for Best Destination Event of the Year.

John Oates, of the famed Hall and Oates duo, performed at R&RR in 2011 and of opined “This is the best weekend of music I’ve experienced in my whole life.”

Dom Flemons of the Grammy-winning group The Carolina Chocolate Drops, who played the festival in 2010, was in awe of Bristol’s musical heritage.

“Bristol is such a cultural landmark in terms of music,” said Flemons. “It’s one of those places where you pay tribute. When you go to Memphis, you go to Beale Street. When you go to Nashville, you go down Music Row. It holds its legacy.”

And Bristol’s musical legacy, dating back to 1927, is extraordinary.

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