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There are music festivals where you arrive, find the stages, see the bands and eventually make your way home. Then there is Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion.
Immediately upon arriving in Bristol, Tennessee-Virginia, I knew I was in for a different kind of experience. The people I encountered seemed genuinely invested in making sure I found my way, discovered the best food and understood why this small Appalachian town holds such an important place in American music history.
I felt like I was walking through a movie at times, meeting the characters who help tell Bristol’s story. Charlene from Believe in Bristol pointed me toward Chef T’s perfect sandwiches at Dragonfly Book Bar. Local photographers introduced me to festival volunteers, showed me historic buildings and even taught me shortcuts through the festival grounds. That spirit of community became one of my favorite parts of Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion.
The festival returned September 11 – 13 for its 25th anniversary, transforming historic downtown Bristol into a sprawling celebration of roots music. The festival takes place literally across two states, with State Street serving as the Tennessee-Virginia border. For three days, more than 85 artists performed across outdoor stages and indoor venues throughout downtown, covering Americana, bluegrass, country, folk, blues and rock.
But Bristol Rhythm & Roots is more than a collection of concerts. It feels like the town itself is part of the festival.
Walking Through the Birthplace of Country Music
I started Friday morning at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum inside the festival, where I dug into the history of the legendary 1927 Bristol Sessions.
Those recordings, made by Ralph Peer, introduced The Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers and other performers to a much wider audience and helped establish Bristol’s place in music history. The festival continues that legacy while looking forward, bringing established legends together with emerging artists who are shaping what roots music sounds like today.
After visiting the museum, I headed to the Burger Bar, a Bristol institution with a connection to music history of its own. There is a long-standing story that Hank Williams Sr. was last seen alive there, so naturally I had to order a burger and fries before beginning my first full day of music.
Walking through downtown after lunch, I started to understand what makes this festival so unusual. The stages aren’t isolated from the community. They are woven into it.
Friday: From Laid-Back Country to Musical History
My festival photography began Friday afternoon with Laid Back Country Picker on the Lauderdale Stage. I can honestly say my life will never be the same after seeing this husband-and-wife duo. David Prince, the Country Picker, played guitar and sang while his wife, Honey, sat behind the drums wearing pink curlers. She immediately became my spirit animal.
The two are retired local school teachers, and Prince has also served as a mentor to Tyler Childers. Laid Back Country Picker has opened for Childers at both Red Rocks and The Ryman Auditorium, but there was something especially fun about seeing them perform in Bristol, surrounded by the community they call home.
Friday continued with sets from Momma Molasses and The Corklickers, one of the only bands to have played all 25 years of Bristol Rhythm & Roots.
Madeline Edwards was another standout. Her enormous voice filled the stage as she performed “How Strong I Am,” a song that has recently found a new audience after being featured in the Prime Video series Ride or Die, starring Hannah Waddingham, Octavia Spencer and Bill Nighy.
I also discovered Meels, a new Americana artist whose afternoon set immediately caught my attention. She is scheduled to appear at Bourbon & Beyond, and based on what I saw in Bristol, she is an artist worth seeking out.
Then came one of the festival’s special anniversary moments. Jim Lauderdale and Donna the Buffalo reunited on the State Street Stage for a 25th anniversary jam. The set included “Life By Numbers,” “Wait Till Spring” and “Patchwork River,” among other songs. Lauderdale has been coming to Bristol for years, and he described the experience in a way that captured exactly what I was beginning to feel.
“Honestly, every time I come and perform, it’s a different kind of excitement,” Lauderdale recalled. “I remember the very first time I came here to Bristol to play Rhythm & Roots, and I just felt this magic walking down State Street and these side streets. I still have this overwhelming feeling when I come to Bristol, but especially during Rhythm & Roots, because there’s so much extra energy with all the people here and musicians.”
I couldn’t have said it better.
One of my favorite Friday experiences happened inside the Paramount Theater, where songwriter and producer Toby Gad teamed with cellist Dave Eggar for a storyteller performance. Gad is behind some of pop music’s biggest songs, including John Legend’s “All of Me,” Fergie’s “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and Beyoncé’s “If I Were a Boy.” Rather than simply performing the songs, Gad and Eggar told the stories behind them, with Gad at the piano, Eggar on cello and guest vocalists bringing the songs to life.
I didn’t want to leave the theater, but Los Lobos were waiting. The legendary band brought decades of music history to the Piedmont Stage, including “La Bamba,” before The War and Treaty took over State Street.
Michael Trotter and Tanya Trotter blew the roof off the stage with a high-energy performance that included “Darlene and Gene” and “Shouldn’t Have.” Friday also marked the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001. Michael Trotter, a veteran, spoke about the significance of honoring those who lost their lives and then delivered an emotional performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
St. Paul and The Broken Bones closed my Friday night on the Piedmont Stage. Paul Janeway appeared in a golden sparkling cape with gold spike shoes to match, and his enormous voice and seemingly endless energy were the perfect way to end the night with “Sanctify.”
Saturday: Rain, Rivalries and Bluegrass Royalty
Saturday brought a very different festival experience. Rain moved into Bristol, and a code red temporarily shut down the outdoor stages for much of the morning and early afternoon. Fans packed into the indoor venues, while others took refuge at Stateline Bar & Grille to watch college football and wait for the weather to cooperate.
Eventually, the skies cleared, and Hannah Dasher helped kick the afternoon back into gear. Wearing a red polka-dot dress and playing her signature Fender guitars, Dasher brought a packed crowd to the Cumberland Park Stage. Her sharp sense of humor and powerful vocals made for a perfect reintroduction to the outdoor festival, with songs including “You’re Gonna Love Me” and “Redneck Ass.”
Saturday also introduced me to Trousdale, a Los Angeles pop-folk trio that played the Piedmont Stage. Their younger fanbase brought a noticeably different energy to the festival, and it was another example of how Bristol can move comfortably between generations and genres.
But the highlight of Saturday for me was the Del McCoury Band. The bluegrass legends delivered exactly the kind of performance I had hoped to experience in Bristol. There is something timeless about watching these musicians play together, and hearing “Nashville Cats” live never gets old.
In a festival built around the history of roots music, The Del McCoury Band felt like a living connection between the past and present.
Sunday: Delicious Food, New Discoveries and a Perfect Ending
By Sunday, the sun was shining, and I covered more ground than I had on either previous day.
The morning began at The Sessions Hotel for the Rhythm & Roots Kegs & Eggs Brunch Experience, hosted by Chef Torrece “Chef T” Gregoire and Chef Michael Roe. Chef T was a runner up on Hell’s Kitchen and has recently been featured on Food Network’s BBQ Brawl with Bobby Flay and Yes Chef! With Martha Stewart and Jose Andres.
The brunch featured pumpkin spice fried chicken and waffles, quail egg mini croque madames and donut bread pudding. Live music from singer-songwriters including Mary McGuiness and Jason Farlow added to the relaxed Sunday morning rooftop atmosphere.
One of my favorite discoveries of the entire weekend was The Band Loula. I first caught the duo during an acoustic performance inside the Paramount Theater and then saw them return Sunday with a full band at the Cumberland Park Stage. Their version of Robert Flack’s “Killing Me Softly With His Song” gave me chills.
Maggie Antone brought a completely different energy to the Piedmont Stage. Dressed in a mint-colored slip dress and shawl, she performed songs from her debut album Rhinestoned, creating an almost ethereal moment in the middle of a busy festival afternoon.
Then came Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives. I have seen Marty perform before, but he is always a treat. Few performers possess his stage presence, poise and deep understanding of country music history. During the golden-hour set at Cumberland Park, the band performed classics including “Tear the Woodpile Down” and “I’m Blue, I’m Lonesome.”
For the final set of the weekend, it was only fitting that Old Crow Medicine Show returned to State Street. The band played the very first Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion, making them the perfect choice to close the festival’s 25th anniversary celebration. Frontman Ketch Secor raced around the stage with his harmonica and fiddle while the crowd stretched for blocks down State Street.
And then came “Wagon Wheel.” The entire town seemed to sing.
A Festival That Feels Like a Reunion
After 20 years of covering festivals and live music, I have learned that the best festivals are not necessarily the ones with the biggest stages or the most elaborate production. Sometimes they are the ones where the location matters as much as the lineup. Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion is one of those festivals.
It is a festival where the Tennessee-Virginia state line runs directly through the middle of the action. Where historic buildings become part of the backdrop. Where local photographers introduce you to volunteers. Where a retired teacher can walk onto a stage in pink curlers and completely steal the show. Where legends of bluegrass share the weekend with artists you may be hearing for the first time.
Most importantly, it is a festival where I discovered more new music than I have at any festival I have covered. I didn’t see a bad set all weekend. That may sound impossible after 20 years of festival coverage, but Bristol made it feel completely normal.
The 25th anniversary celebration reminded me that roots music isn’t simply a genre. It is a living conversation between generations, musicians, communities and places. And in Bristol, you don’t just hear that history. You walk through it.
