Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion Fest Announces 2017 Lineup
Dwight Yoakam will headline the 17th annual Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion music festival presented by the Birthplace of Country Music. Famous for straddling the two state lines of Tennessee and Virginia, and being the location where Ralph Peer’s Bristol Sessions gave birth to the recorded legacy of country and roots music, Bristol hosts an estimated 40,000 attendees annually to take in performances on 20 outdoor stages and indoor venues with more than 120 acts of live music over the course of the 3-day weekend.
“Dwight Yoakam is an artist we have wanted to bring to Bristol Rhythm for years,” says Leah Ross, Executive Director of the Birthplace of Country Music. “This is the year we were able to make that happen. Dwight has an amazing body of work as a musician and songwriter. His music has built bridges across a variety of genres, and that’s what Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion is all about.”
2017’s Bristol Rhythm & Roots will take place September 15th-17th, and commemorate the 90th Anniversary of the the Bristol Sessions, which Johnny Cash once called “the single most important event in the history of country music.”
Birthplace of Country Music Museum and Radio Bristol are not-for-profit entities that bring an estimated $16 million impact to the Bristol region through the festival. Tickets are $75 and can be purchased now.
2017 Bristol Rhythm & Roots Lineup
• Dwight Yoakam • Judah & The Lion • Jerry Douglas Presents Earls of Leicester • Son Volt • Rodney Crowell • Deer Tick The Infamous Stringdusters • Mark O’Connor ft. the O’Connor Band • The SteelDrivers • Langhorne Slim • Mandolin Orange • Dead Man Winter • Hiss Golden Messenger • The Black Lillies
• Amanda Shires • Southern Culture on the Skids • Will Hoge • The Whiskey Gentry • Zach Deputy • The Dustbowl Revival • Chris Knight • American Aquarium • Billy Strings • The Cactus Blossoms • Jesse McReynolds • The Deslondes • Ron Gallo • Front Country • Love Canon • The Way Down Wanderers • Mile Twelve • Elliot Root • SUSTO • Becky Buller Band • Folk Soul Revival • Annabelle’s Curse • Lillie Mae • Lonesome River Band • David Peterson & 1946 • Amythyst Kiah • Petunia & The Vipers • Karl Shiflett & Big Country Show • Paul Cauthen • Lilly Winwood • Hoots & Hellmouth • Tim Easton • Colter Wall • Devon Gilfillian • Bill & The Belles
• 10 String Symphony • Adam Graybeal’s Hillbilly Soul • Annie Robinette • Beth Snapp • The Bones of J.R. Jones • The Broadcast • C2 and the Brothers Reed • Carson Peters & Iron Mountain • Charlie Parr • Charm City Junction • Chrome Pony “• Hello Stranger” ft. Dale Jett • David Gans • Demon Waffle • Ed Snodderly • Jason “Hoss” Hicks & His Southsiders • The Lawsuits • Po’ Ramblin’ Boys • Sally & George • • Tellico • Tyler Childers • Vandoliers • Virginia Ground • Whiskey Shivers
• 49 Winchester • Ali Epperson • Billy Crawford Band • Boots on the Ground Bluegrass Band • Breaking Tradition • Briana Atwell • Chris Jamison • Circus No. 9 • Cookin’ With Grass • Cotton Hill • The Corklickers • Corrina Rose • Logston & Jeremy Stephens • The U.S. Navy Band • Country Current • Dan Deel • The Dead Tongues • The Dread Scots • Farmer Jason • Farmhouse Ghost • Folk Alt. • Fritz & Co. The Green Fingers • Harper and the Bears • Hello October • The Honey Badgers • Indighost • Jake Quillin Band • James Meadows • Jonathan Vassar & The Badlands • J.P. Parsons & The American Bandwagon JV Squad • Kacey Buchanan • The Kindest People • Marshall Ballew • Minute After Midnight • My New Favorites • Old Heavy Hands • Pierceton Hobbs • Possum Creek Playboys • Reagan Boggs • Rhythm & The Roosevelts • Ron Short & The Possum Playboys • Scotty Melton • The Sheets Family Band • These Are The Angles • Tiny Mountains • Wise Old River
May 8, 2017 @ 7:06 pm
Son Volt!!!!!!!
That is all.
May 9, 2017 @ 4:50 am
If you had bought an early bird ticket, you could have gotten it for $55.00 This is a great festival of mainly acts that fall into the Roots or Americana genres, if you need to categorize. The Birthplace of Country Music Museum is right there and passes can be purchased for the three day festival for $10 I believe. Great museum if you want to learn about the roots of real country music. They run a radio station out of the museum, WBCM. They stream three separate channels continuously. Their regular programming, an Americana stream, and a Classic stream. These are the places and events where you will find real music for real music lovers.
“There’s only two kinds of music: the blues and zippety doo-dah.”-Townes Van Zandt
If you want zippety doo-dah, shop your music at Walmart and listen to commercial radio. If you want “the blues” you have to dig into some online station, some streaming stations such ad WBCM or WMOT out of Nashville which is connected to Music City Roots. I’m an old guy, 64 yrs. If I can search out the real deal music, certainly you tech savvy 20-40 yr. olds can find it. I am amazed that a lot of the dialog at this blog is focused on debating what is or is not played on typical commercial radio. I may be wrong, but I don’t think getting good music back on this format is going to happen. The good music and good artists, and there are literally thousands, have moved on to other ways of reaching their audience.
May 9, 2017 @ 10:23 am
Hey Bill, this is David Jessee. I like your post even though you’re an old guy. ( At 64, you’ve probably got that old man smell by now).
Our band, Cotton Hill is playing sometime Friday. I hope we can connect, and hope that all is well with you.
David
May 9, 2017 @ 12:51 pm
David, I’ll check the stage schedule when it comes out and find out where you’re playing. See you there.
I’ll also be at the Red Wing Roots Fest. in Mt. Solon in July.
May 9, 2017 @ 5:46 am
That’s an impressive lineup, I would love to attend this event and discover so many underground artists I’ve never seen/heard before. Seems every time I check off an item on my bucket list, I add three more. Thanks a lot, Trigg!!!
May 9, 2017 @ 6:59 am
Incredible line-up of quality headliners .
Only act missing is Shania Twain .. (…..just wanna see who’s awake ….lol )
May 9, 2017 @ 7:01 am
If we don’t do Farm Aid this year, maybe we’ll do this.
May 9, 2017 @ 8:15 am
I’ve been to this festival twice and both times, I had a blast. The lineups are always amazing and the city of Bristol is a fantastic place to have a music festival. This festival is a must go for anybody that loves roots music.
May 9, 2017 @ 2:13 pm
Best lineup they’ve had in years (now that I no longer live in the area). We saw Rodney Crowell a few weeks ago and it was incredible. However, I saw Yoakam on Friday and was disappointed. Loudest “country” show ever, newest song was from 1998, 10 of the first 11 were covers. Big fan of Yoakam’s music, but I don’t think i will be seeing him again.
May 9, 2017 @ 3:08 pm
It’s been a few years since I last saw Dwight. But I keep hearing the same complaint about volume and many saying that the guitars are distorting waaay too much. One guy said it sounded like Ramones!
I wonder what the cause is. Last show of his I attended, it was the dude from Mavericks playing lead guitar and he was heavy on tremelo but not distortion. Another guy told me it wasn’t intentional distoration but like the sound system was maxed out. Weird.
May 9, 2017 @ 7:31 pm
Kevin, The guys in his band have backgrounds in power pop. Nothing wrong with that as I have listened to tons of power pop in my life (I bought Eugene Edwards’ 2004 solo album when it came out). Yoakam, in fact, has written songs with glorious pop hooks. But the other night, something got lost in the translation. I think it was the songs, which weren’t given any room to breathe. The feedback/distortion during “Suspicious Minfs” (lots of it) was so wrong,as was Edwards windmillimg his arm a la Pete Townshend. From the stage, Yoakam went on and on about preserving the country tradition. He then attempted to blow our eardrums out. Though I consider him first and foremost a country artist, I have always appreciated the rock ‘n’ roll/rockabilly influence in his sound. This wasn’t rock ‘n’ roll, though, it was rock (if you understand what I’m saying). Four straight Merle Haggard covers that essentially sounded like a rock cover band trying to be ironic. That touch of country swing was missing. Who knows, maybe this is the residue that comes with opening arena shows for Eric Church. I am not anti-Church, as I thought Mt. Misunderstood was pretty good. I’m just guessing that his shows might be loud as well.
May 10, 2017 @ 12:19 am
I just want to see the Black lillies!!!!!!
September 16, 2017 @ 5:06 pm
I am just sick I missed the Navy country current group. I watch one of these groups every day. I like the Sea Chanters especially. Adam, Mike, Ben and Bill. Doesn’t get any better than these guys. I hope during the holidays one of them will be close enough to drive a be see from East Tennessee. Thanks guys. My son sent me a video fromBristol on his phone.