The Best Country and Roots Festivals in the United States

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Making lists these days is like walking through a mine field because few people want to use them to inform themselves, and instead expect lists to validate their predisposed opinions. Ranking things in the live music space is even more perilous because it really depends so much on people’s personal experiences.

But recently another outlet laid out their top festivals in the United States (we’ll leave them nameless here), and let’s just say that it was so far off, an alternative needed to be drafted. If watching B-level talent playing to backing tracks at CMA Fest in downtown Nashville is in your top three of festival experiences, you probably shouldn’t be sharing that opinion publicly, let alone professionally.

There’s is a few ways you could approach ranking the “best festivals” in country music. But acting as if proximity to you or anyone else is irrelevant, money is no object, and access to tickets and/or accommodations isn’t an issue, what are some of the best experiences you can have listening to music in America?

After years of traversing the United States attending festivals, along with talking with other folks who do the same thing, here is a list of the Top 10 country and roots festivals, at least from Saving Country Music’s perspective.

Of course you can leave your favorite festivals in the comments below. But please, none of the comments saying the entire list is bunk if so and so festival is NOT on it, or because so and so fest IS (though you will anyway, because it’s a list, and it MUST affirm you).

And by the way, if you want a more extensive list of all the country music festivals across the world that cater mostly to independent country and roots music, check out Saving Country Music’s 2025 Festival Guide.

10. Pickathon


Pickathon (Indie rock, country, Americana) July 31 – Aug. 3rd, Happy Valley, OR


Pickaton never gets enough credit for all the firsts it launched. Located just outside of Portland, OR on the Pendarvis Farm, it was one of the first fests to start booking independent country artists outside of established folk festivals. It was the first to create a zero trash model, handing out actual dishes and stainless steel cups. And most importantly, it was the festival that helped launch the careers of Sturgill Simpson, Lake Street Dive, The Avett Brothers, and others.

Like so many festivals that started in roots music, Pickathon has since veered significantly into the indie rock, EDM, and even the hip-hop, metal, and comedy space. It’s now not significantly roots enough to call it a dedicated roots festival, though they continue to book a strong contingent of roots artists each year. It’s also not cheap, which helps pay for their “neighborhood” concept that gives you the opportunity to see performers in unique spaces.

This is about as far from a field festival as you can get. For some Pickathon goers, this is what the experience is all about, but for others it might feel like walking into a fantasy world or something.

But Pickathon remains one of the first, one of the best, one of the most sustainable, one of the most important, and one of the most enjoyable festivals to attend in all of the United States.

9. DelFest


DelFest (bluegrass) May 22-25, Cumberland, MD – (2024 Recap)


Carefully curated like MerleFest and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, DelFest features an eclectic lineup each year. It’s not unusual to find legends and veterans of the traditional bluegrass scene, the jamgrass scene, and younger up-and-coming acts often sharing in jam sessions deep into the night for thousands of enthusiastic fans. The festival has become one of the top bluegrass festivals and is on a short list of must-do destinations for fans of acoustic music.

For the uninitiated, Del McCoury is perhaps the genre’s leading elder statesmen. McCoury is something of a preservationist and living legend, keeping the traditional style of bluegrass alive and active. Drawing upon his years spent in the service of Bill Monroe as a member of The Blue Grass Boys, he remains one of the finest practitioners of a glorious American art form that has become a world-wide phenomenon.

At DelFest there are three stages: the big Grandstand stage, a secondary smaller stage, and an indoor event hall stage. During the heat of the day, many DelFest folks cool off by floating down the gorgeous Potomac river on inner tubes. Surrounded by towering rock cliffs and tree covered mountains, the river is an incredible way to relax and one can easily float away an afternoon while hearing the music in the background.

Later in the afternoons and evenings, of course the main stage becomes the center of the action with a large standing area in front of the stage and an even larger sitting area in the vast lawn space. There are also late night sessions inside the event hall. (review by Kevin Smith)

8. Braun Brothers Reunion


Braun Brothers Reunion, Aug 7-9, Challis, ID


It’s a festival. It’s a homecoming. It’s a family reunion. It’s the Braun Brothers Reunion, and it’s one of the longest-running traditions in Texas music held in Idaho each summer. Reckless Kelly and their brother band Micky and the Motorcars might be synonymous with Austin. But they all originated in Idaho, and each summer they return home and drag some of the most badass bands in the Texas scene with them.

Challis, Idaho isn’t exactly convenient to much. But those that make the trek annually swear to the camaraderie and memories that transpire each year. The lineup is always solid, and collaborations abound, culminating in a family jam.

Seasoned festival goers have said in the past that it’s not exactly the most “organized” festival they’ve ever been to. This is a family run affair after all. But improvements have been made in recent years, and for some, the Braun Brothers Reunion is their annual musical pilgrimage, and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

7. Newport Folk Festival


Newport Folk Festival, July 25-27, Newport, RI


Newport Folk is the granddaddy of them all, arguably the most prestigious stage in the entire festival circuit, and a “white whale” for many performers, in part due to its exclusivity. It’s where Bob Dylan went electric. It’s where Johnny Cash introduced Kris Kristofferson to the world. Moments like this seem to happen every year in Newport, and those who are lucky enough to secure tickets (it sells out immediately) get to experience it all.

If we’re being honest, in recent years, the lineup has veered more and more indie rock like so many roots-based festivals tend to do. Newport was never a country fest, just country-adjacent. But now it’s sometimes a struggle to see the top names in folk. But in 2025, they have the massively surging Jesse Welles, along with country superstar Luke Combs, speaking to the varied and vital moments only Newport can curate, even if at times it feels more like the Newport Clout Fest as opposed to Newport Folk.

You almost have to know somebody or been going for years to secure tickets. But it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience for sure.

6. Under The Big Sky Festival


Under The Big Sky Music Festival, (independent country, Americana) July 18-20, Whitefish, MT – (read more) – (2024 recap)


Of the major, 20,000+ attendee festivals, Under The Big Sky Fest outside of Whitefish, Montana was the first to cater solely to independent country artists, and arguably still remains the best, if for no other reason than they remain 100% independent. They proved you could put folks like Cody Jinks, the Turnpike Troubadours, Billy Strings, Tyler Childers, etc. on as headliners, and now those folks have headlined major festivals all across the United States.

Under The Big Sky truly offers a once-in-a-lifetime Western experience, with breathtaking views from the two stages, a creek and train track running through the festival site, and a real live rodeo competition that transpires during the festival. Attendees will tell you it is kind of a slog going between the two stages, and Whitefish isn’t cheap to get to. But the lineups are always expertly curated, there’s tons to do in the surrounding area, and the experience is one of a kind.

Under The Big Sky remains the best big independent country music festival.

5. Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion


Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion, Sept. 19-21, Bristol, TN – (2024 recap)


There’s a few places you can go in this world to remind you that country music is not just “music.” It is a historical continuum so inextricably interwoven with the fabric of rural American life that to disentangling it would risk the very unraveling of society itself.

One of these places that presents a living history of country music is Bristol, TN/VA, where the state line of Tennessee and Virginia bisect the city, and where Ralph Peer set up his portable recording machine in a hat shop in 1927 that would capture what would go on to become the most important recordings in country music and American history.

The Birthplace of Country Music Museum in downtown Bristol is worth visiting all by itself. But for any music fan, the best time to visit the Birthplace of Country Music is during the annual Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion. This is when they block off State Street running down the middle of downtown and straddling the state lines, erect multiple stages, and vendors set up shop on the main drag and side streets. Instead of traipsing back and forth through an open field like many festivals make you endure, you feel like you’re entering a musical village, and one that you never want to leave.

Very similar to how The Bristol Sessions gave rise to country music becoming a popularized art form enjoyed the world over, Bristol Rhythm and Roots has also become an important proving ground for talent since being founded in 2001. You talk to the right folks, and they’ll recall how Billy Strings once showed up there to busk on the street. They’ll reminisce how Tyler Childers and Colter Wall began their ascent there, and how Sturgill Simpson played there and well before the rest of the world woke up to his talents.

4. Jackalope Jamboree


Jackalope Jamboree (independent country) June 26-28, Pendleton, OR – (read more) – (2024 recap)


If you’re looking for a country music festival beyond the ordinary in an interesting place, but don’t necessarily want to break the bank on some of the other destination festivals, or slog through crowds of 15,000-20,000 people, Pendleton, Oregon’s Jackalope Jamboree is an excellent option. Expertly curated with national talent mixed with local and regional up-and-comers, it’s a smaller festival with a big impact. The big Happy Valley grandstand means there’s not a bad seat in the house, or you can stand feet away from the bands in the pit for the price of a GA ticket.

Pentleton and the surrounding area includes plenty to explore, from the original Pendleton Woolen Mills, to the nearby Indian Reservation. It is the prefect-sized festival with an affordable price, but where you can still see some of the best artists and bands in all of independent country music.

3. Telluride Bluegrass Festival


Telluride Bluegrass Festival, June 19-22, Telluride, CO – (read more) – (2024 Recap)


No other festival comes with the history, the traditions, and the prestige of the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, aside from maybe Newport Folk. But nothing beats the breathtaking views in Telluride’s box canyon, with a high mountain waterfall always just over your shoulder, the snow-capped peaks looming on all sides, and Telluride itself looking like something out of a painting.

It’s those breathtaking views that inspire some of the greatest performances and collaborations ever registered in bluegrass and beyond. And don’t worry if you’re not a bluegrass fan first. Telluride always offers a healthy selection of independent country and Americana performers to go along with the greatest bluegrass acts to ever pick and sing.

From staunch traditionalists in the Bill Monroe mold, to some of the most explorative bands in newgrass, all are welcome in Telluride. And the crowd never gets bigger than about 10,000 people, so it’s a manageable size. Telluride isn’t cheap (camping will save you some money), and be prepared for changing weather. But a trip to Telluride is guaranteed to result in musical memories that will last a lifetime.

2. Laurel Cove Music Festival


Laurel Cove Music Festival (Independent country, Americana) June 12-14, Pineville, KY


There are now many, many festivals representing independent country and roots music all around the United States. There are festivals with flashier lineups, bigger stages, extended schedules, and luxury getaway packages to cater to the power elite.

But that is not what the Laurel Cove Music Festival in Pineville, Kentucky is all about. Attendees from previous years walk away from Pineville talking about the community they found, the camaraderie they shared with their fellow attendees, the intimacy of the performances, the opportunities to discover their next favorite artist, and of course the music that is expertly curated resulting in lifelong memories.

Specializing in Appalachian roots music and those inspired by it, primary performances transpire in the Laurel Cove Amphitheater, which seats just shy of 1,000 people. So yes, it’s intimate and exclusive, and tickets regularly sell out immediately. Started in 2019 by Main Street Pineville, Bell County Tourism, and the Pine Mountain State Resort Park, Laurel Cove has quickly become one of the most coveted festivals in the United States.

1. Mile 0 Fest


Mile 0 Festival, (Texas, Red Dirt, Americana) Jan. 21-25, Key West, FL – (read more) – (2024 recap)


USA Today recently named this the #1 festival all genre in the United States, and I have to concur. There are many excellent festivals across the United States, but nothing beats Mile 0 Fest in the Conch Republic of Key West, Florida. Getting to see some of your favorite performers in iconic places like Key West’s Sunset Pier, or on a beach on the southernmost point in the United States, or in one of Duval Street’s legendary clubs is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, even if you’re lucky enough to experience it multiple times.

Key West is the closest you can get to paradise in the United States, but you can still drive there. The fest is also expertly curated where during the day, artists perform on various stages across the island, but then everyone congregates at the amphitheater at night for the big headliner shows. It’s like a combination of an amphitheater festival, with a small, intimate songwriter festival, with a deep lineup including many up-and-comers that give you the opportunity to discover your next favorite artist.

And just like all great festivals, that discovery mechanism has been strong for Mile 0 Fest over the years, with the Turnpike Troubadours, Cody Jinks, Tyler Childers, and others all playing it on their way up, and performers like Morgan Wade and The Red Clay Strays giving the festival credit for fostering their careers early on, and returning after they’d outgrown the capacity. Mile 0 Fest is the small festival with a major impact on music because so many of the people who trek there are the most hardcore fans who then support the artists they discover throughout the rest of the year.

One criticism you might hear of the fest is the lineup can be a little too similar year after year. This is in part because it’s not a country fest or a popular music fest, but a Texas/Red Dirt Fest, and so the headliners and undercard are going to be the mainstays of Texas/ Red Dirt music. But over the last couple of years they’ve really worked to pull in new names, and there’s always something to discover.

And of course, Mile 0 Fest is super expensive being in Key West. But hey, you’re paying to go hear your favorite music in paradise. Even if it’s a one-off splurge, Mile 0 Fest is always worth it.

Honorable Mentions:

Saving Country Music’s 2025 Festival Guide

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