Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion to celebrate Americana, country, rock at September fest

A dozen acts whose ability to seamlessly blend Americana, country, rock and roots stylings are among the headlining acts at the 23rd annual Rhythm and Roots Reunion that occurs at the Bristol border of East Tennessee and Southwestern Virginia from Sept. 13-15.

Artists including longtime Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion favorites 49 Winchester, Ashley McBryde, The Wallflowers, The Red Clay Strays, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, Sam Bush, Wilderado, The SteelDrivers, and Brittney Spencer have earned acclaim everywhere from the Grammy Awards to the Country Music Hall of Fame, Academy of Country Music, Americana Music Association, Country Music Association and International Bluegrass Music Association Awards stages.

Tickets for the three-day event are currently on sale and the entire lineup is available at bristolrhythm.com.

Over three days, the festival attracts over 40,000 visitors to the farthest reaches of East Tennessee to see 100 bands playing over a dozen outdoor stages and indoor venues along Bristol's historic State Street—where the Bristol Sessions occurred.

"Bristol has always been a central space for country music," stated Music City and Bristol-favored singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale in a 2022 Tennessean interview.

For Spotify-favored and 2024 Grand Ole Opry NextStage class members 49 Winchester, headlining Bristol's Rhythm & Roots Reunion is a full-circle moment.

"We were borne from festivals like Rhythm and Roots," 49 Winchester's bass guitarist Chase Chafin told The Tennessean.

The band hails from near Bristol in Russell County, Virginia.

"It's the melting pot," he said. "Bluegrass with fiddles, a rock band with a trombone player, legendary country music—all good American music that's not necessarily being made with the barriers of commercial success and genre restrictions in mind (can be found at the Rhythm & Roots Reunion)."

The depth and scope of this dynamic scene's range of emerging performers will also be featured among the 92 overall acts booked at various venues along State Street in downtown Bristol.

Those include Nashville-based Southern rock outfit Hippies and Cowboys and eastern Kentucky underground favorites Laid Back Country Picker, plus the Sam Grisman Project, The Resonant Rogues, renowned bluegrass vocalist and musician Junior Sisk, blues artist Justin Golden and a myriad of acclaimed teenage performers: Grace Bowers, Parker Collins, Wyatt Ellis and Lillian Hackett among them, will also perform.

In recent years, Charley Crockett, Lucy Dacus, Sierra Ferrell, Margo Price, Alison Russell and The War and Treaty — among many — have played the annual Bristol festivities.

2024 marks the 10th anniversary of the Smithsonian-affiliated interactive museum sharing the name of the festival's co-sponsor (alongside Ballad Health), the Birthplace of Country Music.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: 2024 Bristol Rhythm and Roots celebrates Americana at September fest