BRISTOL, Tenn./Va, (WJHL) – The annual Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion has become a tradition for many, but for others, today was the time to see what all the excitement is about.
On Saturday, the cities of Bristol, Tennessee, and Virginia were full of people looking to enjoy everything the festival had to offer.
“[There’s] the friendliness,” said Monte Bowen from Johnson City. “Beautiful music, the beautiful atmosphere, and the city is gorgeous.”
Local 23rd annual Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion kicks off Those who attended their first festival said the buzz surrounding Rhythm and Roots was something they couldn’t ignore.
“I’ve never been here before,” said Michael Schexnayder from San Diego, California. “[I’ve] always heard of it, wanted to check it. A good friend of mine’s like, ‘Hey, you got to go.'”
“We’ve heard it’s going to be one of the best music festivals in the country,” said Andres Diaz. Diaz and his wife, Sandy, are visiting from Colombia. “We’re excited to be here. We really love to be here today and tomorrow, and we’re looking forward to it.”
The festival attendees weren’t the only ones excited for the weekend. Hannah Dasher, an artist out of Nashville, debuted her Rhythm and Roots this year. She said the wide range of musical groups and friendly audiences make Rhythm and Roots special.
“What a good crowd with good energy,” said Dasher. “Virginia is my kind of crowd; East Tennessee is too.”
For the first time this year, artists made recordings reminiscent of the 1927 Bristol Sessions . The recordings were produced for Paste Magazine.
“Ralph [Peer] came down from New York City in 1927 to capture Americana roots, country music at its source,” said Brad Wagner, Co-founder of the production company ‘I Know We Should’. “As opposed to doing it in New York, which is exactly what we’re doing.”
Johnson City mother achieves dream of home ownership Wagner and Juan Soria, the second founder of the production company, are from New York and were drawn to the festival based on its lineup.
“I saw that Grace [Bowers] was on this lineup and then [I] dug in deeper to the lineup and realized that it’s just all killer,” said Wagner. “All heavy hitters.”
To keep the feel of the sessions, Wagner and Soria are recording only using one microphone.
“How we are recording the sessions is trying to get all the artists around the one microphone like the old time days,” said Soria. “Just try to get it like as raw as possible so we can capture that vibe. And I think that’s something that we’re trying to do here.”
The recordings from those sessions will be available on Paste Magazine’s YouTube page.
Rhythm and Roots will continue through Sunday night. Tickets are available at the gate, and tickets for the festival in 2025 are now available on their website .
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