Downtown Medley in Bristol

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Patty Loveless, Dan Tyminski, John Cowan, Tim O’Brien.
All acknowledged masters of different-yet-similar genres of music and among the headline performers for this weekend’s Rhythm & Roots Reunion.
Whether a music fan’s tastes run to traditional country, bluegrass, Americana, blues or any number of other styles, the Twin City’s downtown music festival is designed to offer something to suit everyone, said Dave Stallard, co-chairman of the festival’s music committee.
“This is my fourth year with the festival, and I talk to a lot of people who say they never come over here because it’s just a bluegrass festival. There couldn’t be anything further from the truth,” Stallard said Saturday afternoon, speaking over the old-time sounds of the Roan Mountain Hilltoppers.
“The more and more diverse we get, the more and more satisfied people are becoming, because there truly is something for everyone,” Stallard said. “You’ll find an Americana band you’re gonna dig or a rockabilly band. If you want bluegrass, we’ve got that. If you can’t find something to listen to here, then I don’t know what we can do for you.”
The festival continues to honor the 1927 Bristol Sessions recordings that helped fuel the explosion of commercial country music in the U.S. and around the world – and featured Hall of Fame performers the Carter Family, the Stonemans and Jimmie Rodgers.
The musical diversity – combined with the Twin City’s heritage – has made this festival a one-of-a-kind experience for performers and fans, according to artists like Tim O’Brien and Darrell Scott.
“Music is music,” O’Brien said after performing Friday night. “There’s two kinds – according to Duke Ellington – good and bad. I think they book the good kind here.”
“I never saw the sense of putting walls around it [music]. Bluegrass is part of one thing and part of another. It’s a mix of different things, so you might want to hear the separate elements of blues and the old fiddle tunes and then hear what it sounds like altogether. Rock and roll is another one of those, where various things combined to make a kind of music,” O’Brien said.
The Grammy Award-winning musician and former member of bluegrass supergroup Hot Rize said Bristol is an ideal place to hold this event.
“People really appreciate this kind of music. A lot of the hard-core fans know it was first recorded here, but it just exists naturally. It kind of grows out of the ground around here and you’ve got people coming from all around the world, so you’re on to something.”
Scott, a highly acclaimed singer-songwriter and Nashville session player, said the festival’s success lies in being true to its name.
“I think the catchword is ‘roots,’ “ Scott said just before going on stage. “Roots could be blues, it could be folk, it could be bluegrass. It could be country and, to tell you the truth it could be rock, as long as it’s roots, I think we’re in luck.”
A festival favorite for several years, Scott said he has watched the event mature.
“I think it’s going better than ever. It keeps growing. All you’ve got to do is look at the lineup. It’s unbelievable, and the people are supporting it,” Scott said, adding he enjoys performing downtown.
The musical smorgasbord approach accurately reflects the Bristol Sessions, which included a wide variety of styles, according to Bill Hartley, executive director of the Bristol-based Birthplace of Country Music Alliance.
“When Peer [the 1927 Sessions] recorded 76 songs by 19 artists, it was everything from gospel to old ballads and the blues,” Hartley said. “It really was a good cross-section of what mountain music was at that time.”
The response of fans remains a critical factor in how and who the festival schedules, said Larry Gorley, the music committee’s other co-chairman.
“One has to remember that the fans that come to our festival have different tastes,” he said. “To keep them interested in our festival, we have to satisfy their tastes. Sometimes we go straight up the tree and sometimes we go out on a limb – but we try to remember to keep the limb connected to the tree.”
The festival’s reputation includes taking risks by booking acts that don’t fit under a bluegrass or country label, festival Executive Director Leah Ross said.
“The Carolina Chocolate Drops are a perfect example,” Ross said.
The three-member African-American string band attracted large crowds during three festival appearances and have now gained an international following.
This year’s festival includes groups like Dr. Dog, Scythian, Holy Ghost Tent Revival and the New Familiars, that – at first blush – may appear totally unrelated to Jimmie Rodgers or the Carter Family.
“One of the strengths of our music committee is we have this group of 10 or 11 people that have such diverse, eclectic musical interests,” Stallard said. “People bring bands to the table and – as long as we can make that connection between what they’re doing and what happened in 1927 with the Peer sessions and Appalachian music in general – it’s a no-brainer to bring a good band to State Street.”
Another hallmark of Rhythm & Roots has been striking a balance between established stars like Ralph Stanley, Del McCoury, Doyle Lawson and Gene Watson with those on the cusp on breaking through, Gorley said.
While Dan Tyminksi was a heralded player in 2008, many Rhythm & Roots fans knew him primarily as a member of Union Station. Tyminski and his band returned to Bristol Saturday sporting nine International Bluegrass Music Association award nominations, including entertainer of the year.
The festival signed bluegrass standouts Dailey & Vincent last fall, just days before they were named the IBMA entertainers of the year, Gorley said.
That group is scheduled to help close the festival today with a 5:30 p.m. performance.
This year’s festival also includes two of five 2009 rising star nominees – The SteelDrivers and Sierra Hull & Highway 111.
Those awards will be presented later this month at the IBMA World of Bluegrass in Nashville.
Before more than 150 artists can perform more than 300 sets this weekend, organizers spent months deciding and filling in the blanks of a schedule resembling a giant jigsaw puzzle.
“As we put to bed 2009, we’ll immediately begin looking at 2010,” Stallard said. “As I head home to Wise Sunday night, I’m already thinking about who we’re bringing back. In fact, we’re already floating ideas for next year.”
The actual process begins next month, as organizers debate and discuss who to book, Stallard said. Their goal is to complete the booking by March or April and have a tentative schedule assembled by early summer.
“We tend to look at our headliners first, but we know we’ve got a whole lot of music to put on State Street, over the course of three days. We just start plugging them in and try to make it as balanced, diverse and eclectic as we can,” Stallard said.
Much of the credit goes to the committee of music enthusiasts who volunteer their time and energy to keep up with the different genres and understand who is attracting the attention of fans and the music industry, Ross said.
“Our music committee does a great job. Every year we try to better what we did the year before. Last year we had Doc Watson, Ralph Stanley and Cephas & Wiggins. I think this year we’ve topped that.”
Assembling that puzzle involves finding the right mix of musical styles, popular acts, up and coming acts and a healthy percentage of regional talent. All while staying within a budget.
For 2009, organizers are spending about $250,000 to schedule, house, and feed acts from all over the U.S., plus a couple of foreign countries, Ross said.
Now in its ninth year, the festival has experienced exponential growth among musicians.
“So many artists want to play our festival,” Ross said. “We are getting the reputation of being an artist’s festival – meaning we work with them, house them, feed them and offer a great environment. People enjoy playing here.”
Since last year’s festival, about 1,000 artists contacted organizers seeking to play at this year’s event, Ross said. More than 200 of them contacted the festival during a three-day period last year, when organizers experimented with an online booking program.
“Artists appreciate the hospitality, but they love how they’re received by the fans,” Gorley said. “Artists love a warm reception, and the fans love a great set that the musicians are really getting into. That seems to happen at Bristol’s Rhythm & Roots Reunion each year.”

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