Rhythm & Roots Sponsors Say Attendance Was Up

Traffic moved smoothly through the Twin City’s downtown on Monday, just hours after thousands of music fans clogged the streets for three days during the Rhythm & Roots Reunion festival.

Virtually no trace of the eighth annual festival remained, after the last note sounded and the last guitar was packed away Sunday night.

Stages that blocked two of the downtown’s primary arteries, chairs, lighting, barricades, tents, temporary bleacher seating, fences and all the other temporary vestiges had all been packed up and hauled away.

About the only visible traces Monday were a few remaining posters taped in windows and some stained sections of sidewalks.

Breaking down the three-day event is a joint effort for workers from both cities, the festival committee, some volunteers and a crew that handles the large street stages, Executive Director Leah Ross said.

“We can’t say enough about the public works departments of Bristol, Va., and Bristol, Tenn.,” Ross said, adding that most of the cleanup occurs in a few hours.

As crowds were departing Sunday evening, workers from both cities began working, said Bill Dennison, city manager of Bristol, Va.

“It’s mostly taking down the barricades, running the street sweepers and picking trash up,” Dennison said. “It’s a combination of public works and parks and recreation [employees]. We’ve got it pretty much down to a science.”

City employees receive overtime pay, which is built into the budget each year, Dennison said.

“We know we’ll have a certain number of events – Food City Family Race Night, Border Bash, Rhythm & Roots – so we just budget for overtime,” Dennison said.

Final festival attendance figures haven’t been tabulated but officials are ecstatic about the turnout.

“Our goal was to hit 30,000 – which would be a 20 percent increase over 2007 – and I think we did that,” Ross said. “We know the number is up, but to what degree we don’t know yet.”

Festival officials are being careful not to overstate attendance figures, after some incorrect estimates were released last year.

The response from attendees, artists, vendors and downtown businesses was overwhelmingly positive, Ross said.

“We had a couple of people who wanted to see a certain band and couldn’t get in, but they went away happy,” Ross said. “Overall, we had to take care of very few complaints.”

Some fans were unhappy about missing certain indoor performances, particularly The Infamous Stringdusters and Blue Highway when the Paramount Center for the Arts filled to capacity.

“We struggle with that,” Ross said. “But 95 percent of the shows at the Paramount weren’t at capacity. And those bands did one set somewhere outside.”

Festival Chairwoman Vicie Dotson said this year’s event went well.

“I couldn’t have been more pleased,” Dotson said. “Things seemed to run very smoothly and everybody seemed to be happy and having a good time.”

The majority of downtown merchants now embrace the festival, said Christina Blevins, executive director of Main Street Bristol.

“The restaurants and bars had a phenomenal weekend. That was the word they used – ‘phenomenal.’ Every place was packed for every set,” Blevins said. “Some of the retailers wish it could have been better. But, all in all, I think most everyone was pleased.”

As the festival attracts larger and larger crowds, vendor tents often obstruct storefronts and vehicle traffic is prohibited from early Friday until late Sunday.

“Downtown businesses, for the most part, have begun to embrace the festival and try to take advantage of the people who are in town,” Ross said.

Customers of at least two State Street banks must also deal with the altered traffic patterns.

“I did not hear any complaints from our customers – not one,” said Scott Peak, community bank president of Wachovia Bank on State Street. “I’m sure it’s hard to get to our location, but we just love having events like that in our community.”

Officials at the First Tennessee Bank branch would not answer questions on Monday.

Five people were arrested and charged with public intoxication by police on the Virginia side of town, Capt. Maynard Ratcliff said.

“Considering the number of people down there, that was relatively low,” Ratcliff said. “We had six [arrests] last year and 14 the year before.”

Two people were arrested and charged with public intoxication in Bristol, Tenn.

Police and businesses enforce an open container law that prohibits alcohol on the street.

“This is a family festival,” Blevins said. “Anyone who wants to drink has the option of going into a bar, but we don’t allow it in the street. That is very, very unique.”

While the books on this year’s festival won’t be closed for a couple of weeks, work already is beginning on the 2009 event, Ross said.

Some bands have already been booked and more contracts are expected to be signed during the upcoming International Bluegrass Music Association’s annual convention in Nashville.

Ross, the executive director, is scheduled to speak next week during the IBMA event.

“That’s quite an honor for our festival to be asked to speak there,” Ross said.

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