Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion will return to Downtown Bristol from September 10th–12th with a lineup headed by Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit, Tanya Tucker, Blackberry Smoke, and more. The annual festival in the “Birthplace of Country Music” takes place in Bristol, a city that cuts through the border of Virginia and Tennessee and sees performances in both states.
The 20th-anniversary edition of Bristol Rhythm & Roots will also host performances from Dr. Dog, Yola, The Steeldrivers, Rhonda Vincent, The Steel Woods, Son Little, Lonesome River Band, Darin & Brooke Aldridge, Folk Soul Revival, Amythyst Kiah, Ian Noe, Town Mountain, Katie Pruitt, Jim Lauderdale, Illiterate Light, Madison Cunningham, Charley Crockett, Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley, The Steel Wheels, Great Peacock, American Aquarium, Scythian, I Draw Slow, Morgan Wade, and many more. This year’s lineup features approximately 100 artists from across the country as Bristol Rhythm & Roots returns after being forced to cancel in 2020.
“We worked hard to keep our lineup as consistent as we could with the lineup we had hoped to have at last year’s canceled event, but the pandemic forced us to make some difficult decisions,” said Leah Ross, BCM Executive Director. BCM is the parent nonprofit organization of Bristol Rhythm, the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, and Radio Bristol.
Bristol Rhythm & Roots is a staple of the boundary-crossing community, annually drawing more than 40,000 attendees over three days. An independent study of the festival conducted in 2015 showed that Rhythm & Roots brought in more than $16 million to the region’s local economy.
“The music and tourism industries have been hit hard by COVID-19, and our Downtown businesses are struggling to survive,” added Ross. “We hope our festival provides a boost to Bristol’s economy to help get us back on track.”
Tickets for the 2021 edition of Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion are on sale now via the event’s website. See the full lineup below as well as a promotional video for the festival.
2021 Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion Lineup Video
[Video: Birthplace of Country Music Bristol]
