Bristol Is Road Home to Rhythm & Roots
BMI Nashville was pleased to host a press conference for the "Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion...The Road Home," a music festival scheduled for October 19-21 in the Twin Cities of Bristol, Tennessee/Virginia. Bristol was designated in 1998 as the official Birthplace of Country Music for the groundbreaking Bristol Sessions recordings made in 1927 of Jimmie Rodgers, the Carter Family and the Stonemans by Ralph Peer.
 Pictured at the press conference in Nashville are BMI's Patsy Bradley, Rafe Van Hoy, Bristol Mayor Sue Ojanen and Rhythm and Roots Reunion executive committee chairman Malcolm Wilson photo by David M. Patton |
Headlining the three-day event are BMI Award-winning songwriter Rafe Van Hoy, singer-songwriter David Massengill and musician and television personality Roni Stoneman, with more acts to be announced. Both Van Hoy and Massengill are Bristol natives, and Stoneman is a member of the Stoneman Family Band.
Friday, October 19 will be Children's Education Day and will include programming directed toward educating children about the region's music and heritage. Saturday will be Heritage Day, focusing on the diversity of music that has grown from traditional country music, and Sunday's Gospel Day, sponsored by King Pharmaceuticals, will showcase a wide variety of gospel music styles.
The event will feature continuous performances on three outdoor stages -- at Anderson Park, the War Memorial and the Downtown Center -- and four indoor stages, at the Paramount Center for the Arts, Virginia Intermont College's Harrison-Jones Auditorium, Viking Hall Civic Center and the Cameo Theatre.
In addition to performing talent, members of the Nashville Songwriters Association International will conduct a series of workshops and events during the event.
For more information on the Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion, call (423) 878-9808 or visit www.bristolchamber.org.
Community
Connect with BMI & Professional Songwriters