JD McPherson at fayettevilleroots festival 2015 – photo Jim Jacob
I have been planning annual odysseys to the USA from Australia for a few years now, with the major aim of attending as many roots music events as I can.
This planning has however proven to be painstaking as I have never found a single website that provides an up-to-date and comprehensive list of music festivals that fit into my preferred categories – alt. country, folk, Americana, blues, rock, folk and soul. For quite a while I have been compiling my own list.
Now this has involved quite a deal of work and I have researched, refined and improved it over the past years. The current version you see below contains around ninety different events, but is by no means comprehensive I am sure. It does not include music cruises (yet) and I’m sure there are many events still missing.
One thing that has surprised me is the churn rate from one year to the next. I can recall about twenty festivals that have disappeared from the landscape over the past two list iterations. It must be a tough business if there are so many festivals that have fallen away. If there is a moral to this, it is this – if there is a festival in your backyard, don’t assume it is going to be there forever! There are a few 2015 events included with 2016 dates not announced yet, mainly at the end of calendar 2016.
Interestingly, Summerfest bills itself as the biggest festival of them all.
Anyways, here is my attempt at a list of roots music festivals in 2016. Every festival has a hyperlink to the relevant website.
If you have any comments, corrections, observations, I would be very happy to hear from you.
| Festival | City | 2016 dates | |
| Sunshine Music & Blues | St Petersburg FL | 16-Jan | |
| Sunshine Music & Blues | Boca Raton FL | 17-Jan | |
| Folk Alliance International | Kansas City MO | 17-21 Feb | |
| Wintergrass Music | Bellevue WA | 25-28 Feb | |
| Back Porch | Northampton MA | 25-28 Feb | |
| South By Southwest (SXSW) | Austin TX | 11-20 Mar | |
| Suwanee Springfest | Live Oak FL | 17-20 Mar | |
| Savannah Music | Savannah GA | 24 Mar – 9 Apr | |
| Big Ears | Knoxville TN | 31 Mar – 2 Apr | |
| Rhythm & Blooms | Knoxville TN | 8-10 Apr | |
| Wanee Music | Live Oak FL | 14-16 Apr | |
| Old Settler’s | Driftwood TX | 14-17 Apr | |
| Tortuga Music | Fort Lauderdale FL | 15-17 Apr | |
| Coachella | Indio CA | 15-24 Apr | |
| Juke Joint | Clarksdale MS | 16-Apr | |
| Southern Ground | Charleston SC | 16-17 Apr | |
| Festival International de Louisiane | Lafayette LA | 20-24 Apr | |
| Sweetwater 420 | Atlanta GA | 22-24 Apr | |
| Jazz and Heritage | New Orleans LA | 22 Apr – 1 May | |
| Mid West Music Fest | Winona MN | 28-30 Apr | |
| MerleFest | Wilksboro NC | 28 Apr-1 May | |
| Beale St | Memphis TN | 29 Apr – 1 May | |
| Key West Songwriter’s Festival | Key West FL | 4-8 May | |
| Blues Awards | Memphis TN | 5-May | |
| Nashville Boogie | Nashville TN | 12-15 May | |
| Shakey Knees | Atlanta GA | 13-15 May | |
| DelFest | Cumberland MD | 26-29 May | |
| Country 500 | Daytona FL | 27-29 May | |
| Bottle Rock | Napa Valley CA | 27-29 May | |
| John Hartford Memorial | Bean Blossom IA | 2-4 Jun | |
| Mountain Jam | Hunter Mtn, NY | 2-5 Jun | |
| Nelsonville | Nelsonville OH | 2-5 Jun | |
| Blue Ox Music | Eau Claire WI | 9-11 Jun | |
| Bonnaroo | Manchester TN | 9-12 Jun | |
| Huck Finn Jubilee | Greater Ontario, CA | 10-12 Jun | |
| Chicago Blues | Chicago IL | 10-12 Jun | |
| Riverbend | Chattanooga TN | 10-18 Jun | |
| Telluride Bluegrass | Telluride CO | 16-19 Jun | |
| Clearwater’s Great Hudson Revival | Croton Pt Park NY | 18-19 Jun | |
| ROMP | Owensboro KY | 22-25 Jun | |
| River and Roots | Berryville VA | 23-25 Jun | |
| Frendly Gathering | Timber Ridge VT | 23-25 Jun | |
| Kate Wolf Music | Laytonville CA | 23-26 Jun | |
| Big Barrel Country Music | Dover DE | 24-26 Jun | |
| Mocassin Creek | Effingham IL | 24-26 Jun | |
| Summerfest | Milwaukee WI | 29 Jun – Jul 10 | |
| Great Blue Heron | Sherman NY | 1-3 Jul | |
| Dega Jam | Talladega AL | 1-3 Jul | |
| Waterfront Blues | Portland OR | 1-4 Jul | |
| Red Wing Roots | Natural Chimneys Park VA | 8-10 Jul | |
| Square Roots Chicago | Chicago IL | 8-10 Jul | |
| Green River | Greenfield MA | 8-10 Jul | |
| The Ride | Telluride CO | 9-10 Jul | |
| Grey Fox Bluegrass | Oak Hill NY | 14-17 Jul | |
| Northwest String Summit | North Plains OR | 14-17 Jul | |
| Forecastle | Louisville KY | 15-17 Jul | |
| Grassroots | Trumansburg NY | 21-24 Jul | |
| Newport Folk | Newport RI | 22-24 Jul | |
| Lowell Folk | Lowell MA | 24-26 Jul | |
| Floydfest | Floyd VA | 27-31 Jul | |
| Rockygrass | Lyons CO | 29-31 Jul | |
| Outside Lands | San Francisco CA | 5-7 Aug | |
| Musik Fest | Bethlehem PA | 5-14 Aug | |
| Podunk Bluegrass Music | Hebron CT | 11-14 Aug | |
| Peach Music | Scranton PA | 11-14 Aug | |
| Eaux Claires | Eau Claire WI | 12-13 Aug | |
| Philadelphia Folk | Upper Salford PA | 18-21 Aug | |
| Folks | Lyons CO | 19-21 Aug | |
| Musicfest NorthWest | Portland OR | 21-23 Aug | |
| Fayetteville Roots | Fayetteville ARK | 25-28 Aug | |
| American Folk | Bangor ME | 26-28 Aug | |
| North Coast Music | Chicago IL | 2-4 Sep | |
| Rhythm and Roots | Charlestown RI | 2-4 Sep | |
| Muddy Roots Music | Cookeville TN | 2-5 Sep | |
| Big Muddy Blues | St Louis MO | 5-6 Sep | |
| Lockn Music | Arrington VA | 8-11 Sep | |
| Kaaboo | San Diego CA | 16-18 Sep | |
| Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion | Bristol TN | 16-18 Sep | |
| FreshGrass Bluegrass | North Adams MA | 16-18 Sep | |
| Telluride Blues and Brews | Telluride CO | 16-18 Sep | |
| Festival Palomino | Shakopee MN | 17-Sep | |
| Americana Music Awards | Nashville TN | 20-25 Sep | |
| Outer Banks Bluegrass | Roanoke Island NC | 21-24 Sep | |
| Watermelon Park | Berryville VA | 22-25 Sep | |
| Wide Open Bluegrass | Raleigh NC | 27 Sep -1 Oct | |
| Trans-Pecos | Marfa Tx | tba | |
| 3 Sisters Bluegrass | Chattanooga TN | 30 Sep-1 Oct | |
| Roots N Blues N BBQ | Columbia MO | 30 Sep-2 Oct | |
| Hardly Strictly Bluegrass | San Francisco CA | 30 Sep -2 Oct | |
| Austin City Limits | Austin TX | 30 Sep – 9 Oct | |
| King Biscuit Blues | Helena AK | 5-8 Oct | |
| Mustang Music | Corolla NC | tba | |
| Richmond Folk | Richmond VA | 7-9 Oct | |
| Festy Experience | Nelson County VA | tba | |
| Hillberry Harvest Music | Ozark AR | tba | |
| Magnoliafest | Live Oak FL | tba | |
| Crescent City Blues and BBQ | New Orleans LA | 14-16 Oct | |
| American Roots Music and Arts | Raleigh NC | 17-18 Oct | |
| Blue Ridge Folklife Festival | Ferrum VA | tba | |
| Bridge School Benefit | Mountain View CA | tba | |
| Voodoo Experience | New Orleans LA | 28-30 Oct | |
| Treme Creole Gumbo | New Orleans LA | 12-13 Nov | |
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