Bluegrass Festivals Come and Go: Time for a Festival Bucket List

 

Photos from ROMP 2008 (Sam Sattler photos)

Bluegrass music has made some great progress in the last 10-15 years when it comes to exposure to the general public. The music is almost as popular, it seems, in Europe and parts of Asia now as it is in the United States - whether that's a good or a bad thing is a whole other conversation, though, because I do still wish that bluegrass were popular enough in this country to be played on more radio stations. 

Those who have attended bluegrass festivals over the years have noticed some of that change for themselves. One or two festivals, now that people are getting over the covid-panic, have drawn bigger crowds than ever. Some have dried up and blown away with the wind. Even the annual MACC festival in Columbus, OH, (which raised over a combined million dollars to help in the fight against childhood cancer) has announced that 2022 will mark the end of that great event. Obviously, some changes are better than others. 

It will be interesting to see what the 2023 bluegrass festival season has in store for us now that we are a couple of years out from the worst of the covid lockdowns. I'm all for growth, but I kind of miss the simplicity of the past, too, because bigger crowds do not always equate to a better festival experience for the serious fan. 

Maybe it's time for me to make a bucket list of the bluegrass festivals I haven't experienced for myself yet before I lose the chance to attend them.