It might be cold out there now, but we’re looking forward to better, warmer days ahead. And what comes with those better, warmer days is one event we look forward to all year long—ROMP. And this year’s Bluegrass Roots and Branches Music Festival is going to be one of the best shows yet.
Celebrating its 19th year of music, smiles and the beautiful outdoors, ROMP 2022 has already unveiled a lineup that’s well worth the trip you’ll take to Owensboro to see the musical magic happen. The festival runs June 22-25 this year at Owensboro-Daviess County’s spacious Yellow Creek Park.
Let’s take a real quick dive into how talented these musicians are and what they deliver: For starters, Punch Brothers’ 2018 album All Ashore won the Grammy for Best Folk Album in 2019, and they will be one of the headliners for this year’s four-day festival.
Del McCoury meanwhile, has won 30 International Bluegrass Music Association Awards, including Entertainer of the Year NINE different times. McCoury has also taken home two Grammys for Best Bluegrass Album. Just to top all that off, McCoury was a recipient of a 2010 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the U.S. government’s highest honor in folk and traditional arts.
Rhiannon Giddens has quickly become a legend in the Bluegrass music world, winning her first Grammy for The Carolina Chocolate Drops’Genuine Negro Jig in 2010, while Tommy Emmanuel—often regarded as one of the greatest acoustic guitarists of all time—has become one of Australia’s most famous musicians ever.
We Banjo 3, of Ireland, is so talented that they were chosen to play for former President Barack Obama, who described the band as “great” musicians that gave an “incredible performance.”
Gibson Brothers have taken home 11 International Bluegrass Music Association Awards since 1998,
Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley are both Grammy-nominated musicians—with Ickes taking home two—and Po’ Ramblin’ Boys put its name on the map with their Grammy-nominated album, Toil, Tears & Trouble, in 2019. Capping off this initial lineup, East Nash Grass has earned recognition as Nashville’s hottest band of pickers, IBMA winner Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road are rapidly rising on the bluegrass scene and touring all across the world and, last but not least, Kentucky Bluegrass Allstars will bring you all the local talent imaginable as a band made up of students from the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
We know we said we’d take a quick look at all these artists have to offer, but the truth is, it’s hard to condense the amazing talent these artists have to offer. These are the very best in the business, and ROMP has even MORE artists to announce in the coming months!
In short, this is absolutely going to be ROMP for the record books. Whether you’re a longtime fan of Bluegrass music, a newbie, or just trying to understand why everyone’s starting to make such a big deal out of Bluegrass music, ROMP 2022 is the best place to experience the magic firsthand.
You can get your ROMP tickets here!