Welcome to Bristol's Rhythm and Roots Reunion

Bristol Rhythm Performers Page

Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion has completed their booking for 2008. Guidelines for 2009 will be posted on the web in May.

We will once again host some of the best acts in bluegrass, Americana, jamgrass, traditional country, Celtic, Old-time, singer/songwriter, Piedmont Blues as well as others. Our promise is to have something for everyone by having different genres of music to choose from. We are confident you will discover new artists and add them to your list of favorites.

Below is a list of perfomers that will be appearing at the 2008 Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion. We will be updating this index often and include links to event performances, concert stages, artist websites and more as the year progresses.

2008 Performers

• Bawn in the Mash

  

  Western Kentucky has offered up the acoustic world the latest entry in genre- bending, progressive bluegrass bands. Much like forbearers Yonder Mount...View More

• Blue Highway

  

  One of the most esteemed and influential groups in contemporary bluegrass, Blue Highway excels at every facet of the music, from intstrumental dexteri...View More

• Bombadil

  

  With a sound all their own and a stage show to match, Bombadil is, if nothing else, one of the freshest bands to emerge in a long time. Formed by Dani...View More

• Carolina Chocolate Drops

  

  The Carolina Chocolate Drops have been a crowd favorite since the first time they played the festival in 2006. The Carolina Chocolate Drops will be b...View More

• Cephas & WIggins

  

  Cephas & Wiggins are leading exponents of the Piedmont Blues – specifically the Piedmont-style guitar, featuring alternating thumb and finger, with th...View More

• Chatham County Line

  

  Chatham County Line is a band breaking barriers. Their March release, entitled simply "IV," has proven that this band of North Carolina pickers isn't...View More

• Cherryholmes

  

  Cherryholmes has many qualities that make them unique, but the basis of their success lies in plain, old-fashioned hard work combined with shining sta...View More

• Chris Volpe

  

  San Francisco-based Americana artist is a self-taught guitar virtuoso and skilled songwriter. In addition to complex finger-picking styles akin to...View More

• David Massengill

  

  A Bristol native, Massengill has long been a favorite of his hometown music fans. As distinctive a performer as he is a writer, David Massengill acco...View More

• Doc Watson

  

  The United Company Charitable Foundation believed in the importance of bringing Doc Watson to the festival and presented the festival with a grant to ...View More

• Hackensaw Boys

  

  After seven years of relentless touring throughout the United States, Europe and the U.K., the Hackensaw Boys are being recognized as one of the most ...View More

• Head for the Hills

  

  Rooted in the traditions of Appalachian music, Head for the Hills hail from Colorado and exemplify the progressive acoustic sounds emanating from the ...View More

• Holy Ghost Tent Revival

  

  The members of HGTR assembled out of a singular, driving purpose: to bring the sounds that will make your mothers chant; the sounds that will make you...View More

• Hungrytown

  

  Hungrytown is the award-winning songwriting team of Rebecca Hall and Ken Anderson. Married since 1994, Rebecca and Ken have toured many thousands of m...View More

• Ian Thomas

  

  Singer/Songwriter Ian Thomas is at the forefront of a burgeoning artistic movement that is once again breathing life and excitement onto the hallowed ...View More

• Infamous Stringdusters, The

  

  Though it may sound like hyperbole, the simple truth is this: there’s no other band quite like the Infamous Stringdusters. Emerging from a lively comm...View More

• James Hand

  

  Though he's been making powerful original Country music for over forty years, until recently James Hand had unjustly remained one of American music's ...View More

• Jamie Dyer & David French

  

  For the last twenty years or so, Jamie Dyer has been the ringleader for the longest running musical circus in Charlottesville, Virginia: the Hogwaller...View More

• Jim Waive & The Young Divorcees

  

  Country music is about family. Country music is about love, loss and heartbreak. Country music is about biblically proportioned lyrics rooted in the...View More

• Langhorne Slim

  

  Something of a one-man mixture of the Cramps, Beck's early indie records (circa One Foot in the Grave), and the soundtrack to O Brother Where Art Thou...View More

• Larry Keel & Natural Bridge

  

  Connecting traditional songs of yesterday with their own original and inventive sounds of today, Larry Keel & Natural Bridge create astonishingly powe...View More

• M.S.G. - The Acoustic Blues Trio

  

  M.S.G. is carrying on the Piedmont blues tradition of such luminaries as Archie Edwards and Cephas and Wiggins. Last year marked M.S.G.'s first visit...View More

• Malcolm Holcombe

  

  Born and raised in the Blue Ridge mountains of North Carolina, Malcolm Holcombe is being recognized by the contemporary U.S and European folk/american...View More

• Mark Brinkman

  

  Mark Brinkman has been writing and singing songs his entire life. Along with being an avid bluegrass picker, he enjoys writing new songs for the Blueg...View More

• New Riders of the Purple Sage

  

  The thriving San Francisco music scene of 1960s spawned some of the most influential musical groups in American history. The New Riders of the Purple...View More

• Old Line Skiffle Combo

  

  Skiffle has been described as a distinct blend of rockabilly, folk, ragtime and old style blues. The skiffle craze that swept Britain in the fifties i...View More

• Otis Taylor

  

  With Otis Taylor, it's best to expect the unexpected. While his music, an amalgamation of roots styles in their rawest form, discusses heavyweight iss...View More

• Paleface

  

  Fun-Lovin, Folkcore duo featuring 'Paleface' himself and darling drummer Monica 'Mo' Samalot. You might have caught them onstage guest-performing with...View More

• Pete Kartsounes Band

  

  Colorado-based singer/songwriter Pete Kartsounes first ventured to Bristol last year as a member of The Wayword Sons. With that band taking a bit of ...View More

• Ralph Stanley

  

  Living legends are few and far between. The Reunion is honored to welcome one of them, Dr. Ralph Stanley, Southwest Virginia native and bluegrass ico...View More

• Red Stick Ramblers

  

  The Bayou boogie-woogie of the Red Stick Ramblers has been a fan favorite at The Reunion for years. Since their last visit to Bristol, the Ramblers h...View More

• RobinElla

  

  A singer/songwriter from Knoxville, TN, makes beguiling music that has no name. The acclaimed singer-songwriter has had folks struggling with descrip...View More

• Sam Bush

  

  Though he admits a certain discomfort with the moniker 'King of Newgrass', Sam Bush has more than earned it. As cofounder and leader of the seminal pr...View More

• Scott Miller & The Commonwealth

  

  The festival is happy to be bring back one of our crowd favorites, Scott Miller. He is sure to get the fans up and on their feet. Scott Miller ble...View More

• Scythian

  

  Dubbed by The Washington Post as "one of DC's most energetic and eclectic bands" Scythian (sith-ee-yin) falls nothing short of a "party band". Their h...View More

• T. G. Sheppard

  

  T.G. Sheppard has always had an unstoppable passion for music. That passion, combined with a steadfast dedication to entertainment, has made him one o...View More

• Tennessee Mafia Jug Band

  

  From the pastoral hills, hollers, shopping malls and interstate highways of Goodlettsville Tennessee, home of Bill Monroe, Bashful Brother Oswald, Str...View More

• The Bowmans

  

  2008 marks the return of The Bowmans - sisters Sarah and Claire - to The Reunion. The Bowmans have had a busy year since September of 2007, when they...View More

• The Coal Men

  

  "The Coal Men are one of my favorite Nashville bands. Leader Dave Coleman writes brilliantly and sings with soulful conviction. The striking imagery i...View More

• The Dan Tyminski Band

  

  Dan Tyminski is a bluegrass composer, vocalist, and instrumentalist. His recently formed band, The Dan Tyminski Band with Adam Steffey-Mandolin, Ron...View More

• The Duo - Mike Marshall & Darol Anger

  

  You aren't going to find a more eclectic, dynamic duo of performers than Mike Marshall and Darol Anger. Titans on their respective instruments, Marsh...View More

• the everybodyfields

  

  These Reunion favorites have, in recent years, evolved from local secret to the national spotlight. Jill Andrews and Sam Quinn are the songwriting fo...View More

• The Floorbirds

  

  The Floorbirds (Daniel and Alyssa) represent one of the finest folk duos to come out of the Minneapolis area in years. With incredible songwriting an...View More

• The Kamikaze Hearts

  

  The Kamikaze Hearts offer "upstate porch rock" - deftly crafted descriptive tales in song. In addition to the texture of four part harmonies, the band...View More

• The Maid Rite Stringband

  

  Formed fairly recently by three good friends who are all native East Tenneeseeans, the Maid Rite Stringband plays music based around old time fiddle a...View More

• The Morning Pages

  

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• The Mother Truckers

  

  The Mother Truckers are a kick-ass rock 'n' roll band from Austin, Texas. Their music is high-octane Americana, blending hard hitting electric guitars...View More

• The Near Misses

  

  The Near Misses are an all-female quartet featuring some of North Carolina's finest vocal talent. The Misses perform an eclectic blend of originals, d...View More

• The New Familiars

  

  From the foothills of North Carolina a new musical combo has appeared, grown from seeds of the folk, blues, and bluegrass found abundant in their nati...View More

• Woody Pines & The Lonesome Two

  

  Woody Pines & The Lonesome Two “Low-Fi sounds from weird America's rural roots. Resonator guitar, high lonesome harmonica, upright bass, stripped-down...View More