Fayetteville Roots Festival set for Aug. 29

With all the recent talk about how city officials should go about attracting unique festivals to Fayetteville, it’s important not to forget about events that are produced from the ground up by passionate locals.

Take the Fayetteville Roots Festival, for example. It’s a brand new event that basically came together in an instant while 3 Penny Acre‘s Bryan Hembree was booking local bands to play in town this fall.

Three different bands expressed interest in playing here, all requesting the same week. Instead of turning two of them down, Hembree saw an opportunity. He called a few more musicians, booked them to play, and before he knew it, he had himself a festival. More importantly, so did Fayetteville.

Although it doesn’t quite fit the definition of an actual festival – it’s only one day and it all takes place inside the walls of Greenhouse Grille – the potential for growth is enormous.

Hembree said the first tickets sold were from out of state. “I think this helps to answer the question of whether or not FRF will have a regional appeal,” he wrote on the festival’s Facebook page. He believes a roots festival will be welcomed here in Fayetteville, too. “I think it is something that Fayetteville has been needing and seems to want to have happen,” he told us last week.

The Honey Dewdrops with Garrison Keillor
(A Prairie Home Companion)

The lineup includes an incredibly impressive group of emerging acoustic roots, Americana, and folk music artists from across the country. There are musicians featured on NPR’s “A Prairie Home Companion” and others who’ve graced the stages of the Kerrville Folk Festival, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Britsol Rhythm and Roots Reunion, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, Walnut Valley Festival and more.

If this is the caliber of talent Hembree can put together and promote without a single dime from the Fayetteville Advertising & Promotion Commission, just imagine what he could do with a little help next year.

This year’s event will feature two shows: a free preview from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. during Greenhouse Grille’s brunch service, and a ticketed event in the evening featuring five headline artists.

Greenhouse Grille’s kitchen is usually closed for full dinner service on Sunday nights, but will be acting as a full music venue the evening of the event with an open bar and special festival menu items.

In the coming days, we’ll be launching our show of support by holding a ticket giveaway and featuring profiles of some of the musicians who are set to play.

If you just can’t wait to try and win some tickets, go ahead and order yours today. Prices are $22 for one ticket, $40 for two, or $70 for four.

For more information, visit the Fayetteville Roots Festival website.