Fayetteville Roots Festival announcement party set for March 18

Joy Kill Sorrow. Courtesy photo

There are a lot of different ways to announce the lineup for a music festival these days. You could send a press release to the media. You could post it on Facebook, tweet the lineup 140 characters at a time, tattoo the band names on your back, or run around the farmers’ market shirtless (not recommended).

Another way to announce a festival lineup is to book a few bands (maybe a couple that will be playing the festival), find a venue, and throw a big old party on a Sunday night.

The latter is the route officials with the Fayetteville Roots Festival decided to take, and the artist announcement party is set for March 18 at Greenhouse Grille.

Boston-based bands Joy Kills Sorrow and Lake Street Dive, along with locals Three Penny Acre will perform, and the full lineup for the 2012 festival will be announced at the event.

Organizer Bryan Hembree said that he hopes the musical lineup, along with some new elements he plans to introduce this year, will propel the third-year festival beyond the exponential expansion seen last year.

“The lineup is about 90 percent complete now, and I’m super pumped about it,” said Hembree. “We’re also working on some things to really build the community aspect of the festival. A bike tour with The Steel Wheels, daytime events where we pair a farmer with a chef and a musician for a cooking demonstration, things like that.”

The Fayetteville Roots festival is set for Aug. 23-26 at various locations around Fayetteville. So far, The Steel Wheels are the first officially announced musicians for the festival, but we also found a handful of acts from around the country that list the event as an upcoming date on their website, including Carrie Elkin, Danny Schmidt, Ryan Spearman, and 3 Penny Acre.

Joy Kills Sorrow, who will headline the announcement party, also plans to be back in town for the festival in August.

Are there any names you hope end up on the lineup?

Joy Kills Sorrow – Reservations – Pickathon Beardy Session

Lake Street Dive – Hello Goodbye

3 Penny Acre – “Sonny Brown” live on KXUA’s Honest Tunes