The Cate Brothers with Amy Helm and festival co-founders Bryan and Bernice Hembree / Photos by Clayton Taylor
The Fayetteville Roots Festival won’t host an event in 2020, but organizers hope to bring the same lineup to town for next year’s event, set for Aug. 26-29, 2021.
From the announcement:
The music and culinary communities have been greatly impacted during this time, and our organization is no exception. We shuttered our year-round venue and home base, the Roots HQ on March 13, cancelling all upcoming events and concerts until further notice. We continue to watch as musicians, chefs, non-profit organizations, venues, festivals, and restaurants alike face an uncertainty like we have not seen in modern times. The musicians and chefs slated to appear at Roots are no exception. Many of the gigs the musicians depend on to “route” into the festival have been canceled, and chefs are working to save their restaurants. While there have been times we have slipped towards despair over the future of music and the culinary arts, we are eternal optimists and have found most of our thoughts centering on positivity and hope for the future.
In 10 years of producing the Fayetteville Roots Festival, we have faced many obstacles. Through the support of the community surrounding Roots we have always overcome them, albeit not always as we planned. Some favorite moments over the years were when circumstances beyond our control forced a change, and our community, volunteers, artists, chefs, ticket holders, and supporters responded with love, kindness, and enthusiasm for the detour. Thank you for your relentless support and encouragement – it has always kept us going.
And with that, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the 2020 festival to August 26 – 29, 2021. It is the safest decision for our community, who come from over 30 states and countries and gather each August. The health and safety of our community is paramount.
Organizers said they are working with artists and chefs confirmed for the 2020 lineup to bring them back in 2021.
“We have great optimism that we will be able to keep the lineup the same,” the annoucement read. “This will take time though, and we will make an official announcement about the 2021 lineup once we are able to do so.”
Ticket holders to the 2020 event may keep their tickets for 2021, or request a refund.
No action is needed for those who want to hang on to their tickets. Those who would like a refund may email [email protected] before June 18, 2020. Those who request a refund may also decide to request a partial refund, and donate a portion of their ticket price to the Fayetteville Roots Festival organization to help sustain the organization through 2020.
For more information, visit therootsfest.org.
