The Cate Brothers with Amy Helm and festival co-founders Bryan and Bernice Hembree / Photos by Clayton Taylor

Like most in-person events and gatherings, Fayetteville Roots Festival isn’t happening this year, but organizers recently announced a way for fans to get at least a taste of the event next week.

Officials announced a virtual event called Thursday Night: A Roots Stream-a-Thon set for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 27.

The event is intended to be an online, at-home version of the festival’s popular Thursday night opening celebration featuring music, food, and other festivities.

The online version will include performances by a host of past festival performers, including Birds of Chicago, John Fullbright, Nick Offerman & Megan Mullally, The Steel Wheels, Raina Rose, and The Honey Dewdrops.

In addition, you can also order a chef-curated chicken dinner or bake-at-home pizza to pick up from Roots HQ the day of the event to help support the Roots Meals for Musicians program that has been providing weekly care packages to local musicians since the pandemic began.

The live-streaming event is free, though registration is required and a donation to help support the festival is recommended.

In addition to the Thursday event, live-streams are also planned on Friday with Earl & Them and Saturday night with Arkansauce performing at George’s Majestic Lounge. A Sunday live stream (Aug. 30) from the Roots HQ will feature performances by 3 Penny Acre, Ashtyn Barbaree, Jamie Lou Connolly, and Kaylin Fay.

Fayetteville Roots Festival was originally scheduled for Aug. 26-30 at various venues around town. Back in May, organizers made the decision to postpone this year’s event until Aug. 26-29, 2021.

For more information, to register for the livestreams, or to purchase food for the Thursday Night event, visit therootsfest.org.