The 10th Annual Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion has come and gone. Tricities News site tells us that it broke all records with an attendance of 32,000 people. Will Bristol be the next Bonaroo?
Remember calculus class?
The growth of the event has been nothing short of exponential, and it is undoubtedly due to social media, specifically Facebook. The festival organizers and city tourism officials have promoted it enthusiastically for months prior to the event with frequent updates as the day approached. Here is the Bristol Rhythm and Roots Facebook page. There was even a mobile application to help fans know where their favorite bands were playing during the three-day festival.
As the opening day approached last Friday, Facebook was buzzing with people excited about the event, posting what performances they were eagerly anticipating. There would be no other way that things could multiply in such a fashion through traditional advertising or word of mouth. Social media, did more for the growth of BRRR, as people refer to it on Facebook, than anything else could have accomplished. You can watch the promotional video that they ran on Youtube at the left of this article.
Something for everyone
Downtown Bristol was full of music, with artists performing in little alcoves and on big stages everywhere. Ricky Skaggs, Blue Highway, John Anderson, Doyle Lawson, and Joe Diffie were just the beginning. The festival has developed into a venue for many different types of music, and this has brought a younger crowd into the event, along with the already large base of bluegrass fans. The music is often difficult to categorize beyond "talented string and vocal performers."
Bristol’s heritage as the Birthplace of Country Music has given birth to the original popularity of the Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion event. However, it is these traditional roots mixed with innovative performers outside the boundaries of just bluegrass and country music that have brought more participation from fans of all ages. It is this aspect that could quickly become viral in the next few years and blossom into something that Bristol has never seen before, aside from the crowds at the Bristol Motor Speedway. Kim Barker Sorensen, an enthusiastic resident and active supporter of Downtown Bristol, agrees, "This was the largest crowd Rhythm and Roots has had, and people are even coming from out of the country. It will only keep growing."
Jamming for jobs
This money coming into town becomes part of Bristol's economic food chain. Those folks working downtown in restaurants and other businesses will take their money and hopefully spend it at another local business. This business hopefully will also invest in the Bristol area, improving things for everyone.
And the beat goes on!
Comments
I gre up in Bristol and love the festival. I don't always get to attend but when I visit my parents I can hear the music at their house from State street. There are many talented bands that attend and some that have become more known because of this festival. It has also made Bristol clean up there streets and add more flair to the town. The shops and the restraunts down there have truly benenfited as well as the town as a whole! It brings so many people down and it is a great way to share music with everyone!
This is one of the most fun events you can attend. The cost is low, the music and the atmosphere are second to none, and the weather is usually beautiful. We love it!
i was born in Bristol, and as long as i can remember(im49)i grew up loving country music and blues and bluegrass. never knowing that Bristol was the birth placeof country music. i guess its in my blood. because i wrote songs and sang them in church all witha country flair to them. Witha little bluegrass thrown in. Im proud to call Bristol Tennessee my birth place and mountains my home away from home...miss ya'll from Tampa,florida
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