Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion announces date change in 2020

Organizers are changing the date of the popular annual Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion music festival beginning in 2020.

“The decision to adjust scheduling for the festival follows the recent announcement from NASCAR that Bristol Motor Speedway's popular August night race will move to September 19, 2020, as part of NASCAR's 2020 playoffs,” said Leah Ross, executive director of the Birthplace of Country Music.

The change to Bristol Motor Speedway hosting a playoff race “is an important step in the evolution of the track's rich history and an exciting prospect for Bristol and fans who travel here to watch the action. As both the track and the festival rely on the same resources – police, EMS, waste management, volunteers, hotel accommodations – BCM was eager to work with city leaders and (the speedway) to come up with a positive solution that would alleviate concerns of visitors and the community,” Ross said.

"After a great deal of discussion with the Cities of Bristol, Tennessee and Bristol, Virginia, along with our key partners, we have decided to move the 20th anniversary of Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion to the weekend before the night race at Bristol Motor Speedway," Ross said. "The festival will take place on September 11–13, 2020,” she said.

"Music and racing are the greatest tourism drivers to Bristol," Ross said.  "We feel this opens up new possibilities to connect music and race fans. Bringing together these two extremely popular events will have a huge tourism impact on Bristol, as we will provide nearly two weeks of exciting entertainment to visitors to our area,” she said.

“The pairing of back-to-back September weekends of Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion festival followed by a pivotal 2020 NASCAR Cup playoff elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway will strike the perfect chord for music and racing enthusiasts alike,” said Jerry Caldwell, executive vice president and general manager of Bristol Motor Speedway. “Together our organizations are stronger and those traveling from around the world for these two bucket list events will experience some of the best that the region has to offer.”

Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion celebrates the legacy of the 1927 Bristol Sessions recordings with more than 130 acts of live music on 20 stages across several blocks of State Street in Historic Downtown Bristol. The event has hosted an impressive lineup of musicians over the years, including Old Crow Medicine Show, Emmylou Harris, St. Paul & the Broken Bones, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Dr. Ralph Stanley, The Indigo Girls, the Drive-By Truckers, and Buddy Guy.

Dates for this year’s Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion music festival are September 20–22. Visit BristolRhythm.com for more information.