A Sunday Fun Day

Roots Festival continues to branch out

The stage will be built. The fans will be there, too. It left Bryan Hembree and his team of organizers with the Fayetteville Roots Festival wondering why they shouldn't just keep the party going. An expanded Sunday night offering during the annual Roots Festival would be a natural extension of the growth the festival has experienced in the last five years, having started as a one-night showcase inside Greenhouse Grille.

It would, however, require the right band playing to give the first Sunday main stage event some traction, Hembree says. When the first-ever tour of the Watkins Family Hour agreed to a Sunday stop, it set the wheels in motion.

FYI

Roots Festival

2015 Schedule

Highlights pulled from the list of events taking place as part of the Fayetteville Roots Festival. For a complete list of events, visit fayettevilleroots.c….

Wednesday

8:30 p.m. — Hard Working Americans, George’s Majestic Lounge. $20.

Thursday

6 p.m. — Martha Scanlin, Garner Farm. Requires VIP ticket.

7 p.m. — The Steel Wheels, Garner Farm. Requires VIP ticket.

8 p.m. — John Fullbright, Garner Farm. Requires VIP ticket.

10:30 p.m. — The Sisters Sweet, George’s Majestic Lounge. Free.

Aug. 28

Noon — Ozarks at Large live radio broadcast, Fayetteville Public Library. Free.

3 p.m. — John Moreland, Main Stage, Fayetteville Town Center. Sold out.

6:45 p.m. — Pokey LaFarge, Main Stage, Fayetteville Town Center. Sold out.

9 p.m. — J.D. McPherson, Main Stage, Fayetteville Town Center. Sold out.

10 p.m. — Mark Bilyeu and Cindy Woolf, Anthony Da Costa and Shook Twins, George’s Majestic Lounge. $15.

Aug. 29

8 a.m. — Songwriting workshop with J Wagner, Fayetteville Public Library. Free.

9 a.m. — Chef cook off, Fayetteville Farmers’ Market. Free.

3 p.m. — Cory Branan, Main Stage, Fayetteville Town Center. Sold out.

7:45 p.m. — Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan, Main Stage, Fayetteville Town Center. Sold out.

8 p.m. — Square dance, Backspace. $5.

9 p.m. — Punch Brothers, Main Stage, Fayetteville Town Center. Sold out.

9:30 p.m. — Cutty Rye, Pokey LaFarge and Ben Miller Band, George’s Majestic Lounge. $15.

11 p.m. — Arkansauce, Maxine’s Tap Room.

Aug. 30

10 a.m. — Sunday brunch with guest bands, Greenhouse Grille.

1 p.m. — Instruments workshop for kids with Watkins, Jarosz and O’Donovan, Fayetteville Public Library. Free.

2 p.m. — Moors and McComber, Fayetteville Public Library. Free.

3:30 p.m. — John Elliott, Main Stage, Fayetteville Town Center. $39 for the day.

7:15 p.m. — Jimmy LaFave, Main Stage, Fayetteville Town Center. $39 for the day.

8:15 p.m. — Watkins Family Hour with Sara Watkins, Sean Watkins, Fiona Apple, more, Main Stage, Fayetteville Town Center. $39 for the day.

FAQ

Roots Festival

WHEN — Thursday through Aug. 30

WHERE — Various venues in Fayetteville

COST — Prices vary; some events free

INFO — fayettevilleroots.c…

The Roots Festival returns Thursday night with the VIP party at the Garner Farm in east Fayetteville. Or Wednesday night, if you consider the official pre-party at George's Majestic Lounge featuring the Hard Working Americans.

Headlining acts include J.D. McPherson and John Fullbright on Aug. 28 and the Punch Brothers and the trio of Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O'Donovan on Aug. 29. Dozens of acts will perform at the Town Center or at venues such as Maxine's Tap Room and George's Majestic Lounge.

The Sunday night concert on the main stage replaces the annual closing night jam session at George's. The Watkins Family Hour has occupied a club in Los Angeles for more than a decade; it's always been a family atmosphere, and not just because siblings Sean Watkins and Sara Watkins (of Nickel Creek fame) lend their name and musical talents. Musicians come and go from the group. But a tour was organized to support a recent record, and a cast of musicians including Fiona Apple joined the cross-country trip.

"It's a cool, collaborative effort, which fits into the Roots Festival philosophy," Hembree says.

Indeed, the Roots Fest packages the musical talents of Hembree with the food talents of Jerrmy Gawthrop, partner in three Fayetteville restaurants. The food offerings have expanded in 2015 as well. Highlighting that half of the festival will be a chef's competition on the morning of Aug. 29 on the Fayetteville square. Participating chefs will be given $50, which they will use at the Fayetteville Farmers' Market before turning that produce into a dish.

Hembree is confident the expanded festival will be the most-attended of the six that have been offered, although he stresses fast growth is not part of anyone's plan. Still, more than 4,000 people are expected to attend the festival's ticketed main stage events, the late-night shows at George's and the free community-oriented programs at the downtown square or the Fayetteville Public Library.

A portion of the proceeds from the Fayetteville Roots Festival will be given to charitable causes, particularly Feed Fayetteville.

NAN What's Up on 08/21/2015

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