The Birthplace of Country Music

Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion Kick-Off Show
2024-09-12 17:00 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | VA
Date: Thursday, September 12, 2024
Time: 5:00 p.m. ET
Location: Lumac Rooftop Bar, The Bristol Hotel
Tickets: $60 (+tax/fee)
BUY TICKETS
Kick off Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion with a little pre-game festivities high above Bristol on the rooftop of The Bristol Hotel with singer-songwriter Theo Lawrence and Kris Truelsen & The Farm and Fun Time Band!
Those in attendance will have the opportunity to print out their own letterpress show poster to take home, thanks to Sign of the George Press, a program within King University’s department of Digital Media Art and Design (DMAD).
About Theo Lawrence
For the past 10 years, Theo Lawrence has been making a name for himself as France’s favorite songbird.
A truly one-of-a-kind country singer and genuine keeper of the flame, Lawrence came into his own on his Austin-made 2023 LP release, Cherie, and on his latest all acoustic album, Pickin’ & Singin’.
​Lawrence pens classic love songs, and delivers with a croon straight out of the Charlie Rich and Ray Price golden years. In recent years, he has played a pivotal role in reviving an interest for country music in Europe, and with his recent move to Austin, Texas, Theo Lawrence is bringing his honed craft back to its American cradle.

Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion 2024
2024-09-13 - 2024-09-15 | VA
Dates: September 13-15, 2024
Location: State Street, Historic Downtown Bristol, TN-VA
Tickets: ON SALE NOW!
The award-winning Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion music festival celebrates 23 years in Historic Downtown Bristol, TN-VA, home of the legendary 1927 Bristol Sessions!
Headliners include 49 Winchester, Ashley McBryde, The Wallflowers, The Red Clay Strays, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, Sam Bush, Wilderado, The SteelDrivers, Brittney Spencer, Drayton Farley, Jaime Wyatt, Bella White, Silverada, Grace Bowers, and many, many more!
Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion is an electrifying, three-day music experience that features the very best roots music on more than a dozen stages. Established in 2001, the festival is an annual celebration of Bristol’s rich history as the place where the 1927 Bristol Sessions recordings created the “big bang” of country music and catapulted early country music into the mainstream.
Visit BristolRhythm.com for more information.

Earth Day 2025: Bristol Rhythm Green Team Plogging Downtown!
2025-04-19 09:00 - 12:30 | Axe and Ale House, 155 Moore Street, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Celebrate Mother Earth with the Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion’s Green Team plogging event!

Date: Saturday, April 19, 2025
Time: 9 a.m. EDT
Location: Axe and Ale House, 155 Moore Street, Bristol, VA 24201 (use Moore Street entrance please)
Cost: Free to participate (beverages and food not included)
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
Plogging is a community and environmentally focused way to exercise where you pick up trash as you walk/run. This event gives us the opportunity to call attention to the importance of recycling, disposing of trash responsibly, and keeping our Historic Downtown clean.

What to expect:
Meet us at Axe and Ale House at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 19. Participants will have two walk/run routes to choose from, each starting in Historic Downtown Bristol, and then branching out to nearby neighborhoods in Tennessee and Virginia.
The Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion Green Team will be there to talk about volunteer opportunities at Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion music festival coming up September 19-21 in Historic Downtown Bristol. And Bristol’s own Mountain Sports Ltd. will be on site with various running-related products available for purchase.
Axe and Ale House will have food and drinks to purchase so you can hang out while enjoying some time with old and new friends after helping make Bristol a greener place to live!
After the plogging session, we will hold a raffle with several cool prizes to be won, including Teva shoes, and the person who brings back the most trash (by weight) will win a trophy AND a weekend pass to Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion!!!
Itinerary:
9-9:30 a.m.
Arrive at Axe and Ale House to get your route maps for plogging, pick up trash bags, and get a trash picker (first-come, first-served).
9:30-10:30 a.m.
5K plog, walk or run. Pick up trash along your route.
11-11:30 a.m.
Raffle and prizes awarded.
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Food and drinks available for purchase.
Image: Plogging volunteers pose with the trash pick-up results from a past event (left); winners of the BRRR wristband grand prize for the most trash gathered (right). Our first event in 2022 resulted in almost 150 pounds of trash picked up over one hour; our second event 2024 brought in 283 pounds!

Bristol Rhythm Kick Off Show w/ Emily Nenni, Brady Heck
2025-09-18 18:30 - 21:00 | VA
Join us at Lumac Rooftop Bar above The Bristol Hotel as we kick off the 24th annual Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion music festival with Emily Nenni and Brady Heck! All tickets include a limited edition show poster. Purchase your tickets early for a chance to receive a poster signed by the artists!
Date: Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025
Time: 6:30 p.m. (Doors 5:30 p.m.)
Location: Lumac Rooftop Bar, The Bristol Hotel
Cost: $64 – $74 (includes applicable taxes/fees)
GET TICKETS
About Emily Nenni
Emily Nenni has a confession: she didn’t always plan on being a performing artist. “I thought I was just going to be a songwriter,” she admits. Clearly, life had something else in store. The singer and guitarist has emerged as one of the freshest and most electrifying voices in Nashville, with a sound rooted in classic honky-tonk and spiked with serious country, soul and rock ‘n’ roll fire, and sweet-and-sassy lyrics that chronicle hard living, hot nights, heartbreak and other universal truths about the human condition. Over the past several years she’s enraptured audiences across Music City with sizzling sets in smoky bars and clubs, honing her command of the stage, perfecting her skills as a band leader and sharpening an already astute world view, all of which are on full display on her newest studio album, Drive & Cry.
About Brady Heck
Get ready to experience the soulful sounds of Brady Heck, the rising star of Richmond’s country music scene! In this exclusive Shockoe Sessions Live performance, Brady brings his unique blend of southern vibes and country charm to the stage, performing hits like “Ain’t It Cruel” and “Half a Mind”. With his rugged, rootsy sound and heartfelt lyrics, Brady is quickly becoming a favorite among fans of RVA music and beyond. From the Saddle Blanket to the Grey Fox, Brady’s music is infused with a deep love of southern roots and a passion for storytelling. Join us at Shockoe Records for an unforgettable night of live music in RVA, as we celebrate the best of Richmond’s country music scene.

Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion
2025-09-19 - 2025-09-21 | VA
Dates: September 19-21, 2025
Location: State Street, Historic Downtown Bristol, Tenn.-Va.
BUY WEEKEND PASSES

Celebrate the 24th annual Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion music festival with The Teskey Brothers, Shane Smith & The Saints, Lukas Nelson, Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, The Band Perry, Joy Oladokun, Steep Canyon Rangers, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, and many, many more!
Visit BristolRhythm.com for full lineup and details.

VMFA on the Road Artmobile at Birthplace of Country Music Museum
2025-09-19 - 2025-09-23 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
DATES

For school visits :

Wednesday, September 17–Thursday, September 18

For drop-in visitors and Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion festival goers:

Friday, September 19–Sunday, September 21

Scroll down for schedule
Location: Cumberland Square Park parking lot, corner of Cumberland & Moore Streets
(directly across from the Birthplace of Country Music Museum)
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is bringing traveling art exhibitions and educational offerings to audiences across the state with VMFA on the Road: An Artmobile for the 21st century! This state-of-the-art mobile museum and education studio will be at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum and open to school groups, drop-in visitors, and Bristol Rhythm festivalgoers for several days in September.
Exhibit Description: This year’s VMFA on the Road exhibition – Love, Laughter, Tears: An Artist’s Guide to Emotions – examines the complex relationship between art and emotion across various cultures and time periods. Despite their different backgrounds, the wide range of artists and cultures showcased demonstrate the unifying nature of human emotion.
Emotion and expression have always been integral to the creative process of art making. Artists convey emotions through their use of color, shapes, symbolism, and text. Artworks can reflect personal emotions or the wider mood of a culture or historical period, shedding light on significant events and their impact on people. The power of art lies in its ability to communicate these feelings and messages, fostering conversations and understanding among viewers and communities.
In the aftermath of the Covid-19 lockdown and amid growing societal divisions, emotions, empathy, and self-reflection hold great significance. We invite you to consider the emotions you experience throughout the exhibition. How does the artwork influence your emotional state? What can you learn about your reactions? Engaging with these emotions can lead to a deeper understanding of oneself and others, promoting dialogue and connection.
Family Visit Guide: A Family Visit Guide is available online, and paper copies will be available at the Artmobile for visitors to use and take with them.

COVID Protocols: The VMFA on the Road Artmobile is following these protocols:
*Not requiring visitors to wear masks on the artmobile
*Have a maximum of 15-20 persons on board at the same time
*There’s no time limit on general visits
*30-minute school tour group visits
*Hand sanitizer will be available
******************************************************************************
DROP-IN VISITORS
Drop-in visitors can view the Artmobile for free on Wednesday, September 17 and Thursday, September 18, 2025 at times when school groups are not booked, see below (BOOKED and OPEN FOR DROP-IN VISITORS times will be marked as such).
Drop-ins are also welcome Friday, September 19–Sunday, September 21 (see open times below) because the Artmobile will be just outside the Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion festival gates, but entry into the festival footprint requires a BRRR 2025 wristband.
Take an art break! Bring your friends, family, kids, grandma, or whoever you know who would enjoy a wonderful art experience and drop-in on the VMFA on the Road Artmobile. This is a FREE opportunity!
The Artmobile will be closed Wednesday and Thursday 11:50am–12:50pm for lunch.

The VMFA on the Road team gives a warm welcome to the new and improved Artmobile. Inside is the exciting new exhibiton, Love, Laughter, Tears: An Artist’s Guide to Emotions. The exhibition includes works from the museum’s permanent collection and the first video installation in an artmobile exhibition: “First Landings,” which was created by Ethan Brown (Pamunkey) and Federico Cuatlacuatl (Nahua, born in Coapan, Cholula, Mexico), and recently debuted to critical acclaim at the Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival at VMFA. Photo by Sandra Sellars © Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
******************************************************************************
School Information
School groups can visit the Artmobile on Wednesday, September 17 and Thursday, September 18, 2025. This is a FREE visit!
The VMFA on the Road Artmobile will be open to middle school, high school, and college groups on September 17–18, 2025. A field trip to the Artmobile exposes students to multiple art mediums and concepts using visual thinking, sketching, and writing. Admission is free to the Artmobile.
Several time slots are available for school group visits, and schools can book multiple/consecutive time slots if needed (please get in touch if you need another time than the ones shown below, e.g. later in the day):
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17
10:00–10:30am BOOKED
10:40–11:10am BOOKED
11:20–11:50am BOOKED
11:50–12:50pm CLOSED FOR LUNCH
12:50–1:20pm BOOKED
1:30–2:00pm BOOKED
2:10–2:40pm BOOKED
2:50–3:20pm
3:30–4:00pm
4:45–5:45pm BOOKED
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18
10:00–10:30am BOOKED
10:40–11:10am BOOKED
11:20–11:50am
11:50am–12:50pm CLOSED FOR LUNCH
12:50–1:20pm BOOKED
1:30–2:00pm
2:10–2:40pm
2:50–3:20pm
3:30–4:00pm
Educators can pick from a variety of learning activities for their student visit. You can access Artmobile educational resources HERE.
A tour of the Artmobile is a 30-minute experience. An optimum visit has 10–12 students (with one adult); larger groups will be divided into groups of 20 (with two adults). Teachers can also add a FREE guided tour of the Birthplace of Country Music Museum’s special exhibit Ellen Elmes: The Art of Music & Mountains (also a 30-minute experience) to your visit to the Artmobile. This exhibit is a wonderful companion to the Artmobile experience, giving students and teachers the chance to learn about the artists who have written the soundtrack of country music. If you would like to also book a tour of the museum’s permanent exhibits, our usual student group admission applies.
For further information about a VMFA on the Road Artmobile experience for your students and to book a tour, please contact Hollie Moody at hmoody@birthplaceofcountrymusic.org, providing the following information: Date of tour, preferred time of tour, name of school, teacher’s name, grade level, and size of group.
Bookings must be made by September 12, 2025.

******************************************************************************
Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion Information
Festivalgoers can visit the Artmobile on Friday, September 19– Sunday, September 21, 2024
The VMFA on the Road Artmobile will be free and open to festivalgoers on September 19—21, 2025, just one more way to make your Bristol Rhythm experience even more special! A fun arts & crafts table will also be set up outside the Artmobile for anyone who needs a creativity break!
The Artmobile will be open at the following times:
Friday, September, 19: 1:00–7:00pm
Saturday, September 20: 9:00am–6:00pm (closed 1:00–2:00pm for lunch)
Sunday, September 21: 10:00am–5:00pm (closed 1:00–2:00pm for lunch)
