ROMP Festival Lineup Announced

The International Bluegrass Music Museum announces the schedule and line-up for ROMP, to be held at Yellow Creek Park in Owensboro, Ky., Thursday-Saturday, June 28, 29 & 30, 2012.

Advance ticket pricing ends June 15; see www.ROMPFEST.com for complete information.

Performances begin at 5 PM Thursday, with Snap Jackson & The Knock On Wood Players, Some Rye Grass (from Japan) and legendary Hall of Fame artist Jesse McReynolds & Friends, who will present a tribute to Jerry Garcia.

Country music powerhouse Vince Gill takes the stage at 8:15 PM, with an all-star bluegrass band featuring fiddler Stuart Duncan, among others. The evening is topped off with Greensky Bluegrass, bluegrass rockers from the bluegrass state of Michigan.

Performances on Friday and Saturday take place from 10 AM to midnight, followed by After Parties in the Pioneer Village of Yellow Creek Park.
Headlining Friday's stellar list of artists are the incredible Punch Brothers featuring Chris Thile, and The Deadly Gentlemen, a group of talented young musicians anchored by Greg Liszt and Sam Grisman. The hugely popular Lonesome River Band will perform earlier in the evening, along with The Farewell Drifters, Town Mountain, Monroeville, Belfry Fellows, Renegade String Band, Don Stanley & Middle Creek, Higher Ground, and Grandview Junction.

Old Crow Medicine Show, in their only festival event of the summer, dominates the powerful Saturday line-up, which reads like a list of Who's Who in bluegrass roots & branches music: returning favoritesCarolina Chocolate Drops, rising Kentucky stars The 23 String Band, Pokey LaFarge and The South City Three, Bearfoot, NewFound Road, Newtown, The Expedition Show, Snap Jackson, Kentucky BlueGrass AllStars, the Arnold Shultz Revival, and County Line Bluegrass.

After Parties keep the park alive with energy and excitement into the wee hours of each morning. Featured bands include The Farewell Drifters, who inaugurated the After Parties at ROMP 2011 and made it so popular the parties had to continue, along with Bawn in the Mash, Renegade String Band, Belfry Fellows, The Deadly Gentlemen, and The 23 String Band.

As always, ROMP encourages jamming and dancing. Start your day off with Yoga. Attend greatinstrument and dance workshops, also free to anyone wearing a ROMP wristband. Festival-goers can learn banjo techniques from Sammy Shelor, the most recent winner of the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass, or choose from other workshops presented by Lonesome River Band and Monroeville. 

On Saturday, members of The 23 String Band, The Deadly Gentlemen and NewTown will conduct workshops. Lessons include fiddle, banjo, guitar, bass mandolin, Dobro, songwriting, and flatfoot dancing. Festival goers are invited to take part in an Installation Art Project wherein 20 enormous owls will be painted and used as ROMP site decor in future years.

Arts and Crafts Artisans will make the festival grounds visually beautiful with handmade clothing, jewelry, toys, instruments, and artwork for sale at terrific prices. And the food, oh the food! Owensboro's best chefs will be joined by other creative food vendors, providing a wide variety of culinary offerings -- everything from vegan and vegetarian entrees to "hallelujah barbecue lamb."

New to ROMP 2012 are activities for children: storytelling, a kids zone featuring face painting, bubble blowing, sock puppet making, owl painting, and games. Yellow Creek Park offers a spray park, playground, nature walks, Pioneer Village, tennis, volleyball, and a fishing (not swimming!) lake. 

Festivalgoers receive free admission to the International Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensboro. The award-winning Bill Monroe Centennial Exhibits are still in place through mid-September 2012. There will be a free shuttle running all weekend from Yellow Creek Park to the museum. The shuttle will operate hourly from 10 AM to 5 PM. ROMP wristbands are required to ride.
Advance ticket prices, available until June 15, are $30 for a single day. Advance weekend passes are $85 adult general, $60 museum member, $65 college student, $35 high school student (appropriate identification cards required). After June 15, single-day tickets are $35 and weekend passes are $90. No discounts will apply at the gate. All children 14 years and younger are free.
Yellow Creek Park is located at 5710 Kentucky Hwy 144, Owensboro, Ky. 42303. The International Bluegrass Music Museum is at 117 Daviess Street, between the Ohio River and 2nd Street in Owensboro. Call 270-926-7891 or go to www.bluegrassmuseum.org for more information.