By LINDA MCCARTHY
Sam Bush, 2009 Americana Music Association Lifetime Achievement award winner, will headline the Main Stage at the 2014 River City Roots Festival in Downtown Missoula, Montana. Bush is America’s most well-known bluegrass mandolin player and, as a founding member of Newgrass Revival, is considered the originator of Newgrass music. His most recent album, Circles Around Me, was No. 3 on the U.S. Bluegrass Music Charts.
“We are thrilled to have the Sam Bush Band headlining the festival on Saturday night,” said Roots Fest Committee Chair Ellen Buchanan. “Sam is one of the finest, most energetic entertainers in the business. It’s pretty safe to say that he has been my favorite musician for a whole lot of years.”
Sponsored by the Missoulian, Big Sky Brewing, the Good Food Store, and First Interstate Bank, among many other Missoula-area businesses, River City Roots Festival is an admission-free, community-wide celebration of Missoula, Montana. With more than 15,000 attendees last year, Roots Fest has become the end-of-summer and welcome-back-to- college celebration for Missoula residents and University of Montana students.
Bush will play from 8:30-10:30 pm on Saturday, Aug. 24 on the Main Street Main Stage. The rest of the 2014 line-up will be announced at a later date.
The Main Stage may be the main draw, but Roots Fest also features a Juried Art Show, a four-mile competitive and fun run, the Family Fun Festival in Caras Park, and a 15-vendor Food Court on Ryman. The 2014 event will also include a Stand-Up Paddle Board Competition to be held on the Clark Fork River in the heart of Downtown Missoula, thanks to Strongwater MTN Surf Co.
“Roots Fest is truly a community festival, and we’re really excited about the addition of a river competition to help strengthen our connection to the river,” Buchanan said.
Bush will be making his return to Missoula, Montana, for the first time in almost ten years. Just four years ago, the Kentucky Legislature unanimously named Sam Bush the “Father of Newgrass” and Bowling Green as the “Birthplace of Newgrass”. He is a centerpiece for two of the most eclectic Americana music festivals in the US, including Merlefest in N.C. and Telluride in Colo. Bush is a native of Kentucky and has been playing music for audiences around the globe since 1963.
For more information, call the Missoula Downtown Association at 543-4238 or email info@missouladowntown.com.
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