21st ROMP Festival deemed as success

While the grounds of Yellow Creek Park were filled with music fans, performers and more during the latter half of the week, it was a different tune Sunday morning as campers, RVs and vendors began exiting the site as the 21st annual ROMP Festival came to an end.

And while the four-day bluegrass music-oriented event was over for 2024, with volunteers and work crews dismantling tents and cleaning up debris, those involved with the festival were happy to celebrate another year.

“... By all accounts and purposes, (the festival) was a success,” said Chris Joslin, executive director for the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum — the nonprofit organization that puts on the event. “... Like many events, we’ve seen people’s travel patterns (and) spending patterns change post-Covid; but in some respects, that’s been a silver lining for the ROMP Festival.”

Joslin said he spoke with “many people that traveled great distances” to attend.

“I think for us locally, sometimes it’s easy to think this is a great event, but it’s probably evolved into much more of a destination … then (we) probably realize — which is certainly a good thing for our community,” he said.

This year’s lineup, which included Grammy Award-nominated country singer-songwriter Dierks Bentley making his ROMP debut on Saturday, also drew in positive feedback from attendees, Joslin said.

“... I know (Dierks is known) in the country music world but he has bluegrass roots, and I think he exhibited that on the main stage. It was a perfect blend of his hits with a great country band, but then getting back to his roots and going all acoustic and doing some hardcore bluegrass,” Joslin said. “Whoever watched that show realizes he has a deep appreciation of bluegrass, a deep knowledge (of the genre) and can play the music ….

“As far as the overall lineup, it’s really the secret to our success. You may have some favorites or maybe some other artists that are stylistically not the sweet spot for everyone,” Joslin said, “but there’s a good variety and I think it all made sense from just a broad perspective of roots music ….”

The 2024 festival was complemented by the Hall of Fame’s current exhibit, “Jerry Garcia: A Bluegrass Journey,” with some of the artists highlighting the late Grateful Dead co-founder using their respective times on stage to pay homage to Garcia’s legacy, which Joslin said was a “very intentional” move in the hopes of bringing in a new type of crowd.

“I think the challenge with a large festival like this, especially one that’s more mature like ours (being in its) 21st year, is like, ‘How do you keep it fresh?’ ‘How do you continue to build your audience and hopefully attract a new audience to your festival without changing the personality of the (event) …?” Joslin said. “... The timing of the Garcia (exhibit) opening in March (was) to create some news and then to create even more momentum by having artists on the ROMP lineup this year that tip the hat to Jerry Garcia.

“Everyone from Peter Rowan, who played in a band with Jerry Garcia, to a lot of artists who were heavily influenced by the Grateful Dead, (Garcia) and the jam band scene like Leftover Salmon, like Sam Grisman, like The Travelin’ McCourys and Keller Williams.”

Ross Leigh, who is in the position of recreation outreach for Daviess County Parks & Recreation, was also pleased with the festival this year.

“We were very blessed with regards to Mother Nature yesterday. We were concerned with regards to the potential not only rain, but storms,” Leigh said Sunday. “... With the number of people I’ve personally met who had never been to Yellow Creek Park or who had never been to the ROMP Festival, … (I believe) that is the true lifeblood of success for future events.”

Leigh, who has attended every ROMP Festival, said respect for the facility “was traditional … for what we have seen over the previous years” and praised those who took it upon themselves to “keep the park clean.”

“It made a big difference to us, and we have seen that year after year when ROMP attendees go out of their own way to be able to assist us …,” he said. “That’s pretty special.”

In terms of law enforcement and safety, Daviess County Sheriff Brad Youngman said the annual event “saw the typical few things that we always see, which are … mostly fueled by alcohol.”

“We had a few cases of underage drinking that we had to deal with. … We had a couple small fights here and there (and) we did have one instance where a pickup truck with three occupants came through the gate refusing to stop for the volunteers to check for wristbands,” he said. “Once they got inside ROMP, they parked the vehicle and ran into the woods (before) all were found and detained (and taken) to jail for trespassing and we towed the vehicle.”

Youngman said there was one incident involving a male from Lexington that overdosed from a combination of heroin, LSD, marijuana and moonshine that had to be taken to Owensboro Health Regional Hospital.

According to Youngman, all indications of the male’s condition were “not life-threatening due to immediate medical attention by on-site EMS (Emergency Medical Services) personnel.” The male was issued a citation for public intoxication upon evaluation and treatment at the hospital.

Youngman said the crowd for Bentley’s set on Saturday “got a little excited” but did not do anything that “crossed the line.”

“We brought in extra security due to the size and the atmosphere,” he said. “We doubled the number of deputies assigned to the stage area; but between the ROMP staff, law enforcement and Dierks Bentley’s crew, we were able to … (make) everyone (feel) pretty comfortable.”

Joslin said off-site events related to the festival, such as the Envision Lobby Stage music sets at the Hall of Fame that included Rick Faris, Jerry Douglas, Sierra Hull, Crying Uncle Bluegrass Band and the Bluegrass Brothers, were also big draws.

“The lobby was packed for every one of those performances, and I think that goes back to the overall experience,” he said. “You can see Sierra Hull on the main stage doing what she does best, but then you also have an opportunity to see her in the lobby where she’s playing songs, even doing a Q&A taking questions from the audience.

“I don’t think you get that at every music festival, even bluegrass-centric festivals; and personally, I love that,” Joslin said. “People seem to respond to that, too.”

Joslin said Sunday that it will take “a few days” for him and his staff to “process the numbers” regarding the festival’s attendance figures, but he said thoughts for the 22nd year are already “percolating.”

“... Some of (the ideas) are not very detailed … at this point, but there’s certainly ideas that are brewing that we’re thinking about with (the) lineup,” he said. “... I do think being able to track people like Dierks Bentley, someone that is statured in mainstream country music (that has) bluegrass roots, that sets a nice precedent that perhaps it opens the door for other similar collaborations like that.”