Americana festival Rhythm N’ Blooms dominated Old City this weekend for three days of music.
This year’s lineup saw an increase in diversity as genres included indie rock, outlaw country, backwaters gypsy bluegrass and anything else that could be considered Americana. With the increase in diversity also came an increase in obscurity, though, and the festival asked visitors to expand their musical horizons and add new favorites to their playlists.
Polly Roberts was there for exactly that, and attended the festival while visiting in-laws.
“We’re here to find someone new,” Roberts said, waiting for Delta Spirit to open the festival Friday night while her 3-year-old son ran around her ankles. “It’s good to catch someone you haven’t heard before.”
Loren Lee, senior in English, was instead there to catch an old favorite. She had seen Delta Spirit at Lollapalooza and wanted to catch them again, closer to home.
“We saw them on accident, but they rocked,” Lee said about seeing the California indie rock band the first time.
From there, the first night continued with hometown favorite The Dirty Guv’nahs, Nashville indie folk-rock band Apache Relay and the Knoxville wizard rap group LiL iFFy, which began its Final Spell tour during a late night set at The Pilot Light.
Saturday started early in the afternoon with various workshops for musicians about professional skills such as social media and songwriting. Then *repeat repeat started the music at The Standard. Other local Tennessee bands played either the first or second of their many sets of the weekend, including modern folk band Cereus Bright, soul rockers Alanna Royale and high school bluegrass musicians Subtle Clutch.
The night hit its peak when Southern rock band Drive-By Truckers took the Cripple Creek Stage, an elaborate but temporary setup in the Jackson Avenue parking lot. Fans packed into the green barriers to head bang with the music veterans.
Saturday’s late night sets included Guthrie Brown and The Family Tree blasting sound at the sweaty bodies in The Pilot Light and bluegrass band The Whiskey Shivers playing an entire set of The Violent Femmes’ covers at Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria.
Then, the final day opened with a more soulful, relaxed vibe as Amythyst Kiah & Her Chest of Glass began Sunday at the Cripple Creek Stage. She became Bailey Green’s, senior in architecture, favorite following her performance.
“She’s very unique and has an incredible voice,” Green said. “I loved the fusion she creates between blues, soul and old school rock. And I like that she draws her inspiration from unlikely sources like early folk and blues.”
More people camped out at the main stage to watch that venue’s performances than in the days previously. Cereus Bright, Langhorne Slim & The Law, JD McPherson and, finally, crowd favorite The Decemberists.
“They really brought the audience on stage without bringing them on stage,” Green said about the festival’s headliner. “I felt like I was making music with them.”
It wasn’t just the fans that enjoyed and appreciated Rhythm N’ Blooms, though. Joel Wren, drummer for Daniel Ellsworth & The Great Lakes, vocalized the spirit of playing the festival.
“People are genuinely excited that you’re here, even if they might have never heard of you,” Wren said. “They’re just excited that this is going on and that bands have come and traveled a long ways … They’re just pumped that you’re here. They’re just excited about the weekend, excited about the experience and to hear new music.”
