The Roots N Blues Festival, hosted each fall in Columbia, Missouri, announced today that its 2022 lineup will build off of 2021’s shift to a more inclusive, expansive festival with a grouping of artists that includes both old favorites and up-and-coming acts.
Twenty-four artists will perform at the three-day fest in Stephens Lake Park, including Grammy-winning headliners Wilco, Chaka Khan, Bleachers, Tanya Tucker, and Old Crow Medicine show, along with Jon Batiste, the Academy Award-winning artist behind Soul who is also nominated for the most Grammy Awards of any artist this year.
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“We’re continuing to expand on what we started in 2021 by exploring all corners of American Roots Music–moving away from a narrow definition and adopting a broader view of what roots music is,” said Shay Jasper, co-owner of Roots N Blues, in a press release announcing the 2022 lineup. Jasper took over the festival alongside partner Tracy Lane last year, making Roots N Blues the only major women-owned festival in the U.S.
The 2021 fest brought an unprecedented slate of female and nonbinary artists to Columbia, and this year Jasper and Lane have continued their expansion of what Roots N Blues can be with a lineup focused on balance between genders and generations.
“The central focus of our vision for the future of this festival is equity–both on and off the stage,” said Lane in the release. “We strive to remove the barriers around live music–gender, age, race, ability, and income–for our artists, staff, and audience.”
Passes and single-day tickets are now on sale for the October 7–9 festival, and attendees have the option to make a $200 donation to Friends of the Festival, a nonprofit dedicated to both sustaining Roots N Blues and providing music literacy and history programs to children throughout Missouri, in place of the tradition VIP package option. The donation provides access to lounges and upfront viewing at both of the fest’s stages.
The full festival lineup is as follows:
Friday
- Wilco
- Tanya Tucker
- Hippo Campus
- Jaime Wyatt
- The Kay Brothers
- Meredith Shaw
Saturday
- Jon Batiste
- Chaka Khan
- Larkin Poe
- Tank and the Bangas
- Cautious Clay
- Jackie Venson
- The Dip
- Kassi Ashton
- Sifa
- J.ARTiz & the MO’ Soul Collective
Sunday
- Bleachers
- Old Crow Medicine Show
- Houndmouth
- The Steeldrivers
- Brittney Spencer
- Liz Cooper
- The Heavy Heavy
- Jen Norman
Roots N Blues will take place October 7-9 at Stephens Lake Park in Columbia, Missouri. For passes and tickets, visit rootsnbluesfestival.frontgatetickets.com.
