BELLOWS FALLS — The Roots on the River Music Festival is going strong, but it's bidding a heartfelt farewell to headliner and festival co-founder Fred Eaglesmith, who has decided to make way for younger blood.
The festival, now in its 14th season, is June 6-9 and will be held at numerous venues around town.
According to Vermont Festivals producer Ray Massucco, who announced Eaglesmith's departure last week, the change, effective next year, means ROTR is simply changing with the times, as all successful festivals must.
“We have had 14 fabulous, fun-filled festivals with Fred,” Massucco said, recounting just a few memorable stories, including the time the power cut out out under the Big Tent and the artists played on, all acoustic, to the frenzied delight of the faithful “Fredheads.”
But, he said, “This is the foreseeable end of the Fred era.”
Eaglesmith confirmed it:
“I have always believed that festivals have a shelf life; that they run their course. When this happens they should either fold or change,” he said.
He also said that for this cast of characters to stay alive and vibrant, there's plenty of good work ahead for the next generation.
“[ROTR] needs to wrap itself around a new and younger approach. It needs new and younger artists, and it needs to maintain its audience while bringing in fresh faces,” Eaglesmith said.
“I believe in impermanence and accept change as a way of life. I feel that my greatest contribution to ROTR is to step aside and to let change happen. So, by not being there, I am making it better by giving it room to grow in a different direction,” he said.
You can cheer Fred on yourself. A highlight of this year's festival is the oft-repeated pairing of Eaglesmith with Mary Gauthier on Sunday, June 9, at the Rockingham Meeting House.
According to Massucco, Eaglesmith and Gauthier have written many songs together, and their duets in the old venue are always deeply moving.
Massucco has produced the festival for the last seven years.
“If you have ever seen Fred and Mary perform in the Meeting House, you know how special it is,” he said. “If you haven't, and you like either of these consummate artists, this performance will be one to remember for a lifetime.”
Tickets for this final show are expected to sell out, Massucco said. Early-bird ticket specials are available through Feb. 15.
Also on tap
Other artists scheduled for this year's festival are Dave Alvin and the Guilty Ones; Steel Wheels; David Wax Museum; Dan Weber; Shelley King; Heather Maloney; the Milkhouse Heaters; Poor Old Shine; Skumm & Oats; Grant Peeples; Shakey Graves; Carolyn Mark; Roger Marin Band; and Zoe Muth.
The festival is smoke-free and family-friendly, with a special staffed children's tent on Saturday, June 8. It is held for four days throughout the town at an interesting mix of venues: an old mill building at 33 Bridge St., informal locations around the Square, and under the “big tent” at the Everyday Inn.
The series concludes on Sunday, June 9, with an acoustic show at the 225-year-old landmark Rockingham Meeting House.
The big tent offers limited seating, so come early or bring a small lawn chair or blanket. Vendors will provide food and beverages.