According to the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus, “Change is the only constant.” In recent years that is what could be said about Uncle Dave Macon Days. Since the pandemic, the festival has been looking for a place to be moored after moving it to The Fountains at Gateway and then to Shelbyville after years of having a home at Cannonsburgh Village in Murfreesboro.
This year the festival may have found a new permanent home at Hop Springs on John Bragg Highway. The venue certainly fits the event’s new focus on performance verses competition, and its renaming to Uncle Dave Macon Days presents “Roots Rendezvous.” It will take place on September 6 and 7, 2024.
The inaugural Uncle Dave Macon Days was created by a gentleman named Jesse Messick, who owned a pharmacy that was located on Murfreesboro’s city square. The first festival took place on the square on July 8, 1978 with the goal of drawing shoppers to the stores. It was a laid-back shade-tree picking affair.
It remained on the square for many years, until its move in the 1990s to Cannonsburgh Village, having morphed into the National Championships for Old-time Banjo and Old-Time Clogging and Buck Dancing, as designated by the US Congress in 1986. It had outgrown its former space.
More than 25,000 people have been known to descend upon the festival each summer. In July 2018, the festival was named by Southeast Tourism Society as one of the top 20 events in the Southeast.
Since COVID 19, the festival has sputtered, not quite sure how to move forward. The music scene has been changing, and Gloria Christie and her committee of festival planners have spent the last several years trying to figure out how to stay true to their mission of preserving old time music and dance, while bringing in new generations as an audience. Those under 50 are drawn to all kinds of music, but they care little about history and have no idea who Uncle Dave Macon even was.
The current incarnation will be a vehicle for performances on two stages – one in the tap room and one outside — by Dewdrop Jamboree, Glade City Rounders, Jake Leg Stompers, Noelle Goodin Band, Cripple Creek Cloggers, Slim Chance Band, Delyn Christian Trio a John Prine Tribute band, Stones River Bluegrass Band, Caleb Christopher Edwards, Rockin’ Country Band offering visitors an opportunity to Country Line Dance, and Frank Bailey and Friends. The event will also offer an international flavor with performances by Tony Hartman a Trinidad Steel Pan, Ambar Herrera a Panamanian Singer, and Decy Ramona offering a South Indian Fashion Show.
2024 Roots Rendezvous Schedule
Friday, September 6
3:00 p.m. Doors Open
4:00 p.m. Opening Ceremonies
4:30 p.m. Stones River Bluegrass (inside)
5:30 p.m. Caleb Christopher Edwards (outside)
7:30 p.m. Dewdrop Jamboree (inside)
Saturday, September 7
Outside Stage – ’Boro International
11:00 a.m. – Tony Hartman
11:45 a.m. – Ambar Herrera Lopez
12:00 p.m. – Decy Ramona
12:20 p.m. – Frank Bailey and Friends
Inside Stage
1:00 p.m. – Noelle Goodin Band
2:00 p.m. – Delyn Christian Trio
3:00 p.m. – Cripple Creek Cloggers with the Slim Chance Band
4:00 p.m. – Glade City Rounders
5:00 p.m. – Jake Leg Stompers
7:00 p.m. – Rockin’ Country
As in the past, handmade fine craft and visual artists will again be a part of the festival thanks to a partnership with ‘Boro International, MTSU Art Gallery, MTSU Department of Art and Design, and Stones River Crafts Association’s ‘Boro Art Crawl.
Admission to the festival is $10 per car. Hop Springs is located at 6790 John Bragg Highway, Murfreesboro, Tennessee. For more information, call (833) 615-ROOT or visit rootsrendezvous.com.
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