Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion isn't just a music festival. It's an infectious, three-day music experience, bursting with creative passion, electricity, and soul. Every third weekend in September, State Street in historic Downtown Bristol, TN/VA is amped to the beat of Appalachia's past, present, and future. It digs down deep into the roots of traditional Appalachian sound and lifts its branches to new heights-and it all happens in the heart of The Birthplace of Country Music.

Nashville is country music's capitol, Bristol is the birthplace. It was on State Street in 1927 that talent scout Ralph Peer made the very first country music recordings with The Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, Ernest Stoneman, and others, for the Victor Talking Machine Company. The recordings known as The Bristol Sessions are recognized internationally as the "Big Bang" of country music.