One of the largest musical festivals in the Southeast, the annual Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion, held the second weekend of September each year in downtown Bristol, is a festival like no other. The three day festival features a diversity of performers in recognition of the fact the 1927 Bristol Sessions influenced many genres of music in America, and that the roots established in Bristol have grown deep and spread wide.

Each year, the Festival hosts over 100 bands in Downtown Bristol, and celebrates the very best in roots music, covering a wide range of genres. Old-time, bluegrass, alternative country, western swing, progressive newgrass, rock, blues, and folk-rock are included on the lineup that performs on 16 outdoor and indoor stages.

Past artists include Dr. Ralph Stanley, Emmylou Harris, The Avett Brothers, Buddy Guy, Doc Watson, Béla Fleck, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, Lucinda Williams, The Drive-By Truckers, Old Crow Medicine Show, Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, The Steep Canyon Rangers, Corey Harris, The Del McCoury Band, St. Paul & the Broken Bones, and many, many more.