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Hippo Campus, a five-piece indie rock band renowned for its laidback sound, is embracing the complicated world of young adulthood. Originally a four-piece, the band was started in 2013...
Even if you think you don’t know Chaka Khan, you know Chaka Khan. Once the front woman of the iconic funk band Rufus and later a solo icon in...
Joshua Karpeh, known publicly as Cautious Clay, is an R&B singer-songwriter and producer who’s delivering a sound that resonates. A Cleveland native with a bachelor’s degree in International Affairs...
Radiant in both personality and song, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jackie Venson’s feel-good sound is making a splash in her home state of Texas and beyond. Hailing from one of...
Though Old Crow Medicine Show, a folk band from Upstate New York, has caught the attention of Doc Watson, influenced the likes of Mumford & Sons, and co-written songs...
. . . . Though there has been growing discussion around the lack of female representation in the music industry in recent years, a 2021 study by USC Annenburg’s...
Singer-songwriter Kyren Penrose has a deep love for his hometown of Columbia, Missouri. A songwriter since childhood, he began to seriously pursue music around age fifteen, when he started...
If you’re a Columbia local, the name Audra Sergel may ring a bell. She grew up in Maryville, a small town in the northwest corner of the state but,...
Up until 2019, Rochara Knight knew she enjoyed songwriting and performing, but felt she had no time to start a band. However, after a bit of what she affectionately...
Columbia-based River Ghost Revue, an acoustic group with bluegrass and Americana influences, describes itself as “hard-hitting songs for hard-hit people.” The band emerged out of its members’ desire to...
Singer-songwriter Meredith Shaw is proof that there’s no set path one must follow to become a musician. She grew up on a farm in a small town in northeast...
Nicole Springer has been a dedicated musician since she won a children’s pageant with her four-year-old rendition of “Tomorrow” from Annie. She got her start singing gospel and has...
Natalie Wlodarczyk (lyrics, lead vocals) and Shannon Stine (lyrics, lead guitar) are the wife-and-wife team that comprise Springfield-based duo, The Shandies. Stine grew up in Springfield, home to a...
. . . This year, Friends of the Festival, the nonprofit that supports Roots N Blues, is participating in CoMoGives, an annual online fundraiser that supports nonprofits across Mid-Missouri....
. . . . It’s no secret that women are massively underrepresented in the music industry. In comparison to their male counterparts, women only make up a small fraction...
Columbia, Missouri is a town most people have probably never heard of. Fans of college football may know Columbia for its SEC team, the Mizzou Tigers, and documentary enthusiasts...
Get excited to enjoy some amazing beer, wine, food, and crafts at Roots N Blues 2021! Our wide range of hand-picked vendors (most of which are local!) will have...
Kassi Ashton is a walking contradiction. Part retro beauty queen, part Harley-Davidson fanatic, the singer has developed an image that seamlessly blends the free-wheeling motorcycle culture of late 20th...
Sifa Bihomora, the twenty-three-year-old Columbia native behind the up-and-coming musical project ‘Sifa,’ is easily one of the most inspiring individuals you’ll ever meet. Though only a handful of songs...
It has been nearly three decades since Missouri native Sheryl Crow put out her first smash hit, “All I Wanna Do.” In the years since, she has become an...
We have worked hand-in-hand with local health officials to ensure Roots N Blues can move ahead safely this year. We have committed to the following protocols and guidelines to...
Halle Kearns is a Columbia native who’s making a name for herself in the pop-country scene. Locals may remember her best as a Rock Bridge Bruin or a waitress...
Georgia peach sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell form Larkin Poe, a band whose old-school southern rock ’n roll sound is anything but sweet. The girls took the band’s name...
Leah Song and Chloe Smith, the folk music/sister duo known professionally as Rising Appalachia, are bringing old sounds into the modern world. What began as a one-off album created...
When talking about Mavis Staples, it’s hard to decide what to focus on. The fact that she marched with Martin Luther King Jr. in the sixties might be a...
Quirky musical masterminds Tank and the Bangas are the soul-meets-jazz-meets-hip-hop New Orleans-based fivepiece that is delivering an entirely fresh sound to today’s sonic landscape. Formed in 2011 after the...
When it comes to blues, Shemekia Copeland is nothing short of a master of the craft. She sings with unmatched soul and, as the recipient of multiple Blues Music...
In 2005, a young singer-songwriter from rural Washington state released her debut album, Brandi Carlile. In the years since, the woman of the same name has become a musical...
From New York City subway buskers to playing the halftime show at Madison Square Garden’s Latino Night, Flor de Toloache, an all-female mariachi band, has captured the hearts of...
Before Lennon Stella hit her twenties, she had already starred as a core character on the hit television drama Nashville, formed one half of YouTube music sensation Lennon &...
If you aren’t already familiar with up-and-coming blues group Southern Avenue, you will be soon. Bleeding with talent and breathing new life into modern soul music, this Memphis-based ensemble...