ROMP Fest an opportunity "to celebrate life"

Jun. 26—Saturday afternoon, the audience for the annual ROMP Festival was doing its best to lounge in the shade.

The wide field that housed the stage was covered with folding chairs, but the occupants of man of those chairs were under the shade of trees to the right of the stage. Tents formed a perimeter at the edge of the field.

But even far away from the stage, the music could be heard clearly across Yellow Creek Park, so people relaxing by the campers or in tents could Liam Purcell and Cane Mill Road's performance.

Melinda Russell and Darth Brooks Russell, who had come from Santa Cruz, California, were in the shade at their camp site. The couple planned on visiting Melinda's mother in Louisville on Sunday, for her birthday. But it just so happened that the visit also coincided with the ROMP Fest, which was an event Melinda had long wanted to attend.

"I've always wanted to come to this festival," Melinda Russell said.

"I kept saying it was on her bucket list," Darth Russell said.

The audience at Saturday's day of bluegrass music came alive with the first band of the day, some going close to the stage to get a better view of the musicians. Some people had been camping at the park for days.

J.P. Morse, of Somerset, was at his campsite not far away from the Pioneer Village, relaxing under a tent and catching up with a show on his iPad. This year's was the Morse family's third time attending the festival.

"It's just a beautifully run festival," Morse said. "The camping areas are really nice, and you've got musicians that are excited to be here. That's when you hear the best music, when they're excited about it."

Jeannine Davis and Richard Daviess have attended five ROMP fest, and they drove their RV down from Vincennes, Indiana to attend this year's event. The couple are usually joined by two other families, but obligations kept their friends away this year.

But Jeanine Davis said the couple had been planning for this trip for months.

"We'd already bought out tickets back in December" as soon as they want on sale, Davis said.

Davis said they were looking forward to seeing Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives, but said they also just enjoyed the festival and the community.

"We like coming to Owensboro," Jeanine Davis said.

"When it isn't so hot," Richard Davis said.

Between sets, people played Frisbee near the back of the field. People walked dogs on leashes. One woman carried a cat in a baby sling. The cat didn't seem to mind.

People ate burgers, chicken sandwiches and pizza near the food trucks. The show's emcee kept reminding people between sets to be sure to drink water. At the far end of the park, at the Pioneer Village, a man giving bluegrass lessons told his shelter full of musicians that they could play over 100 bluegrass songs on guitar with just the chords of G and D.

Tom and Janine Keeton were at their campsite, not far from the stage but in a shady spot at the bottom of a hill. The Keetons, who live near Cincinnati in Hamilton, Ohio, attended the festival for the first time in 2021, when it was held in the fall.

When asked if they would've preferred cooler fall weather for this year's festival, Janine Keeton said the temperature didn't bother her.

"My saying is, if they'll play in the heat and rain, I'll listen," she said.

"We were going to be here no matter what," Tom Keeton said.

"It's a great lineup," Janine Keeton said. "They really did a great job booking the show. They last four bands today are all headliners."

It's cliche to write "despite the heat," people seems to be having a good time." But, on Saturday, it was true: The audience members all looked pretty happy. People sat near one another in the shade, without jostling or angling to beat each other out of the best spots. The mood was relaxed. Calm, even.

Melinda Russell, who has attended and worked at other bluegrass festivals, said the atmosphere at ROMP was just want people needed.

"With what's going on in the world, we are banding together to celebrate life," Russell said.

James Mayse, 270-691-7303, jmayse@messenger-inquirer.com, Twitter: @JamesMayse