Article Contributed by Ashley Feller
Published on 2026-05-18
Peter Rowan and Friends | photos by Ashley Feller
This year has been full of uncertainty, but again I’m reminded of how strong a dedicated community can be. This past March, I wasn’t entirely sure I could attend the 8th annual Suwannee Spring Reunion as I customarily do. I drive a 2006 Chevy Impala, and it’s three wheels in the grave. Deep down, I knew it wasn’t safe to drive the 150 miles to get to the festival. I’ve stood on the shoulder of I-10, and it’s a sight I hope to avoid at all costs.
After I shared my feelings on social media, one of the performers, Nikki Talley, reached out and encouraged me to set up a community fund to rent a car to get to the festival. I was reluctant, but I did a livestream and successfully raised enough funds to rent a car to travel to the festival and, while there, document my experience through my podcast Sunshine State Showcase and articles in Grateful Web.
It was a revitalizing festival that took place March 19–22, 2026, at The Spirit of The Suwannee Music Park. As always, I found myself soaking in all the sights and sounds from bands with a deep history at the venue, as well as new additions that bring a whole new kind of excitement. Suwannee Spring Reunion was a needed pilgrimage for foot-stomping Americana music, camping, and community.
I was so eager to get to Suwannee this year that I arrived in the campgrounds on the Tuesday before the festival officially began. It was a serene privilege to be in a nearly empty park that first evening. I woke to the sound of nothing but birds. Then, watching the camps transform was so satisfying. I must share that the Suwannee Family has a long history of building the most whimsical campsites. It’s a joy to see what folks construct with lights and tapestries. I’ve even seen folks bring decorative plants!
By Thursday morning, the festival grounds eventually started to hum with life, including my long-awaited camping family. As we put the added touches on our growing campsite, I stopped. It really felt like a family reunion since I had not seen many of my friends since the last festival, and for some, even longer. This festival has taught me to really use it as a time to love my friends and rekindle shared history.
By afternoon, it was time for my first interview of the weekend with a very special guest: Heidi Jamilla. Heidi and I have been musical confidants since our early twenties, having first crossed paths right here at the Spirit of the Suwannee. Life has since taken her across the pond to Germany, where she now serves as the Secretary for the European Bluegrass Music Association, but the “Suwannee pull” is strong.
We spent an hour reminiscing about our days as bandmates and marveling at how a small corner of the Florida woods can influence the bluegrass scene halfway across the world. You’ll be able to see our catch-up soon on my YouTube channel, Sunshine State Showcase.
Before it was time for the music to kick off on the main stage, we were thrilled to have live bluegrass music happening a stone’s throw from our tents. Our friends from Bryan County, Georgia, performed an inventive version of Merle Haggard’s “The Highway Is My Home.” It was the perfect appetizer for the weekend’s formal schedule.
The festival officially kicked off at the amphitheater stage. Big Cosmo’s Band played songs in tribute to their late bandmate and one of the festival founders, Randy Judy. As the sun dipped through the oaks, opening chords of “Seminole Wind” and “Midnight Special” breezed through the crowd of dancers. We felt Randy and many others we’ve lost there in spirit. Although they may no longer be with us physically, their spirits live on forever in the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park.
I love the balance between the bands we love to see again and again and the infusion of new talent. I was delighted to see Kindred Valley added to the lineup prior to the festival, when not long before, they had appeared in my TikTok feed. Their first performance on the amphitheater stage was pastoral, and their sound reminded me of Jason Isbell; they were also imaginative lyricists.
From the open air, I moved to the intimate, sweltering confines of the Back Porch Stage for Ralph Roddenbery and Tommy Jones. The room was packed to the gills, a sea of fans hanging on Ralph’s every word. He has a rare gift for emotional whiplash, inducing a belly laugh one moment and leaving the room in a collective, misty-eyed silence the next. As he played his signature “Lean on the Love Side,” the set felt less like a performance and more like a shared therapy session. It was the most emotionally raw hour of the weekend.
Later in the evening, Sloppy Joe from Stevens Point, Wisconsin, took the stage under the dance tent out in the meadow. Sloppy Joe is a favorite at the festival and is known for combining elements of bluegrass and jug band music. They’re all masters of writing witty and whimsical songs, and they bring their own personality to the performance.
One of my favorite things about this festival is the variety of stages and how each one has its own flair. The dance stage is an enormous white tent out in the middle of the meadow near the vendors. There’s always plenty of room for dancing and stargazing!
The last set we caught that evening was The Grass Is Dead in the Music Hall, which is another magnificent stage. At this stage, there is a full liquor bar, they serve food, and they also have seating set up, so all you need to do is walk in, get a drink, take a seat, and enjoy the music. It was a gift to hear The Grass Is Dead that evening. It’s always uplifting to hear Grateful Dead standards transformed into inventive bluegrass-tinged masterpieces. I couldn’t help but admire the stunning instrumental interplay between Billy Gilmore and Drew Matulich.
By Friday, the weather was starting to warm up compared to what felt like a blast from the tundra that I had slept in my first night. I made a beeline for the amphitheater stage to catch Tire Fire play their first set on the main stage. I first met members of this band quite a few years ago while playing music late into the evening around the campfire at Slopryland, a campsite that welcomes pickers to visit and join in impromptu jam sessions around the fire. Tire Fire set the morning ablaze as they played with so much virtuosity and told compelling stories behind their songs.
Shortly after their set, Tire Fire joined me at my campsite for an interview with my podcast, Sunshine State Showcase. You can check it out here. We all gathered around a metal picnic table and had a candid conversation on their journey as a band, their upcoming set, and our general feelings about the festival. I’m blessed because they also took the time to film a couple of acoustic sessions with me, which will also be on my YouTube channel soon.
Tire Fire is one of those bands that has everything: tenderness, chaos, soaring harmonies, and friendship. It was refreshing to spend time with a band so passionate about their craft and witness their creative chemistry right in my own campsite. It was a rare privilege to see some of my campmates and a few friends witness the interview and live performance. I’ll never forget it. It’s times like these that you can only have at Suwannee Spring Reunion.
Once the dust settled at camp, I headed out to finally witness the Sam Grisman Project in the flesh. I’ve followed Sam’s journey on Instagram for years, but the digital screen is no substitute for the telepathic synergy of this band live. They truly hold space for the traditional and “Dawg” music legacies they’ve inherited. Between their razor-sharp harmonies and their respectful yet inventive approach to the songbook, it was a set that felt both like a history lesson and a vibrant look at the future of the genre.
Later in the evening, and after a much-needed rest, I returned to the amphitheater stage for Keller & The Keels. This was another one of those moments where I started to feel the years invested in the jam band/Americana music scene, because on this particular night Keller & The Keels were performing Grass in its entirety, in track order, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its release.
The moment I heard the words “20th Anniversary,” my mind transported me to the twenty-year-old version of me driving an old blue minivan to Suwannee, enjoying the freshness of this album. This album is to me like The Catcher in the Rye; it’s really something that I feel is coming of age, but in musical format. Their set was revelatory, and it was a gift from the universe to see them playing together so tightly. Hearing each song brought back a river of nostalgia, and it was a great way to close out the evening.
By Saturday, the Florida sun was out in full force. After a mandatory morning ice run to the park’s Country Store, a lifesaver for the ill-prepared, it was time to seek refuge from the humidity. We found our shelter in the climate-controlled Music Hall for a set from two living legends: Peter Rowan and Jerry Douglas.
Watching Peter Rowan is always a treat, but when Jerry Douglas is riding shotgun, the musical IQ of the room doubles. The two paid homage to the recently deceased Roy Bookbinder, who is an integral part of Florida’s folk music history. Watching them honor a fixture like Roy, who had been a cornerstone of Suwannee festivals since the beginning, felt like a collective salute that he certainly earned.
One of my most anticipated new discoveries was The Fretliners in the Dance Tent. My friends and I staked out a spot in the grass, margaritas in hand, to witness what turned out to be a masterclass in high-octane string music. They delivered a blistering rendition of “Squirrel Hunters” and original tunes that immortalized the wit of Roger Miller. The most shocking moment was when the band revealed their fiddle player had only been on board for a week. Had they not shared that secret, you’d have sworn he’d been part of their DNA since day one.
It was time for the weekend’s crowning moment: Peter Rowan with the Sam Grisman Project. The band provoked a hushed intimacy as they played a tribute to Old & In The Way, which was a full-circle moment for many of us because about twenty years ago, Peter Rowan, Vassar Clements, and David Grisman formed a tribute band called Old & In The Gray, which also played a tribute set to the original band that evolved out of Muleskinner back in the 1970s. Peter Rowan’s unmistakable, hauntingly beautiful voice radiated through the amphitheater and sent chills through the crowd.
Next, it was time for Larkin Poe. This was my first time seeing them live, but I have been following them on YouTube for quite some time, so it was a treat to experience them up close and in person. Their set was swaggering and definitely a delight for those who love the blues. The sound of lap steel and twin electric guitars consumed the amphitheater, and their vocals pierced the crowd with passion.
Sunday morning came sooner than I could ever have imagined. It always does. It seems no sooner than you have your campsite in place, then it’s time to pack it all up again. Sunday is a sacred day at Suwannee Spring Reunion because it is a day to honor and remember those who were here and created great music for us to enjoy and have now gone to the great beyond.
We call it Vassar Sunday because this tradition started shortly after the legendary fiddle player Vassar Clements passed away. He had been a foundational member of these festivals, and ever since, the festival has dedicated Sunday to celebrating the lives of those great musicians who are no longer with us.
No matter how many times I see Verlon Thompson, I’m brought to tears. His performances are vulnerable and honest, and they just make the tears pour from my eyes. Joined by artist-at-large John Mailander, the two played a cozy set on the amphitheater stage. It was also a pleasant surprise to see Shawn Camp make a guest appearance to perform a touching cover of Townes Van Zandt’s “To Live Is to Fly.”
Then Verlon said something that I carry with me forever: “I ain’t even started on my taxes yet. See, this is the shit that gets in your mind out there. When I come here, I don’t think about it. All I think about is love, friends, beauty, and music. And I say to live is to fly.” It’s moments like that when I’m reminded of what’s really important, and we’ve got to keep appreciating moments like that.
After their set, we enjoyed more high-caliber collaborations by Shawn Camp, Peter Rowan, and Jerry Douglas. Since this was the ultimate Sunday Funday, our camp family decided it was time to head over to the dance tent for one last set by Ralph Roddenbery. It was a set that set our hearts on fire and also made us laugh till our sides hurt. Every show with Ralph and his friends feels like a collective introspective moment frozen in time, when you really think about the relationship you have with yourself and with others.
The last set of the evening was back at the amphitheater. Donna the Buffalo took the stage, and the sounds of zydeco-inspired Americana pulsated through the oaks. Everyone danced while the sun set. At one point, it felt like we were in a trance, and I remember the words of guitarist Jeb Puryear saying, “Beth Judy believes and wants an energetic peace.” Beth Judy is the festival producer, and that is definitely the vibration that Suwannee Spring Reunion has been sending for years. When you are there, you feel a vivaciousness among the community, yet you feel safe and seen in a way that the world may not see you. It’s an experience that is cathartic for all who come to the festival.
I knew Sunday evening would be my last chance in a while to wander through the forest for jam sessions. First, I visited the Bill Monroe shrine for probably one of the biggest bluegrass jam circles I’ve ever participated in. It was like a revolving door of virtuosos, including Billy Gilmore, Lyndsay Pruett, Jared Womack, Brett Bass, and many more.
Seeking a change in frequency, I set out to find something softer and lyric-driven. This led me to Poohville, where my friend Stuart McNair was playing through a generous selection of his song catalog. I had met Stuart close to twenty years ago, near the same pond surrounded by cypress trees. Over the years, Stuart has brought more and more songs to the festival, and it’s always a joy to musically support a talented songwriter throughout various seasons of their songwriting journey.
After Poohville, the inevitable conclusion before going back to my camp would be one more night in Slopryland. The last of the die-hards huddled around the campfire. I joined Stef Lee of Sloppy Joe and Stuart as we stumbled through “Islands in the Stream,” a couple of Dolly Parton songs, and lastly, “Rainbow Connection.” When exhaustion finally overtook the adrenaline, we said our goodbyes and shared bear hugs. We were all exhausted but grateful for the spiritual recalibration we had at Suwannee Spring Reunion.
Special thanks to Beth Judy and her staff for once again organizing and executing a festival that restores our sense of wonder. If you were there and you want another experience like this, or you missed this one, make sure you mark your calendars for the sister festival, Suwannee Roots Revival, happening October 8–11, 2026. Find out about the lineup and get your tickets here: https://suwanneerootsrevival.com/. See you in the fall for more music, camping, and community!
