A top-tier bluegrass reunion will take over Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park October 10th–13th, 2024 for Suwannee Roots Revival. The eighth edition of the beloved family-friendly festival will celebrate roots musicians old and new with top acts Old Crow Medicine Show, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, and Peter Rowan performing with his Walls of Time Band featuring Don Grant Reggaebilly.
Other top acts headed to Live Oak, FL include Yonder Mountain String Band, Jim Lauderdale & The Game Changers, Della Mae, Paul McDonald & The Mourning Doves, Henhouse Prowlers, The Grass Is Dead, Jon Stickley Trio, and four nights of longtime Suwannee Roots veterans Donna the Buffalo. The rest of the 2024 Suwannee Roots Revival lineup is filled out by The Ain’t Sisters, Verlon Thompson, Mosier Brothers Band, Blair Crimmins & The Hookers, Walter Parks & The Unlawful Assembly, Sauce Boss, Grandpa’s Cough Medicine, The Lee Boys, Kaleta & Super Yamba Band, Ralph Roddenbery, Nikki Talley Band, Snake Oil Medicine Show, Grateful Dawg Tribute, Big Cosmo’s Band, Sloppy Joe, The Fried Turkeys, Quartermoon, and Magic Moon Traveling Circus.
Like many festivals at the cherished Spirit of the Suwannee, Roots Revival has become far more than just a music festival and has grown into a family affair. Born out of the traditions of the early gatherings at SOSMP in the aftermath of Jerry Garcia‘s death, Suwannee Roots will highlight emerging artists and iconic acts alike. The festival’s spirit is alive through copious artist collaborations, with musicians popping up by surprise onstage and in the 800-acre campgrounds. The Bill Monroe Shrine and Slopryland will host open stages and invite any and all musicians from headliners to weekend campers to bring an instrument and join in communal jam sessions.
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“Randy [Judy] and I founded Magnolia Music & Events, Inc. in 1997 with our first festival at SOSMP,” festival director Beth Judy said. “The Suwannee Roots Revival is a current version of the events that Randy and I began so long ago when music festivals were just starting to pop up again after Jerry’s passing. We went to lots of Grateful Dead shows. LOTS of shows! A dream was born during those Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter Grateful Dead tours. A dream of a community of music in Florida, our home. A place where we put on not just a skit but a whole show! From the very beginning we set an intention of a community of love and healing and music and positive impact on the lives of the people who were there. And we attracted those people who needed that in their lives, and many of them are still coming. SpringFest and MagFest had changed and evolved over the years and now we are gathering everyone together for the big Reunion and Revival of what commenced during those early years.”
Unfortunately, this family reunion will carry a weight of sadness after Randy Judy passed away from health complications on April 2nd, 2024. The man who became known to generations of festivalgoers as Big Cosmo was a passionate, talented, and kind man who was a central figure in the creation of Suwannee Roots and the SOSMP festival landscape attendees have enjoyed for decades.
“To me, he was my adventure partner, my husband (then ex-husband but still family), my life partner, my business partner, my friend,” Beth said. “We had a connection unlike any other I have ever known. Randy was a visionary and a talented actor and loved theater as well as music. His musical interests were vast and varied and he expanded my knowledge and ignited my passion such that music became the mission of our lives. The man who would become Big Cosmo was so very open to the creative forces! He could clearly visualize what was only a pipe dream. And once visualized, he could help me see it and together we became Music Farmers. We planted our seeds here at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park. The festivals that we created together, along with our friends, were like our children. They were our family, our community, and our reason for being to a very large extent. His vision brought us together and created a setting where strangers became friends, and friends turned into family.”
Suwannee Roots Revival will pay tribute to its late co-founder with Big Cosmo’s Sunshine Daydream Celebration of Life for family, friends, and festivalgoers on Thursday, October 10th at 3 p.m. at The Amphitheater Stage. The celebration will feature an all-star band with Tom Nelly, Charlie Bell, Ed Richardson, Brian Drysdale, Jared Bell, and Paul Wells performing as Big Cosmo’s Band. The group will play other sets throughout the weekend, including the festival kickoff at 4 p.m on Thursday.
The family-friendly festival will host four days and nights of music on multiple stages, in addition to music workshops, yoga, a Kids Tent, Vending Village, and more. The Music Farmers Stage will present an array of hands-on workshops, sponsored by the festival’s non-profit arm Live Oak Music and Arts Foundation. Attendees can enter a raffle for a chance to win a variety of prizes donated by festival artists, merchants, and sponsors, with proceeds benefitting LOMAF and its mission of supporting music and arts programs in North Florida schools, including the Suwannee Spirit Kids Music Camp.
Tickets for Suwannee Roots Revival 2024 are on sale here. Children 12 and under are admitted for free if accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Find complete info on car passes, RVs, camping upgrades, and more on the festival website.
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