I was there when Bruce Hornsby & the Range went all the way to number one with their debut release "The Way It Is."

It was 1986 and I was attending Western Kentucky University and the pop station we listened to in Nashville seriously could not play it enough. At times I wondered if they HAD another song.

Well, that was the first in a series of big hits for the band. But now the Range is gone and has been replaced by the Noisemakers. And I expect Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers will be making a LOT of noise when they headline ROMP which, this year, runs from September 15th through September 18th. It's a move I hope is permanent since mid-September is a far more comfortable month, in terms of weather than late June.

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Regardless, the music will be amazing and now we know the names of the additional acts that will be taking the ROMP stage that week.

Texas native Sarah Jarosz is a four-time Grammy winner. In 2017, she picked up awards for Best American Roots Performance and Best Folk Album. In 2019, she won Best American Roots Song and in 2021 returned to the podium to receive the Best Americana Album award.

Leyla McCalla is a New York City native and a cellist who won a Grammy as a member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops before leaving the band in 2013.

Sister Sadie is the International Bluegrass Music Association's reigning Entertainer of the Year. The quartet is also featured in the Country Music Hall of Fame's new exhibit, "American Currents: State of the Music."

North Carolina natives Darin & Brooke Aldridge have received multiple nominations from the International Bluegrass Music Association and Inspirational Country Music. In fact, Brooke is the four-time reigning IBMA female vocalist of the year.

Owensboro's own Kentucky Shine will light up the ROMP stage and Yellow Creek Park with some awesome bluegrass music. Want proof? Check 'em out:

Want some more good old Kentucky-based bluegrass music? Then lend Kings Highway your ears:

 

Man oh man, Yellow Creek Park is gonna sound SO good in September, won't it?

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