Appalachian Road Show at the 2023 Bluegrass & Chill Festival – photos © Pamm Tucker
What is more American than hotdogs and fireworks on the 4th of July? Bluegrass & Chili! For 43 years, the Bluegrass & Chili Festival has offered a showcase of talent in Wagoner, OK. This year was no different, as you couldn’t tell which headliner was the headliner. Dell Davis, as always, coordinates a festival that is packed with talent, a two day event where a gate charge is unheard of. When you see “No Cover,” you might expect to see only up and coming acts on stage, but that’s not the way things work when Dell is in charge.
I spent two days in the dueling heat/wind combination in downtown Wagoner. In a small town such as this, Main Street is only four blocks long, but it was packed with three stages, with vendors lining both sides of the street selling their wares. There was a car show, a quilt show, an antique tractor show, a Mid-America Regional Chili cookoff, and stages to catch the aura of music at every intersection. The atmosphere was perfect as I set up my lawn chair on the west side of the stage to catch some shade (this was no help as the Oklahoma sun was rising on Saturday). This was a down home welcome that I felt.
Friday night’s festivities were a grand slam. The following performed on Friday at the 43rd Annual Bluegrass & Chili Festival.
Festival Stage
- Heartland Express
- Edgar Loudermilk Band
- The Cleverlys
- Appalachian Road Show
Wagoner Switch Stage
- The Hi-fi Hillbillies
- Acoustic Freight Train
- Just gotta Dance
Community Stage
- Bazemore Bluegrass Band
- The Smith Brothers
- The Justin Smith Band
The quiet town of Wagoner was buzzing again on Saturday morning. Early a.m. brought the local fire departments and surrounding communities to a firefighter combat challenge. Saturday’s line-up was one to top it all, with the following performances:
Festival Stage
- Bazemore Bluegrass Band
- Springstreet
- Roving Gambler Band
- Grass Mountain Trailhead
- Edgar Loudermilk Band
- Breaking Grass
- The Malpass Brothers
- Russell Moore & IIIrd Time Out
- Rhonda Vincent and the Rage
Community Stage
- Victory Road
- Junior Showcase
- Steel Pony
- Pearlgrace & Company
- Grass Mountain Trailhead
- Rewind
- TC Love
Wagoner Switch Stage
- Amundson Family
- Austin Dixon
- Roving Gambler Band
- Springstreet
- Pearlgrace & Company
- Heartland Express
- Edgar Loudermilk Band
- Breaking Grass
- Paul Holt Band
Davis did an excellent job of keeping this festival to its roots in bluegrass music. The layout of the festivities were excellent; sounds from other stages were not heard through careful placement, and this kept your attention focused on the stage you were attending.
If you are a true bluegrass fan, you need to make this free event one of your stops in the coming years.
