Headin’ Home at the 2025 Headin’ Home Fest – photo © Libby Lindblom
The 4th annual Headin’ Home Fest took place October 22-26, 2025 at Stagger Lee Music Park in Hazlehurst, Georgia. The weekend days were filled with great food and bands, friendship and community, raffles and jam classes, plenty of campground picking, and lovely south Georgia fall weather.
Host band Headin’ Home celebrated the release of their brand new album, Rhythm of the Tires, on Friday the 24th. They revealed the new album along with new merch on their table, and celebrated with a large cake after the evening stage shows. They also invited park owners Stagger and Lori Lee to join them for several songs during their set.
Friday’s lineup also featured Remedy Tree from Florida, Nick Dumas & Branchline from Wisconsin, and two great groups from North Carolina, The Gospel Plowboys, and husband-and-wife duo Colin & Kathleen Ray. Tight bluegrass, heartfelt gospel, and rich family harmonies accented the day. Nick Dumas & Branchline found a new fill-in bass player in Job Waddington, as Nick’s bass player’s flight from Seattle had gotten unexpectedly cancelled.
Saturday kicked off with another entertaining set from Remedy Tree. The Brothers Five followed, enthralling the crowd with their sibling cohesiveness and polished show for a band aged 11 to 19. The youngest brother, Leo Lindblom, sold quite a stack of copies of his new solo album, Just Leo. Two SPBGMA Band Championship winning bands then brought their hard-driving sounds to the stage: Retro 78 from the Carolinas, and The Waddington Brothers from North Dakota. One fan accurately noted The Waddington Brothers as “the surprise of the festival,” as their stirring harmonies and western and cowboy numbers were immensely well received.
During host band Headin’ Home’s final Saturday set, MC Justin Mason joined them for a rousing gospel number, Traveling the Highway Home. Justin did a phenomenal job as the festival’s MC. He kept each show on time, livened up the crowd with his enthusiasm, and introduced each band with well-researched knowledge, interesting fun facts, and a professional, friendly air.
The Little Roy & Lizzy Show then closed out Saturday night with a 90-minute show, packed with loads of energy and excitement. 83-year-old Little Roy Lewis continues to be the best entertainer in the business!
Luke and Lucy Lindblom provided first-rate sound each day at Headin’ Home Fest. The younger Lindblom boys (of The Brothers Five) sold tickets for the festival’s nightly 50/50 raffle, as well as the guitar raffle sponsored by Banjo Ben Clark and the banjo raffle sponsored by Gold Tone. On Saturday night when the winning tickets were drawn from a large pot, the same gentlemen won both the guitar and banjo! A happy lady from the audience also won the festival’s giant guess-the-candy-corn jar by guessing the closest number.
Sunday morning, a large group of pickers and singers gathered for a closing gospel jam with Headin’ Home.
The 4th annual Headin’ Home Fest was marked by plenty of exciting moments, excellent music, and wholesome, uplifting family fellowship. Headin’ Home has announced that they’ll be holding two festivals next year! Join the celebration in Hazlehurst, GA at Stagger Lee Music Park, April 8-12 and October 14-18, 2026. Head over to the web site for more info on next year’s festivals!
