2025 YeeHaw Music Fest wrap-up

Justin Mason & Blue Night at the 2025 YeeHaw Music Festival (1/18/25) – photo © Bill Warren


The 2025 edition of the YeeHaw Music Fest is now in the memory banks. Evans Media Source is growing this festival year over year.

Newish Florida band, Dirt Road Dreams, opened the Friday show. Justin Mason, Mr. Florida Bluegrass, came up with the idea for this band in a jam session with twin sisters Spider Prevatt and Moe LaRosa, and Mary Kate Brennan. The harmony of these three needed to be heard from the stage as well as around the campfire. They, along with James Vickers and Justin, do a variety of bluegrass covers and original tunes.

Another Florida band, Penny Creek, followed. They are a group of veteran musicians who present top shelf original music. Seventeen year old Logan Lobdell joined them for a tune. He and John Apfelthaler showed off a little “one handed” banjo playing.

Deeper Shade of Blue spent a second day at YeeHaw wearing more than one hat. Ernie Evans filled in on mandolin with the band. They provided one of the unexpected highlights of the festival. They invited the Alaskan Sunnyside Sisters to do a couple tunes. The band is the four Shamanov sisters who range in age from 9 to 13. We all sometimes hear some people complain about the state of bluegrass music, but with youngsters like these sisters learning and playing bluegrass music, the music has a bright future! Keep an eye out for them.

Rhonda Vincent & the Rage play most of EMS festivals. Few accolades are left to share about Rhonda. She has assembled a band of the very best musicians. She was informed this weekend that she is to be the first “stand alone” female inducted into the Bill Monroe Bluegrass Hall of Fame. Congratulations Rhonda! She is also very proud of daughter Sally’s honor. Sally was a member of the combined forces choir that sang at the late president Carter’s funeral last week. Congratulations Sally!

David Frizzell, younger brother of Lefty, presented a traditional country show during the evening. He presented his and Lefty’s music. Scott Burgess, Troy Pope, and Chris Paganoni also sang some country music – from Haggard to Milsap and beyond. Rhonda Vincent joined him on stage to sing a duet on You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma.

Headin’ Home is a family band from near Savannah, Georgia, featuring Mom and Dad and fthe our older children of the Lindblom family. Lucy and Luke handle the sound reinforcement for EMS festivals. They have five younger siblings who have their own band.

Saturday was kicked off by Florida band, Sandy Back Porch. Sandy Holdeman leads the band and is on the EMS staff. You will find her hawking t-shirts at just about every EMS festival.

Justin Mason and Blue Night is another “newish” Florida band. Justin teamed up with Mary Kate Brennan to form the band. Justin writes songs for the band, and Mary Kate is the “little girl with a big voice.” She also has a solo career doing traditional country music.

Keith Bass and the Bluegrass Express is an Okeechobee group that has long been a part of the YeeHaw festivals. Just turned 18. Ian Lane is the newest member of the band. He has already had the opportunity to play on the Grand Ole Opry. This is a hard driving bluegrass band.

Country star Mo Pitney presented sets of traditional-sounding music. He was joined by Judy Spiva, John Roberts, and Justin Mason. The back up band for both David’s and Mo’s shows were Lonnie Rowland on drums, Mitchell Brown on bass, Sid Spiva on steel guitar, and Ernie Evans on electric guitar. Mitchell produced both shows. Mo has teamed up with John Meyer and they are soon releasing a bluegrass album as Pitney Meyer.

The Malpass Brothers closed out the festival as only they can. I read somewhere that if one shenans, they’ll shenanigan! That’s Taylor! Everyone needs to see these guys for both their top shelf country music and their shenanigans!

Support your local music venues.