Green Mountain Bluegrass & Roots Festival
Since its inception in 2018, the Green Mountain Bluegrass & Roots Festival( GMBR) has blossomed into a cherished cultural tradition, growing significantly while staying true to its original mission. Scheduled for August 14 – 17, 2025, the festival’ s lineup impressively features headliners such as Watchhouse, Molly Tuttle, Steeldrivers, Peter Rowan, and Bonny Light Horseman, attracting bluegrass, Americana, and roots music enthusiasts from across the nation.
Reflecting on the festival’ s origins, Co-Founder and Promoter Jill Turpin noted,“ Everyone said we were crazy for wanting to start this festival, but music has been part of our lives forever. We have been playing music ourselves since we were kids like folk and the Grateful Dead. John had a touring band in college, and I played classical music growing up.”
Turpin recounted how bluegrass specifically entered their lives during college, influenced by festivals such as Telluride Bluegrass, Rockygrass, and Grey Fox:“ John lived out in Colorado, and he started listening to bluegrass and attending festivals like Telluride. He would come back east, we’ d hang out, and we began playing bluegrass ourselves.” This shared passion soon evolved into a vision to foster community and collaboration through music.
In 2017, the Turpins began looking for suitable land around Manchester.“ A friend told us that there used to be shows at Riley Rink, including Willie Nelson and Ringo Starr,” recalls Turpin.“ We went to check it out, happened upon Hunter Park, and the dream really started to take shape.” They quickly built a dedicated team, bringing on staff experienced in site operations, volunteer coordination, traffic, safety, and environmental management. Turpin added,“ We had the site, we had the crew, but what we didn’ t have at that point was Paul.”
Recognizing the need for a key local partner, they found an ideal partner in
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