2023 Americana Bean Jamboree. photo by Cindy Steele
Brooke Aldridge and Kentucky Music Hall of Famer and two-time Grammy nominee Dale Ann Bradley. Tickets for the festival can be bought online and cost between $ 15 and $ 50 per day. A four-day ticket sells for $ 145. Gates are open from 9 a. m. to 10 p. m.
The festival draws spectators from near and far and over the decades has been steeped in myth and legend.
There’ s the ever-present legend of Bill Monroe himself,“ the Father of Bluegrass,” who founded the longest running bluegrass festival in 1967. He purchased the popular Brown County Jamboree in the early 1950s, which had been operating in some form since about 1939, beginning in a big tent and later expanding into a barn structure. The 1967 festival was held at the old barn and during the following year, Bill’ s Bluegrass Boys helped clear the land and erect a stage in an amphitheater for the park’ s first outdoor festival. The festivals included picking contests, square dancing, and jam sessions.
Those jam sessions continue to this day, and Wilson encouraged attendees to bring their instruments.
She said people also should bring their favorite lawn chair and proper attire for sunshine, rain, and cool evenings.
The park, along State Road 135, about a 10-minute drive north of Nashville and about an hour’ s drive south of Indianapolis, also offers recreational vehicle and tent camping. The park has 250 campsites and 14 cabins. The park also features a 5-acre catch-andrelease fishing lake.
Monroe, whom former President Bill Clinton called an“ American legend,” died in 1996. Dwight Dillman bought the park in 1998. The park is now being run by the Voils family.
Wilson said campers and attendees this year can enjoy some new amenities, such as a disc golf course, corn hole, and horseshoes.
It now features a restroom / shower house that is open 24 hours a day, upgraded cabins, a renovated main stage, a renovated museum, and a Wi-Fi Café. People who have questions can contact the office via email, < info @ billmonroemusicpark. com >, or phone, 812-988-6422 and can visit the website < billmonroemusicpark. com >. •
May / June 2024 • Our Brown County 51