( this area are) right now,” said Finley.“ We’ re like what kind of hometown festival would we be if we didn’ t honor our guys, our girls, our people?
“( Those sets on the schedule will have) bigger crowds so we can showcase what our hometown talent looks like,” added Finley.“ We’ re really excited about that.”
Other performers this year include Kindred Valley, The Creekers, Kels, Emily Jamerson, Girl Scruggs, Hollerhead, Paint Creek, Sonido Lazer, Jadan Trammell, Logan Smith, The Sanchez Family and Todd Clayton.
MMF 2025 will feature 28 acts across two stages. Finley noted that the second stage, set down in“ Art Valley” as it’ s known, rose in popularity last year, and will play host this time to more hometown talent like Tammell, Clayton, Smith, and the Sanchez Family.
This year’ s MMF also includes two songwriter rounds, one that celebrates the original songwriters who helped make MMF what it is today— Wanda Fries, Pearlie Jenkins, Jon New, Kevin Dalton and Mitch Barrett— and the one audiences are familiar with that celebrates up-and-coming young songwriters, including Olivia Atwood, Aiden Drew, Matt Satterly, Aja Haynes, Emily Galloway and Alayna Bodner this year.
The 2025 MMF has two presenting sponsors— See Somerset Tourism and Somerset 106.
Weekend general admission passes for both days of the festival are currently available for $ 96, and will be available at the gate once the festival starts for $ 106. Friday only general admission is $ 61, and Saturday only is $ 86. Children 12 and younger are admitted free with a ticket-holding adult.
Every year, the festival has around 7,500 attendees, punctuated by an all-time high mark of around 7,800 during the event’ s 30th edition. And while the festival is popular here in the community, a significant number of those guests each year come from out of town, which helps MMF stand alongside Lake Cumberland as a major tourism driver in the community.
However, it’ s the support from right here in Somerset and Pulaski County— as ticketbuyers and fans, as sponsors and in-kind donors, as volunteers and participants in various ways— that makes the festival possible, and makes it a model for similar events in other parts of the region.
“ I personally feel like MMF means a lot to this community, just bringing people here, making a huge economic impact on the community— a $ 3 million economic impact,” said Finley.“ But I’ ve started to notice other communities looking to us, wanting to recreate our vision in their communities. They’ re looking at us because of the longevity of the festival and how successful it’ s been, and how it’ s stood the test of time.”
14 Stay & Play Lake Cumberland Region- Summer 2025