Ocean State Bluegrass Festival & Pick-nic

Bluegrass fans and pickers: mark your calendar for the Ocean State Bluegrass Festival & Pick-nic to be held on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 17 and 18, 2022 at Frerichs Farm, 65 Kinnicutt Ave., Warren, RI. The event is sponsored by the Rhode Island Bluegrass Alliance (RIBA).

Saturday night's festival will feature three bands from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm: Hosmer Mountain Boys, Poor Monroe and Rock Hearts. Gates open at 3:00 pm. Bring a lawn chair.

Admission for Saturday night’s show is $20. Food and beverages will be available for purchase or attendees may bring their own. Camping will be available at $30 for a dry site, which includes show admission for one person. Show admission for additional people staying at the same site is $20. Tickets are now on sale on at www.ribluegrass.org.

Sunday will be the eighth annual RIBA Pick-nic, which includes bluegrass jamming, food, raffles and workshops beginning at 11:00 am. There is no show on Sunday. Admission on Sunday is free but there will be a $5 parking fee for non-campers.

Here’s more information on Saturday’s band line-up:
Hosmer Mountain Boys: The Hosmer Mountain Boys are an entertaining Bluegrass Band playing authentic traditional bluegrass music from the eastern hills of Connecticut.

Poor Monroe: Poor Monroe is a New England-based bluegrass collaboration of long-time friends with nearly a century’s worth of performing experience (cumulatively speaking), delivering tight vocal harmonies and scorching tempos that are the benchmark of the genre.

Rock Hearts: Rock Hearts brings together five veteran musicians from southern New England who love to sing and pick bluegrass, old country tunes, and seek out newer tunes from other genres to “bluegrassify.”

Established in 2013, the Rhode Island Bluegrass Alliance's mission is to promote the appreciation of bluegrass music, and serve as a resource to educate and coordinate fans, students, teachers, musicians and venues in Rhode Island and the surrounding area. The organization holds events including the annual Pick-nic and RIBA Hall of Fame, as well as educational programs such as a monthly slow jam and the Learner Loaner program, which lends instruments to people interested in learning guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dobro or bass.