Started in 1991, the Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance is an annual festival held the second-to-last weekend of July in

Trumansburg, New York Trumansburg is a village in Tompkins County, New York, United States. The population was 1,797 at the 2010 census. The name incorporates a misspelling of the surname of the founder, Abner Treman. The Tremans spelled their surname several different ...

, a small town ten miles north of

Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...

. The GrassRoots Festival, or simply GrassRoots, as it is known, draws nearly 20,000 visitors throughout the course of four days. GrassRoots presents over 70 musicians, bands and dance troupes on four simultaneously running stages continually throughout the long weekend. Genres represented among the musicians include bluegrass,

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana. While Cajuns are usually described as ...

zydeco Zydeco ( or , french: Zarico) is a music genre that evolved in southwest Louisiana by French Creole speakers which blends blues, rhythm and blues, and music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles and the Native American people of Louisiana. Al ...

, African,

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

, Americana,

Native American music Indigenous music of North America, which includes American Indian music or Native American music, is the music that is used, created or performed by Indigenous peoples of North America, including Native Americans in the United States and Abor ...

old-time music Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dancing, clogging, and buck dancing. It is played on acoustic instruments, generally centering on a combinatio ...

, Irish music,

jam band A jam band is a musical group whose concerts (and live albums) are characterized by lengthy improvisational " jams." These include extended musical improvisation over rhythmic grooves and chord patterns, and long sets of music which often ...

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

, hip hop, Conjunto,

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and b ...

and more. The festival was nominated as one of USA Today's top 10 outdoor music festivals. In 2003 the associated

Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival The Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance is a biannual music and dance festival held the first Thursday thru Sunday in May and October in Pittsboro, NC. The festival takes place on a venue which is managed by Shakori Hills Commu ...

began, modeled after the Finger Lakes festival.Official GrassRoots homepage
/ref>

Details

GrassRoots was founded by popular Americana band Donna the Buffalo and celebrated its twentieth year in 2010. In addition to the musical performances at GrassRoots, attendees may also visit the Art Barn, an

art gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...

featuring primarily local artists; a Healing Arts area, where free massages,

Reiki is a Japanese form of energy healing, a type of alternative medicine. Reiki practitioners use a technique called ''palm healing'' or ''hands-on healing'' through which a " universal energy" is said to be transferred through the palms of the ...

acupuncture Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientif ...

, and other healing therapies are performed; a children's area; dance workshops and more. In 2005 a "musicalmentary" about the festival titled Grassroots Stages was distributed nationally on PBS. The film includes musical performances and interviews with festival organizers Jeb and Jordan Puryear.

References

External links

*{{Official website, www.grassrootsfest.org Rock festivals in the United States Jam band festivals Folk festivals in the United States Music festivals established in 1991 1991 establishments in New York (state)

Details

See also

References

External links