The cancellation of two popular Georgia bluegrass festivals has served as the impetus for the first annual RamblerFest, to be hosted by The Dixie Ramblers over Labor Day weekend at The Outpost in Waco, GA.
Both the Armuchee Bluegrass Festival and the Raccoon Creek Bluegrass Festival have been called off this year to make necessary facility repairs, leaving pickers in the region no place to go for jamming this summer. So the guys with The Dixie Ramblers took matters into their own hands and organized a festival for everyone.
They will hold it at The Outpost, a bluegrass pickin’ barn in Waco where countless area musicians learned to play over the years. It has been shut down since 2023, but sits on several acres where RamblerFest can offer camping, so the band is hoping to not only build a successful Labor Day weekend festival tradition, but reinvigorate interest in The Outpost, and get it back in operation as a regular jamming spot.
In its heyday, The Outpost was bluegrass headquarters, with top touring acts like Larry Sparks, Jim & Jesse, Ralph Stanley II, and many others stopping off to play there. Organizers say that the place looks just like it did when it opened in 1990 – a step back in time.
Though this initial RamblerFest is set to run August 29-30, the stage show will only feature music on Saturday, August 30. But the Outpost and the campground will be open for jamming on Friday night, with a kids jam scheduled for Saturday morning.
Organizers Josh Brown and Bryce Hicks want to keep things simple for year one, but they hope to expand in the following years. 2025 will feature a number of local acts on Saturday, with much bigger plans for 2026. They will use the proceeds from year one to rehab The Outpost so that it can again host shows and jams on a regular basis.
Since announcing RamblerFest a couple of weeks ago, a number of sponsors have jumped on board. There is clearly a hunger for something like this in west Georgia.
Waco and RamblerFest are located in northwestern Georgia, about an hour west of Atlanta, and about an hour and a half east of Birmingham, AL.
Full details can be found online.
Good luck RamblerFest!
