Today, Dec. 17, The Momentary has announced the full artist lineup for FreshGrass | Bentonville 2025, the highly-anticipated return of FreshGrass’ sister festival in the South. Set to stage at the celebrated cultural hub adjacent to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art on May 16 and 17, FreshGrass | Bentonville will welcome an all-star cast of the foremost musicians in country, folk, bluegrass, Americana and much more. For its fifth-annual iteration, the festival will stage 12 acts within the breathtaking Ozarks, led by headliners Lukas Nelson and Shakey Graves and artists-at-large Rosanne with John Leventhal.
In keeping with FreshGrass’ 15-year history of mixing traditional bluegrass masters with innovative new voices, Bentonville 2025 will place the American folk style in a fresh context alongside complimentary sounds. Beyond the vaunted voices of Nelson, the Grammy-winning roots-rock figurehead, and Shakey Graves, Alejandro Rose-Garcia’s Americana genre-bending folk project, FreshGrass | Bentonville will present performances from the legendary Béla Fleck–with his new trio of Antonio Sanchez and Edmar Castañeda–and Afrobeat torchbearer Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, his father Fela’s former band.
Thrilling acts down the bill include bluegrass icon Alison Brown, rising Latin pop artist La Doña and acclaimed all-female bluegrass ensemble Sister Sadie, plus Jesse Welles, AJ Lee & Blue Summit, Lost Bayou Ramblers and The Langan Band. Arkansas native Willi Carlisle will return to the festival, this time to present the first public performance of new music written as the 2025 recipient of the FreshGrass Composition Commission. Artist-at-large Cash’s appearances on stages around the festival grounds will coincide with The Momentary’s exhibition of The Prison Concerts: Folsom and San Quentin, photographer Jim Marshall’s documentation of her father’s unforgettable performances for incarcerated audiences in 1968 and 1969.
The fifth annual FreshGrass | Bentonville will also break ground with its first presentation of the FreshGrass Awards’ Band category. Five finalists selected by the FreshGrass Foundation’s Awards Council will perform for the festival audience, and those emerging artists who demonstrate the most innovative approaches to traditional music will earn prizes totaling more than $30,000 and studio time at Compass Records. Other attractions around the campus, including instrument workshops, artist talks and square dances, will contribute to FreshGrass’ immersive experience.
Tickets for FreshGrass | Bentonville 2025 are available now. To secure yours, visit themomentary.org.
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