Booking Begins for Blame My Roots 2023

Year No. 3 was all about goals.

He wanted more campers, to sell more merchandise, and to sell more beer.

Check! Check! And check!

Most of all, co-founder Chris Dutton wanted to sell more tickets, and he did, too, and that is why he’s initiated the process for the fourth annual Blame My Roots County Music Festival weekend in July 2023.

“Although we are not in a place where we can lock in every year, I will tell you that we are pursuing the 2023 weekend right now. We are in the booking process,” Dutton revealed. “Our booking process begins even before the end of the festival, but here’s the thing. If we don’t get the frontline talent we feel we need to anchor our festival, then we can’t do this. But yes, we are in pursuit of the acts so we can do a festival next year.

“We have a lot of changes we’re going to make, and we already have plenty of new ideas for next year, too. Plus, we’ve been recruited by a bigger booking agency for next year, and even Dierks Bentley told me personally that we did a hell of a job,” he said. “Dierks does put on his own show, so he knows a little more than a regular performer, so it meant a lot to me for him to tell us that he thought we were doing a great job with what we’re trying to do here.”

Go With the Flow

It was 2019, and the concert across the street had shut down after four decades.

Dutton, a member of the Valley View Campground crew for 20-plus years, didn’t want to hear Belmont, Ohio, go quiet that third weekend in July. So, he started a little BYOB show himself, a couple of thousand people showed up that first summer, so do it again. Why not, right?

Well, after months of prep work, the 2020 show got shut down in March along with every other public event once Covid-19 spread across the world. That meant Blame My Roots 2021 would be the true test because it would be the first for selling beer inside the venue.

“But would people actually buy it? We really didn’t know,” Dutton said. “I can tell you that if they didn’t, we wouldn’t have had a show this year.”

And they most definitely had a show in 2022, and, yes, the fans bought the beer.

“The beer is something that is measurable and means a lot to the people in this industry because of the importance of breaking even or making a little money, and for us to be as successful as we were this year after taking over for a festival where people drank their own beer, we’re pretty pleased,” Dutton admitted. “We’re actually proving people will come to our festival and spend money on beer, and that’s a big bonus for us because now we have proven that the beer thing is in the past.

“And we did sell a lot of beer and didn’t have a lot of problems associated with it,” he said. “The goal, of course, is to make money with this thing one day down the road, and the good news is that we’re getting there.”

Dollars and Sense

Dutton expanded the festival weekend this year by staging a Thursday afternoon show, and he also added food trucks and beer stands, cabana seating, and a new beach area.  

The lineups, though, depend on availability and, quite frankly, price.

“The top 10 headliners in country music now can demand more than $1 million for a 90-minute set,” Dutton confirmed. “The top three headlines are asking for more than $1.5 million. That’s the reality of the industry right now. That’s what we’re dealing with. I know there are people on Facebook who apparently believe they know this business, and they believe we can get the best out there for $100,000, but the top performers haven’t been $100,000 for about 30 years.

“These days in this industry, you just hope the revenue from the ticket sales pays for the artists you have on stage. That way, you make money with everything going on inside the festival: the parking, alcohol sales, the camping, the food, and the merchandise,” he said. “It’s the same at every festival there is right now so we have to see who’s available for that weekend next year and build from there.”

The event grew, and that’s what matters most.

“We knew Dierks Bentley would put on a great show because that’s what he does, and the venue turned out really great this year. There are some things we’ll improve for next year, but I really liked the way our little city turned out this year so it’s going to look very familiar next year,” Dutton said. “I believe it’s comfortable inside, it’s not dusty, and we’re proud of the product that we put out there. I believe it’s getting better and better each year.

“The one thing I hear the most often is that people want to go back and forth to the campgrounds, so we’re working on making that happen in the future, and I’ve also heard some things about parking that we’re planning to address for next year,” the co-founder explained. “We always listen to what the fans are telling us so we can consider everything that’s possible.”