It became a right of passage for residents in the Upper Ohio Valley for four decades when thousands of people traveled to what was once known as the “Super Bowl of Country Music” even if the twangy tunes weren’t appealing.
It was the party, and Jamboree in the Hills was a staple in Belmont County, and although it wasn’t a make-or-break decision for the county’s finances, Commissioner J.P. Dutton said local residents were devastated.
“It was a difficult day when we were told the final decision,” Dutton recalled. “Jamboree supplied a significant bump in revenue each July, and we’re talking six figures worth in sale tax revenue. For a lot years, the Belmont County Commission counted on those dollars from those two weeks.
“It wasn’t just tough because of the lost revenue, but it was difficult for a lot of local residents,” he said. “It was a tradition, for sure, that thousands of local residents counted on, and it also brought a lot of people to this area. I remember when that announcement was made, a lot of people just had a blank look on their face because they never imagined summer without Jamboree in the Hills.”
Hiatus?
“Jambo Country” was introduced prior to July 2018, and it was rejected by a vast majority of the event’s fans because it included inside beer sales ONLY. No more of the celebrated casket coolers or even the regular sized ones that were wagon-packed with chairs and tarps and snacks.
“We had a few conversations with the officials of the company, but they weren’t the kind of conversations that led us to believe that Jamboree was going to go away,” Dutton said. “But when we were told that it was going on hiatus, it wasn’t a very long conversation at all. It was just over for 2019.
“They were facing a lot of challenges with the shows because of all of the changes that had taken place in the music industry,” he said. “Allowing the fans to continue taking their own beer into the shows became a big issue for them, but beyond that, another issue was how much money the artists wanted paid because that became the way they make their money these days because music has gone digital.”
Could Jamboree in the Hills make a comeback near Morristown, Ohio? This county commissioner hasn’t been told that.
“We wish it was still the huge event it was for a lot of years, and we still hope that there’s a chance for it to come back in the future,” Dutton said. “No one has told us that it’s a possibility, but we’ve also not been told that it’s not possible. The last conversation we’ve had with those officials was about a year ago, and at that point they were still evaluating the potential to resume.
“As far as the long-term future, though, we have not had that conversation with them,” he said. “We also don’t know where they stand as far as the property is concerned. It’s a large piece of property, but we have no idea what might be done with it in the future.”
Dutton Family Land
It’s called the Valley View Campground.
It’s former farmland, of course, that was opened as a campground only once per calendar year for Jamboree in the Hills when it was re-located away from the Alderman Airport and directly across U.S. 40.
The campground evolved into a completely packed situation over the years, and that’s why occupancy limitations were implemented in 2015. The Valley View after-party, one that would always feature local artist Tim Ullom, was the place to be after Saturday’s JITH show was over.
“I worked at the campground every single summer with my family, and even when I didn’t live in this area, I would come home for that week,” Dutton explained. “I can still remember when Jamboree moved to the new site in the early, 1990s and all of a sudden it was right across the highway from Valley View.
“It was a big part of our lives for a very long time, and it was so much fun,” he said. “Unfortunately, it came to an end the way it did, and it’s been very quiet on that front since.”
Even if Live Nation announced the end of the hiatus and had scheduled JITH for this month, the pandemic would have prevented it just as it forced the cancelation of the second annual Blame My Roots Festival at the Valley View Campground.
“My brother and my sister have spent a lot of time on Blame My Roots, and they were determined to make the second year even better than the first,” Dutton said. “Of course, this summer’s show was canceled because of the pandemic, but I know a lot of people were excited because Neal McCoy was going to be there, and he was definitely one of the favorites every year at Jamboree.
“They held out as long as they could before cancelling because they had nearly a year to plan and they were ready for it,” he explained. “But, in the end, they just couldn’t risk it because of all of the financial obligations. But I do know they are already planning for next summer, and it will be during that third week in July.”
