Courtesy of rhythmandroots.com

Not that I’m in a Rut, but I have spent the last 25 Labor Day weekends at Ninigret Park enjoying the Rhythm and Roots Festival.

My year officially begins and ends with the drive to Charlestown where I bring my lawn chair, suntan lotion, water jug, hat, cane, jacket (It gets cool in the evening) and cane (for the walks to the food area and three music tents).

I started the weekends even before that when the festival was called the Cajun and Bluegrass Festival, and it was held on a hillside in the woods of Escoheag.

Chuck Wentworth has taken the festival to new heights every year, joining with Goodworks, a new Connecticut partner, to expand the genre of Rhythm and Roots to include great New Orleans band zydeco, Tex-Mex, western, gospel and all kinds of good foot-tapping music we call “rhythm and roots”.

I save up my money to buy jambalaya at Chili Brothers, local seafood, Texas barbeque and other great offerings from the food trucks and booths.

I’m not big on dancing, but I love to go to the dance tent and watch the experienced dancers twirl around the floor.

I move from the main tent, where I sit under the blue sky (It wouldn’t dare rain Labor Day weekend) to the Rhythm tent, where the musicians do workshops, answer fans’ questions, and play their music up close and personal. You may have accordion players, guitarists, and fiddlers from a half dozen genres joining together for a jam session. To me, it is the highlight of the weekend.

Family-friendly is the key phrase for the festival. There’s a tent and play area just for the kids.

Fans come from all over the country, many staying in the campsite for the weekend and playing their music well into the night, rousing just in time for the 1:00 p.m. opening.

(I have watched Steve Riley grow from teenager to father-with-a-son-in-the band.

I have seen Donna the Buffalo develop into one of the most popular bands in the country. And I have seen new groups develop their style and grow in popularity over the years.

There is always one act that blows people away. Natalie McMaster was my all time favorite.

Who will it be this year? Trombone Shorty? Dumpstaphunk? The Dustband Revival?

Join me on the lawn at Ninigret Park. I guarantee an unforgettable experience.

Hours are Friday from 4:00 to 11:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 1:00 to 11:00 p.m.