HONESDALE, PA — Since 2006, Roots & Rhythm has grown, thrived and celebrated music right here in the Town of Honesdale—why, we’re officially old enough to vote! 

This year, Roots & Rhythm takes place at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 20 at the county fairgrounds, 270 Miller Dr., off Route 191 North.

Guitarist and songwriter Bill Kirchen will be this year’s headliner.

About Roots & Rhythm

What started as a simple idea in Honesdale’s Central Park has blossomed into a free, sustainable concert that brings together our NEPA neighbors and travelers from near and far. We are endlessly grateful for the community that gathers, year after year, to support this mission. 

As many of you know, changing policies have made it harder for nonprofits like Roots & Rhythm to receive critical government grant funding that aids us in succeeding in our mission to bring this as a free event to the public that brings community and sustainability together. 

While this shift brings challenges, it does not mark an end—only a new direction. 

Now Roots & Rhythm is planting fresh roots at a beloved local landmark: the Wayne County Fairgrounds. For the very first time, this historic space will come alive with the energy and groove of Roots & Rhythm on June 20. 

Moving from Central Park to the fairgrounds allows us to grow in ways that honor the quality and experience our community deserves. We hope our local friends, families and businesses will continue to stand with us as we build something truly special for everyone who lives in, visits and loves Honesdale.

Thank you for growing with us, supporting us and helping us continue this vibrant tradition. We’re excited for what’s ahead—and we can’t wait to share it with you. 

About Bill Kirchen:

Upon tallying how many decades he’s worked as a professional guitar slinger, Telecaster master Bill Kirchen quips, “Well, they don’t make 50 years like they used to.” They don’t often make careers like his, either.

From performing with his Who Knows Pickers jug band in Ann Arbor High School’s senior talent show (also on the program: the future Iggy Pop), to birthing the Americana genre with the original “hippie country band,” this affable Austinite has been everywhere, man, flying alongside some of the planet’s coolest cats—including Nick Lowe and Lowe’s old protégé, Elvis Costello.

Kirchen’s life in music has brought him within the orbit of some of modern music’s most notable luminaries. He’s witnessed some of the most historically significant musical moments in the past several decades as well.

As a high-school kid on a quest to catch Mississippi John Hurt, Kirchen journeyed to the Newport Folk Festival twice. The second time he went, he witnessed Bob Dylan “going electric.”

“That pretty well blew away the competition for what I was going to do before, or if, or when I grew up,” he said of those experiences

Five years later, he found himself sharing a bill with John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Stevie Wonder, when Commander Cody and the Airmen, who’d formed in Ann Arbor, played a benefit for Sinclair after he got 10 years for two joints.

A mere 50 years later, Kirchen’s still having a blast.

“Not that it’s over,” he adds quickly. “I mean, I’ve got more stuff in the works.” Then he cracks, “Don’t tell anybody, but it’s not as hard as it looks.”

Learn more at www.honesdalerootsandrhythm.com.