River Falls bluegrass festival set for April 21-23

This year’s Bluegrass, Bourbon & Brews Festival in River Falls will include performances by the bands High & Rising, The Last Revel, Armchair Boogie and many more. Beer, wine and bourbon tastings also will be featured throughout the April 21-23 event.

All headliners and the majority of shows will require a wristband, but there are a few no wristband required or free events for guests without tickets to enjoy. All wristbands are sold with a shuttle bus pass for transportation and some packages also include merchandise. Tickets to just participate in the tastings are available as well.

The River Falls Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau has received a nearly $28,000 Joint Effort Marketing (JEM) Grant from the Wisconsin Department of Tourism to expand the event and is hoping to make it self-sustainable this year, according to Event and Program Manager Emily Kovach-Erickson. With that money, Kovach-Erickson said, organizers were able to add more music, venues and tastings.

“The bourbon and brews piece was added to highlight the growing craft beverage creators in our area,” she said.

Tattersall Distillery is the spirits sponsor again this year and Swinging Bridge Brewery is the beer sponsor. A “Beer & Bloodies” tasting and a “Bourbon and Spirits” tasting are both set for Saturday, April 22.

This year’s host band is High & Rising, a bluegrass group with its roots in River Falls. The band released its debut album, “Howl,” in 2021. High & Rising includes Laura Farley (upright bass and vocals), Jym Farley (acoustic guitar), Ben Rohde (percussion) and Harrison Olk (banjo).

According to Kovach-Erickson the host band helps with band booking, focusing on local bands from Wisconsin and the Twin Cities area but also bringing in national acts.

For further information and to order tickets, visit riverfallsbluegrass.com online.