Lancaster Roots & Blues 2024: Music festival returns to downtown Lancaster after yearlong hiatus

After a yearlong hiatus, the Lancaster Roots & Blues festival returns this weekend with more than 60 artists performing at nine venues in downtown Lancaster.

The festival, which brings local, regional and national acts to local stages, was cancelled last year due to lack of funding.

But, things have changed for festival founder Rich Ruoff since then last year. He sold his house and used that money to pour back into the festival. Ruoff is also spearheading The Village nightclub's reopening as its general manager.

When Ruoff, of Lancaster, believes in something, he says he goes all in — Lancaster Roots & Blues included.

The festival returns this weekend, with performances starting at 5 p.m. Friday and continuing through Sunday, with the last performance being from the Nick Moss Band at the Village at 7:30 p.m. Tickets range from $69-$149 for general admission, and $159-$299 for VIP tickets.

Attendees can see a good mix of performers, from familiar names in Lancaster's music scene like Corty Byron, Bobby Gentilo and the Inca Campers, among plenty others, and national performers like Toronzo Cannon and Redd & The Paper Flowers.

Lancaster residents Kerry Sacco and Jim Warner have been to every Lancaster Roots & Blues festival since it kicked off in 2014. They've seen artists like Clarence Spady, Selwyn Birchwood, Dana Fuchs and Scott Pemberton, and many others.

They're excited for the festival to return, and say they're interested in seeing Marcia Ball (Tellus360, 4 p.m. Saturday) and CJ Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana Band (Grande Ballroom in Holiday Inn Lancaster, 5:45 p.m. Sunday). They also look forward to seeing the return of The Village.

"One of the things we love seeing is people who come from out of town for the weekend, and how impressed they are with the downtown scene," Sacco says.

READ: 8 events in Lancaster County this weekend, from a mac and cheese fest to Lancaster Roots & Blues

Local legends

Musician Leo DiSanto, of Washington Boro, is looking forward to performing at Roots & Blues. He'll perform solo at 9 p.m. Saturday at the Moose Lodge, and his Americana band Vinegar Creek Constituency will perform at Tellus360 at noon Sunday.

"It's rare that you get to see so much world-class talent, all within a few blocks of itself," DiSanto says.

DiSanto and Ruoff agree that the best way to experience Lancaster Roots & Blues is to wander and check out musicians that attendees may not already know. And if you're not a fan, it's OK to slip out and watch someone else, instead.

The best performances are the ones "that you don't know about ... that you kind of stumble upon," says DiSanto.

DiSanto says that those who are fans of Vinegar Creek Constituency should try to see their Sunday performance, or their Nov. 2 Zoetropolis concert, as after that, the band will be on an "indefinite hiatus."

As for DiSanto's solo performance, he'll bring a mix of old favorites, along with some new material from his upcoming album, "To Fly So Low," which currently has a Kickstarter campaign.

Chad Taylor, former guitarist and backing vocalist for alternative rock band Live, looks forward to performing at Lancaster Roots & Blues, as it's a bit of a full-circle moment.

Live, which rose to fame in 1994 with the album "Throwing Copper," started performing as Public Affection. The band opened for the Pixies in the Chameleon Club nearly 35 years ago to the day that Taylor will perform at Roots & Blues. Both concerts were organized by Ruoff.

"When I sent Rich a note about our remarkable 35-year history, he replied, 'Welcome home,'" Taylor says.

Nowadays, Taylor performs with an ever-changing group of musicians under the name Chad Taylor and Friends. The band will perform at the Village at 8:35 p.m. Saturday.

Taylor has been working on a new album, and plans to tour more after that releases. But, for now, Roots & Blues attendees can enjoy a few new songs.

READ: 16 fall-themed festivals in Lancaster County in 2024, from Landis Valley to Brecknock Orchard

Roots & Blues' future

Ruoff wants this festival to continue for years to come, but says that he needs financial help to make that happen.

"I've always had a vision for how it should be, and how big it should be, but the reality is, it has always been underfunded," says Ruoff. "I've been self funding it for the last five years. I do not have deep pockets and should probably stop doing that."

After this year's festival, Ruoff says he will make a concerted effort to find a new owner for the festival, either an organization or a group of investors, to give the festival a "solid financial commitment."

The festival has run into financial trouble before, after a "string of bad luck," Ruoff says. In 2017, Ruoff suffered two heart attacks, and shortly after, his wife, Claudia, was diagnosed with brain cancer. Claudia died in early 2020. In 2019, Ruoff told LNP|LancasterOnline these personal hardships impeded his ability to promote the festival and pursue sponsors.

A 2019 investigation by LNP | LancasterOnline found that at least 20 people and vendors reported problems getting paid for work at Roots & Blues. In 2021, Ruoff told LNP | LancasterOnline he had paid those debts.

In 2022, Ruoff struggled again with paying artists. All national acts were paid, but some local acts were still owed money for their performance in the festival at the time of a 2022 interview with Ruoff. The same year, Ruoff shared that he was seeking an investor or partner to help support festival.

"This town could handle a festival that could have 10,000 people a day, but that would just require a tick more investment than I could afford," Ruoff says. "For a small town ... We are raising the bar significantly."