All tagged Jamie Lin Wilson
Four miles north of Pryor, Oklahoma, along Hwy 69 on the fabled Rocklahoma festival grounds, is the premier Red Dirt, Country and Americana music and camping festival known as Born & Raised. In only its third year of production, the line-up continues to dazzle with top names in the genres. Each year, the dates have moved around a little in the month of September with this year’s festivities running September 13-16. The week provided beautiful weather – dry and mostly sunny the entire time. It was even a bit cooler than I remember from my past attendance which was most welcoming.
It’s no secret that one of the best festivals to feature Americana and country music happens every September in the great state of Oklahoma. If you thought last year’s inaugural Born & Raised was good, then year two has set the bar even higher. This year’s lineup featured an even wider range of amazing artists, with the perfect blend of well-established artists and those that are still considered up and coming. A main wish of mine last year was more females to be added to the bill, so one of the best parts of the lineup announcement was seeing so many talented females included for the second year. Equal representation on the bill is always the goal, but compared to other festivals in the region that feature artists in the same genres, Born and Raised definitely did a better job with adding more female representation on this year’s lineup.
It’s hard to mention festivals and live music these days and not mention the fact that people have been hungry for both, due to a lingering pandemic that has made live music and large crowds an iffy situation. It’s also worth mentioning with festivals and promoters trying to make up for lost revenue, that holding a festival in 2021 can either be a dismal failure or a resounding success. Thankfully, the folks behind Born & Raised fall in the latter category. There were no water shortages, muddy campgrounds or freak weather to contend with on a balmy, late September weekend in Pryor, Oklahoma. Held at the same grounds as Rocklahoma, which occurred not even 2 weeks earlier, Born & Raised ran like a well-oiled machine. Schedules were kept, there were food vendors galore, and any last-minute artist cancellations were replaced before the festival even took place. The only negatives I witnessed were sound issues on more than one set at the Neon Moon stage and the overwhelming heat. The music was a mix of well-known and up and coming artists, and festival-goers spoke of the campgrounds and how they spent more time than usual there, foregoing music to hang out longer with new and old friends.
