Summer celebrations of America’s favorite sweet, sticky fruit are an annual tradition around the country, but few match the Jackson County Watermelon Festival in Indiana because of the live music event that has grown around it. Over the past three years, Rock the Rind has brought an impressive array of artists to the courthouse square in Brownstown and this year the festival absolutely came into its own. For three days, from July 30 thru August 2, the gated admission party brought about 4,000 music lovers downtown each day to enjoy a diverse selection of genres under a beautiful Hoosier sky. The weather was perfect after a heat dome had brought much of the nation’s Heartland and South under insufferable conditions. This year’s lineup included bluegrass, 90s Country legends, a Contemporary Country hitmaker, authentic Kentucky Appalachian country, Texas country, gritty Southern Rock and a local boy coming home to celebrate a HUGE year.