The annual Railbird Festival in Lexington, Kentucky just announced its 2025 lineup for May 31st to June 1st, and it includes an excellent crop of top-of-the-line independent country and roots artists.
This includes Cody Jinks, Sierra Ferrell, Wyatt Flores, Blackberry Smoke, The Castellows, Ole 60, and many more. Railbird organizers have also clearly been doing their homework, and booked some overlooked, and under-the-radar bands worthy of the opportunity, namely Saving Country Music Songwriter of the Year Jesse Welles, as well as one of Austin’s greatest bands, Rattlesnake Milk.
These artists and bands are what you would expect from the C3 Presents Railbird Fest, which since the beginning has focused more on independent country artists as opposed to mainstream names. But it’s the headliners Railbird has announced that have return patrons chirping, and wondering how they fit with the festival’s undercard.
Lainey Wilson isn’t too far out of left field. After all, for a mainstream country artist, she still has a more traditional sound, and has been featured at independent country festivals before. Believe it or not, you could even see a universe where Shaboozey could be a unique change of pace for the fest, especially if he features some of his more rootsy material (which he’s also apparently wanting to lean more into).
But Bailey Zimmerman, and especially Jelly Roll feel almost like poison pills for a lineup that primarily focuses on non country radio-supported artists. Zimmerman is like the TEMU version of Morgan Wallen, and we’re about a year past people being tired of the overexposure and constant ram rodding of Jelly Roll down our throats.
As one commenter on Facebook said, “That’s one way to make sure the fest isn’t oversold! Went from a nice alt country/ rock fest to mainstream country….ruined the whole thing you had going!”
But as another points out, “Look past the headlines yall, Red Clay Strays, Ole 60, Noeline Hoffman, Treaty Oak Revival just to name a few up and comers on this list that are so good and genuine to their music. Give them a listen if unfamiliar, that’s why I’m going.”
In some ways, you feel sorry for Railbird and other independent-oriented country music festivals. Even as independent artists and bands continue to surge, the amount of top headliners for a major festival is somewhat thin. With Zach Bryan saying he’s not going to tour much in 2025, Billy Strings and Tyler Childers focusing more on their own headliner shows, and Cody Jinks and the Turnpike Troubadours coming back down to reality a little bit, there’s not many names to choose from.
But a strong case could be made you’d fare better putting performers like Sierra Ferrell and The Red Clay Strays at the very top of your poster as opposed to overpaying for Jelly Roll. Along with Charley Crockett, 2025 feels like the year these performers graduate to legitimate headliners, and The Red Clay Strays already have.
Railbird has some incredible names playing the festival in 2025, offering both a ton of top-line independent country entertainment, along with plenty of things to discover. It’s just a shame Jelly Roll, Shaboozey, and Bailey Zimmerman will distract from how good this lineup actually is. Most independent country fans would rather listen to a straight up hip-hop artists than pop country’s poorer versions of one.
The presale is now up at railbirdfest.com .
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