by Dave Parsons
Sometime on the morning of July 16, 2025, the gates will swing open once more at the Guernsey County Fairgrounds. In the quiet folds of Old Washington, Ohio—eight miles east of Cambridge— July in Old Washington is no longer a sleepy stretch of calendar between fireworks and county fairs. It is, now and for years to come, the home of a new American tradition: The Old Washington Music Festival.
This is no ordinary festival; this is a homecoming. A gathering of country music fans, most of them long-time friends, gathering one more time to relish the timeless legends and hopeful newcomers for four days of rustic living, and a rekindling of a tradition that resonates like hymnals passed through generations of a church.
Born of memory and mourning, the festival was first dreamed up in 2023 by promoter Dustin Knowlton, a Guernsey County native. He grew up attending Jamboree in the Hills, THE legendary festival, the granddaddy of them all. It took place just 40 miles down the road, and Knowlton remembered all that was good about it, and could be again. He wanted to see that legacy and spirit live again.
And so, in 2024, the inaugural Old Washington Music Festival bloomed. Fifteen acts—Travis Tritt, Hunter Hayes, War Hippies, The Marshall Tucker Band—played to a crowd of thousands, as the lure of allowing coolers in the show area, as well as ample camping spots, gave the feeling that this might be the start of a new legacy. It felt personal. It felt real. It felt like the start of something that had always been here.
In early spring 2025, Knowlton admitted he was “going bigger with everything”—stages, sound systems, stageside bars, campsites, and acts. Holding true to that promise is the 2025 Lineup.
The first day on Thursday, July 17, country music legends the Bellamy Brothers go on right before the Roots and Boots trio of country superstars Sammy Kershaw, Aaron Tippin, and Collin Raye. Supported by acts that start at 3 that afternoon, that is just day one.
Friday, July 18 sees things kicking off at 1 PM with a full day that includes local favorites the Davisson Brothers Band, the Voice winner, Danielle Bradberry, The Band Perry, and Big & Rich.
The Saturday lineup on July 19 begins at 12:30, and includes Sam L. Smith, A Thousand Horses, Michael Ray, David Lee Murphy, and the kings of 80s country, Alabama!
And if you have a ticket for all 3 days, you are invited to a preview concert on Wednesday, July 16, starring Neal McCoy.
Gates swing open at 9 AM, Wednesday, July 16 for campers, and Thursday morning for day‑pass holders. Weekend passes are $275 early-bird (and $300 later), with day passes being $100. The camping spots are $125–$250, and grounds parking is $10/day.
YES, you can bring your own coolers…just no glass! Bring your lawn chairs, blankets, and your best line dance steps! You can bring your own food in the coolers, but there will be local food trucks on-site, in addition to craft vendors, portable toilets, showers, phone‑charging stations, and a wellness tent offering morning stretching and water refills.
The Old Washington Music Festival 2025 is more than a festival event. It’s about rediscovering those traditions, the community feeling, and generations united for a weekend. This is part of the Jambo past in 2025, making Old Washington, Ohio, more than a dot on the map. It’s about belonging. If you are 19 and hearing Alabama for the first time, or 59 and remembering seeing them OPEN the show in Wheeling in 1982, you’re welcome here.
The Old Washington Music Festival invites you to remember. The comparisons will go on forever, but this new thing invites you to believe again. Believe in songs that mean something, in neighbors who still wave, in tradition not as something old but as something sacred. Ask anyone who went to Jambo for decades. It was part of your life, like the country roads home or the church on Sunday morning.
So, this year, just come. Bring your coolers, your chairs, your families, your old band tees, and your new boots. Because the Old Washington Music Festival isn’t just back, it’s home.
