RiverRoots renewal in Madison is this weekend, May 15 and 16.

It's been a pleasure to work with these folks for 10 years.

Indiana craft beer lineup and beer events for the RiverRoots Music & Folk Arts Festival in Madison, May 15 & 16.

NABC's lineup for the RiverRoots Music & Folk Arts Festival in Madison, May 15 & 16.

RiverRoots web site

RiverRoots Music & Folk Arts Festival is May 16 & 17 in Madison, Indiana.

I've only missed one of them: In 2009, when I was overseas.

May 16 & 17 is RiverRoots 2014 in Madison IN, with music, folk arts and Indiana craft beer

It’s almost time again for RiverRoots, the annual music and folk arts festival on the banks of the Ohio in historic Madison, Indiana.

RiverRoots takes place on Friday and Saturday nights, May 16 and 17, and for the ninth year running (actually, since the fest’s very inception), NABC will be on hand to share beer vending duties with craft-brewing Hoosier friends: Upland Brewing Company (Bloomington IN), who’ve been there with us from the beginning; Great Crescent Brewing from Aurora; Indianapolis stalwart Sun King; and Power House out of Columbus.

Don't forget the pre-party being held at the Boneyard Grill on Thursday night:

BoneYard Grill, NABC & the Tillers: RiverRoots pre-party in Madison on May 15

On RiverRoots and NABC's wonderful fan base at Madison's annual fest.

The RiverRoots Music and Folk Arts Festival was far less stressful this year. Our friends from the organizing committee couldn't quite manage to displace AB-InBev, but the swill dispensing tent was moved far away, further up the hill, and the absence of mass-market beer in the vicinity of the craft tent had a salutary effect on all of us.

There were two clear choices: Craft and crap. I haven't seen the final numbers, but it's a fair guess that craft dominated sales.

NABC brought 14 kegs and brought back 11 empties, including four cashed Hoptimus kegs. It represents about the same amount of beer vended last year, in spite of an additional brewery on the scene (five of us this year), and the threat of rain throughout the day on Saturday.

RiverRoots is a fine idea. Each year, the working arrangement reflects differing points of view among members of the governing committee, and for 2013, we participated under a scheme radically different from the first seven years. It worked out about the same in the end, because the same friends and fans we've seen from the start know to find NABC's table.

We appreciate it very much, and we hope the tradition continues in 2014.

This weekend: RiverRoots Music & Folk Arts Fest (with craft beer) in Madison, Indiana.

RiverRoots Music & Folk Arts Fest returns to Madison on Friday and Saturday (May 17 and 18). 

NABC's lineup at the craft beer tent is Black & Blue Grass, Hoosier Daddy ... and Hoptimus (which should have been at Woodstock when the sun rose on the Who's set, but I digress).

Upland, Sun King, Great Crescent and Power House also will have beer at the fest. This is a rare pairing of music and craft beer (and food, of course), held in a cool town. Come on up.

RiverRoots Music & Folk Arts Festival runs May 18-20 in Madison IN.

For the seventh year in a row, NABC is delighted to occupy the beer vending stations at the RiverRoots Music and Folk Arts Festival in Madison, Indiana, formerly known as the Ohio River Valley Folk Festival.

The festival kicks off on Friday, May 18, at 5:00 p.m., resumes on Saturday the 19th at 11:00 a.m., and concludes with a Sunday (May 20) session that begins at 12:30 p.m.

Musical headliners this year include The Band of Heathens (Friday), Hayes Carll (Saturday) and The Black Lillies (Sunday). Over the Rhine also will perform on Saturday night. Complete listings are at the web site, with more information available at the RiverRoots page at Facebook.

As we have since the festival's inception, NABC will share beer vending duties with our friends from Upland Brewing Company (Bloomington IN). There'll also be draft beer from Great Crescent Brewing in Aurora and Madison's own Mobreki Brewing, as well as the first-ever appearance by Sun King out of Indianapolis. Currently we're all huddling to formulate a beer lineup, which I will post at the Potable Curmudgeon blog when done.

There's also a first annual "RiverRoots Brew-Off" homebrewing competition on Sunday afternoon. It's open to all home-brewers, and the deadline for entries is May 14, so you are sitting on some IPA (the featured style), you still have time to be a part of it. Complete competition information is here.

NABC and a tale of three festivals on May 18, 19 and 20.

It’s that time of year again. Event calendars get crowded, feet begin hurting, sweat pours down in buckets, and livers cry out in primal agony. Summer festival season is here, and NABC has bookings all over the place. We incessantly bitch about it, but rest assured, we love every craft-beer-soaked-moment.

In metro Louisville, Derby Festival serves as one seasonal bookend, and lately, the outdoor events extend well into October. It’s usually the third weekend of May when festival solicitations really start to flow, and 2012 is no exception, so here’s a quick guide to where we’ll be serving NABC craft draft on the third weekend of the month, when (as usual) we'll be splitting squads, calling up the reserves, and trying to make beer available when and where we can.

Music, Food, Beer, and Justice: Louisville Loves Mountains returns on Friday, May 18

New name, same great weekend in Madison, Indiana: RiverRoots festival runs May-18-20, with Indiana craft beer.

NABC at the Buy Local 1st Fair at the Water Tower on Sunday, May 20.