The 3rd Annual Homestead Festival Combines Music + Meaning at Rory Feek’s Historic Farm on June 7-8, 2024 in Columbia, Tenn.
2024 MUSIC HEADLINERS INCLUDE THE BELLAMY BROTHERS, JOHN ANDERSON (ACOUSTIC) MICHAEL MARTIN MURPHEY, WYNN VARBLE, MO PITNEY, AND MORE
PROMINENT SPEAKERS INCLUDE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR MICHAEL POLLAN, MARTY RANEY OF DISCOVERY’S HOMESTEAD RESCUE, JOEL & DANIEL SALATIN OF POLYFACE FARM, JILL WINGER (THE PRAIRIE HOMESTEAD), AND OTHERS
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Songwriter Rory Feek is bringing together a curated group of world-class speakers and musicians for the third annual Homestead Festival at his historic 100-acre farm in Columbia, TN on June 7-8, 2023. It will be a unique opportunity for people interested in discovering how to live off the land and be more self-sufficient and explore innovative strategies for cultivating a more sustainable lifestyle.
Combining music with meaningful experiences, the two-day affair brings together some of the most influential speakers, teachers, and musical artists for a hands-on event where you can learn not only how to grow your own food, but also how to grow a life filled with meaning and purpose. Speakers include headliners Michael Pollan, Joel and Daniel Salatin of Polyface Farm, Marty Raney from Discovery’s Homestead Rescue, Jill Winger from The Prairie Homestead, Jill Ragan from Whispering Willow Farm, and Shawn and Beth Dougherty from The Sow’s Ear, to name a few, plus musical performances from The Bellamy Brothers, John Anderson (Acoustic), Michael Martin Murphey, Mo Pitney, and others to be announced in coming months. Rory Feek will also perform as part of the music lineup. A full list of artist and speaker bios are available at
Since 2020, the homestead movement has surged and continues to be a growing trend where people want to learn traditional skills and live off the land. Between 2020 and 2021, rural areas grew at faster rates than urban ones for the first time in more than a decade and the number of Americans growing their own food has skyrocketed.
“This event is designed to be a celebration of the modern homesteading movement, offering a place to grow and exchange knowledge, inspire creativity, and empower individuals to embrace a sustainable lifestyle,” said GRAMMY-winning artist and New York Times best-selling author Rory Feek. “We are excited to have all the incredible performers and speakers who are taking the time from their busy lives to come to Tennessee and share their knowledge with individuals and families who come from all over to take part in this special weekend. I think it’s important that folks learn how to become more self-sustaining and live closer to the land… It’s important to our daily lives and future generations… especially with the struggles we are all facing in the world today.”
The Homestead Festival is a two-day event that started in June of 2022 with an aim to foster a sense of community among like-minded individuals. Speakers will host classes and demonstrations during the day in tents around the festival grounds. The musical headliners will take place on the main stage at sunset.
Key highlights of the Homestead Festival will include speakers, classes, demonstrations, and vendors that feature:
Bee Keeping
Canning and Food Preservation
Gardening
Butter Making
Grain Milling
Livestock Management
Cheese Making
Chicken and Pig Processing
Milking Demos
Pottery Throwing
Demos
Sheep Shearing
Soil Regeneration
Timber Framing
Woodworking
Wool Processing
Sourdough Bread Making
Attendees will have ample opportunities to connect, share experiences, and forge meaningful connections with fellow homesteaders, experts, and exhibitors.They can also shop at the Homestead Marketplace, featuring up to 200 vendors, along with skilled artisans, local food trucks, and a demonstration area showcasing a variety of homesteading arts and crafts like woodworkers, timber framers, gardening experts, flower farmers, artists, and many more. The schedule will also feature hands-on workshops for processing chickens and a pig butchering class.
The Homestead Festival passes are on sale now at TheHomesteadFestival.com.
The full schedule for the two-day event will be announced in April 2024. The Homestead Festival is located at 4765 Hardison Mill Road in Columbia, Tenn. 38401.
HISTORY OF THE HOMESTEAD FESTIVAL AT HARDISON MILL:
The Homestead Festival launched in 2022 with a special appearance with Academy Award winner Kevin Costner and his band who headlined the event and prominent author and animal behaviorist, Dr. Temple Grandin who spoke about the connection between animals and autism. Since then, the Homestead Festival has hosted music from Collin Raye, Brothers of the Heart (Fortune/Walker/Rogers/Isaacs), The Isaacs, and a surprise guest appearance from Jamey Johnson. Other speakers have included Joel Salatin from Polyface Farm, Justin Rhodes from Abundance Plus, and Jessica Sowards from Roots & Refuge. The Homestead Festival honors the legacy and tradition of hosting musical events on the farm where Rory Feek and his wife Joey hosted the annual Bib & Buckle Fest from 2008 to 2013. During that event, thousands of fans from all over attended outdoor concerts on the front lawn of their historic farm.
Since Joey’s passing in 2016, Rory has expanded the farm adding more rotational-grazed pastures for cows and chickens, a one-room schoolhouse with a barnyard and livestock, multiple gardens, a greenhouse, and continued to host concerts on the farm in his 300-seat venue known as Homestead Hall. All of this toward building a more sustainable farm for his large extended family who live, work, and teach at The Homestead at Hardison Mill Farm.
For more information, visit TheHomesteadFestival.com and follow the festival on Facebook and Instagram. You can also download the Homestead Festival app in the Apple and Google Play Stores to get the latest updates about the event, speaker bios, schedules and more as they are released.
