Two roots roadtrips to liven up the end of August with fiddles, banjos, and more

FidPick. // image courtesy the festival

Should you wish to experience some roots music for free, there are a couple upcoming events which you should plan to attend.

This weekend, on Sunday, August 24, will be the 44th Annual Kansas State Fiddling and Picking Championships. AKA FidPick, the long-running free festival features competition in, yes, fiddle, but also mandolin, miscellaneous acoustic instruments, banjo, finger style or flatpick guitar, and band. The last category was added just last year, with family group Lost Keys taking the inaugural first-place finish.

In addition to seeing some of the best acoustic players in the area, FidPick has sets from some fantastic roots and folk artists each year, and while we could say 2025 is no different, the addition of a headlining set from the duo of Tim O’Brien and Jan Fabricius is a pretty big step up for the organization. The Grammy-winning O’Brien has long been a staple of any self-respecting roots festival, and his recent work in partnership with Kansas native Fabricius has been fantastic.

You can find the schedule and more information on this free festival at their website.

LamonLIVE 2024. // phot by Tami Shaw

Next weekend, should you feel the need to get out of town, but still have a local connection, might we suggest taking a trip up I-35 to the Iowa town of Lamoni? Just across the border from Missouri, the town’s Amish Country Store and Iowa Welcome Center have long been a regular stop for my wife and I to pick up locally-made wines and jellies, but the town itself is a gorgeous little gem in and of itself.

On Saturday, August 30, Lamoni plays host to LamoniLIVE, which returns for its second annual outdoor music festival from noon to 9 p.m. on the grounds of Prescription Tillage Technologies. The free festival with performances by the kids from Doc Heff’s Decatur County Rock’N’Play camp and Action! Cinematography camps, followed by the Central Iowa Blues Society (CIBS), Omaha soul singer Jeni Grouws, electrified blues from St. Louis’ Meaza Joy, and a headlining set from Kansas City’s own Amanda Fish, who will also host an Amanda Fish and Friends blues jam to close everything out.

More information and details on LamoniLIVE here.