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From ‘red dirt’ country music to garage rock, the Open Highway Music Festival returns for 6th year

John Henry discussed this year's Open Highway Music Festival.
Kelly Moffitt | St. Louis Public Radio
John Henry discussed this year's Open Highway Music Festival.

Next week, the Open Highway Music Festival will return to St. Louis for its sixth year at Off Broadway.

John Henry, a local musician and talent buyer at Off Broadway, is one of the festival organizers. He joined St. Louis on the Air contributor Steve Potter to discuss how the festival has evolved over the years and what to expect this year.

“We started this primarily as a festival that features [red dirt] country music,” Henry said. “Red dirt music is predominant in Oklahoma and Texas. It veers off of the mainstream country, a bit more old-school. We were having a lot of success booking those shows and wanted to do a festival focusing on that. We did that the first year, but as it has progressed we have broadened it to be genre-wide and I feel like this year is the most eclectic so far.”

Listen as Henry discusses what to expect from this year’s festival and plays some samples from the different musicians who will be coming through town, including Josh Ritter, Early James, Diarrhea Planet, JD McPherson, Foxygen, Son Volt and more:

Related Event

What: 6th Annual Open Highway Music Festival

Where: Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis

When: Aug. 2-6, various times

More information.

St. Louis on the Air brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. St. Louis on the Air host Don Marsh and producers Mary EdwardsAlex Heuer and Kelly Moffitt give you the information you need to make informed decisions and stay in touch with our diverse and vibrant St. Louis region. 

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Kelly Moffitt joined St. Louis Public Radio in 2015 as an online producer for St. Louis Public Radio's talk shows St. Louis on the Air.