HISTORY
About Us
We are a non-profit organization dedicated to providing world-class entertainment for those adventurous souls who wander down to our little corner of Wyoming. Established in 1994, 2024 marks the 30th consecutive year of the Festival. Each year in July, music lovers flock to the small town of Kemmerer to enjoy a completely FREE, world-class music festival that would cost them hundreds to attend anywhere else.
Winner of the Wyoming Governors Art Award, The Oyster Ridge Music Festival has become a highly recognized and desirable event for high end performing artists and friendly family fun
How We Started
The Oyster Ridge Music Festival was the brainchild of Keith Chasteen, a local Forest Service employee and a picker of some repute. He wanted to find a home for the newly created Wyoming State Flatpick Guitar championship. The holder of this title would represent Wyoming at the National Flatpick Guitar championships held each year in Winfield, Kansas. He approached the local Chamber of Commerce with his idea, and the Music Festival was born.
Early festivals were centered around several musical contests which included fiddle, mandolin, and banjo, and of course, the State Flatpick contest. Keith struggled to bring the young festival together with an extremely limited budget and little musical entertainment besides the contests. With the help of a friend, Robin Kessinger (National Flatpick Champion) was brought to Kemmerer, which brought instant credibility from the world of serious pickin’ to the event.
What's our mission?
The mission of the Oyster Ridge Music Festival is to bring art to a rural community, enhance the quality of life through educational and cultural experiences, build partnerships with other entities, and generate a substantial economic impact each year.
Our Goals
We are a non-profit organization dedicated to providing FREE world-class entertainment for those adventurous souls who wander down to our little corner of Wyoming.
Who has performed?
Through our growth, we were able to expand from regional bands to bringing in nationally recognized talent. We have had multiple Grammy winners grace our stage, including Terri Hendrix and Lloyd Maines, The Peasall Sisters, Mountain Heart, The Steeldrivers, and Reckless Kelly. In 2003, the Wyoming Flatpick Guitar Champion, Jeff Troxell went on the Nationals and won the U.S title. In 2004, ORMF was further entrenched in the festival universe when our winner of the Wyoming State Fingerpick contest, Keith Taylor, went on to win the National Fingerstyle Championship. In 2006, we saw the Grammy and CMA winning Peasall Sisters from the soundtrack of the hit movie "Oh Brother Where Art Thou".
What's to come?
In 2007 our budget expanded to include fly-ins. Now we don't have to rely on bands who are routing tours through our area. If we find a band we want, we fly them in for a standalone performance.
Looking for this year's band lineup? Click here to view!
What to expect?
The Festival is bigger and better than ever and is always held each year in Kemmerer's beautiful and unique Triangle Park on the last weekend of July. In 2023 we had over 8,000 people in attendance over the course of the weekend from all across the region. For a small venue, this makes for a very intimate experience.
Anyone can stake out a blanket or a lawn chair with a cooler, and there's plenty of room to dance. Or, just wander around munching on a Navajo Taco or corn dog while quaffing one of the great microbrews purchased from the beer trailers.
Visit with the small groups of pickers jamming in the park or fire up your own instrument and group up for the famous "Band Scramble". Any way you slice it there's plenty to do from grandpa down to the kids.
Share your experience
Oyster Ridge music festival is proudly funded by people like you, who attend and share about your experience. Not only that but helping our small town festival helps raise money for the community and bringing joy to everyone around. Check out our socials to see what artists and vendors we've had in the past and what to expect when attending. Don't forget to tag and mention us! We love to see you guys having a good time!
Reach out
If you have any questions, concerns or issues we are more than happy to help. We want to make sure you have a great experience at our event. So, make sure to send us a message and we promise to get back to you!