By Jeremy. “That’s what I think country music sounds like, Jason Aldean, and you can tell him that I said that!”

This was the proclamation of Ketch Secor, co-founder of the Old Crow Medicine Show, near the end of their one-hour set at the first annual Buckle Up Music Festival. On this evening it was a tale of two cities, or rather a tale of two countries – music that is. At its home on Pete Rose Way, The Great American Ballpark was hosting contemporary country music stars Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert, and the Florida Georgia Line. And a few blocks away from that, hugging the banks of the Ohio River, Sawyer Point Park served as the backdrop for a three-day festival celebrating a different kind of country music. While only a short walk separated these venues, an apparent schism existed between the mass popularity of country-pop and the diverse representation of the Buckle Up Music Festival. Continue reading →