ROMP Fest 2025 - Day 1

Photos and Written by: Josh M.

It’s just past 10:30 A.M. as I cross the William H Natcher bridge into Kentucky and it’s already 93 degrees. Now, I realize I didn’t pack a fan or extension cord. I knew I was missing something.

I already feel a bit sunburnt as I drive into Romp Fest at Yellow Creek Park. Wednesday morning is slow. No music just yet but the rhythm of the traffic, the sound of people setting up the stage, their tents, their booths and trucks backing up in the distance.

By noon I found a place to camp in the woods. Thankfully a shady spot, no need for the fan or the extension cord anyway. I’m the last to move into an open spot in the corner of the pop-up community.

Heather Lingen, My Neighbor three tents down, is from Louisville, but we come from all over in our little town. She says the sense of community is different at Romp Fest than other festivals and it's all to do with the music and the environment. 

“Romp is a lot better, I would never camp in the middle of the concrete Jungle,” she said. “You can talk to someone for 10 or 20 minutes about [bluegrass] and really start to connect with them. It’s progressive…it’s about your struggles.”  

The music starts late on Wednesday night. A quarter to 8 P.M. and a crowd of people and golf carts pass by our camp on their way to the Pioneer Village bridge to see Buffalo Wabs and Sheriff Scott & The Deputies open the festival.

It was a decent crowd at the afterparty stage with some attendees still setting up in late-night camping as the sun set. The entrance to the village is whimsical and bohemian, with streamers, lights, and dreamcatchers and in the trees and along the bridge. A full experience. 

Around 10 P.M. I made my way back to the camp with a few new friends. My clothes were completely soaked through with sweat. In my tent I see the temperature finally dropped to a tepid 88 degrees, but as I fall asleep the only thing I think about is the music and what I'm going to experience tomorrow.