“Depot Days Music Festival” unveils schedule for Sept. 16

Featured image: Mississippi’s Chapel Hart will headline the 25th Annual Depot Days Music Festival, Saturday, Sept. 16, in Newport. Image submitted

The schedule for the 25th Annual Depot Days Music Festival in Newport has been released, and organizers say this year’s event on Saturday, Sept. 16, will feature the most diverse range of southern heritage music yet.

All music will be performed outdoors on the Terry Scoggins Memorial Stage on Front Street, and admission will be free.

Saturday’s entertainment will open at 1:15 p.m. with Crutchfield (above), a contemporary Christian music band from Malvern, Ark. Crutchfield has opened for well-known Christian groups like Crowder and Skillet. Organizers say Crutchfield will bring their blend of “…a little rock, a little country, a little pop, and a whole lot of faith…” to the Terry Scoggins Memorial Stage.

Following Crutchfield, The ShotGunBillys (above) will perform their “…high-energy blend of southern rock and Memphis blues” at 2:30 p.m. Depot Days organizers say the band is coming to northeast Arkansas fresh from playing for over 15,000 people at the Sturgis Bike Rally.

Next, at 3:45 p.m., Cameron Kimbrough and Damion “Yella P” Pearson (above), better known as the Memphissippi Sounds, will bring their custom blend of urban Memphis hip-hop and north Mississippi hill country blues to the stage. Organizers say the blues of the Memphissippi Sounds “…will reach right into you as you hear Yella P on the harmonica or listen to the two riff on their guitars. It will be clear why their debut album received a Blues Award nomination for Best Emerging Artist Album. You’ll see for yourself why they are a King Biscuit Blues Festival favorite.”

At 5 p.m., Kish and Pamela (above) will bring “…their rocking contemporary country sound to the stage and be sure to entertain you.” Kish Moody and Pamela Hopkins, who return from tour the week before Depot Days, will play many favorites and some original music currently on country radio.

At 6:15 p.m., the Big Dam Horns will “…play your favorite party and dance tunes from the 1960s through today. Taking their name from Little Rock’s iconic bridge, the 12-member group brings its horn-infused one-two punch of jazz, blues, soul, and R&B with a little rock and roll thrown in for good measure.”

Headlining the festival will be Chapel Hart, a trio of Mississippi women “…who sing pure country music the way it was meant to be sung.” The group was a huge hit when they competed on America’s Got Talent, and their talent propelled them to a spot on the 2023 CMA Television Awards show with their original hit, “You Can Have Him, Jolene.” Chapel Hart will perform at 7:30 p.m.

Depot Days organizers say, “…Danica and Devynn Hart and their cousin Trea Swindale combine their Mississippi roots with Louisiana spunk to put on a high-energy show that will show you why they were inducted into CMT’s Next Women of Country in 2021.”

Vendors and food trucks open at 1 p.m., and music will play until 9 p.m. For more information, contact the Newport Area Chamber of Commerce at (870) 523-3618, or visit the Depot Days Facebook page by clicking here.

A Conductor’s Reception & Fundraiser is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 15, featuring The Legendary Pacers, at the Jane Parnell Performing Arts Hall. Tickets are required. Call (870) 523-3618 for more information.

Images provided by Depot Days