Pilgrimage Festival kicks off with bluesy rock, Americana and more

Fall is back in Franklin — and so is the Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival. The seventh running of the two-day festival at The Park at Harlinsdale Farm drew around 17,000 attendees on Saturday, according to a spokesperson.

Nashville's Bones Owens kicked off the main stage music shortly after noon, treating the crowd at the Midnight Sun stage to swampy blues rock. Adia Victoria kept the Nashville blues train rolling when she took the stage immediately after, capping her set off with the moody "South's Gotta' Change."

The day's headliners showcased the festival's wide array of genres, from Brandi Carlile's Americana to Jon Batiste's jazz and R&B. Eager festivalgoers filed in throughout the day, laden with lawn chairs, blankets and the occasional wagon full of kids.

Danny and Brenda Edmondson made the journey from nearby Brentwood. They've attended every running of Pilgrimage, including the infamous 2018 edition cut short due to rain.

Saturday's scene, however, couldn't have been more pristine. After a week of record high temperatures around 100 degrees, the day began with brisk, cloudy weather before giving way to clear, sunny skies. The atmosphere on the ground was similarly breezy.

"It's great; the weather's awesome," Danny Edmondson said. "I like coming early because you can check out new bands, move around, get your merch and food lines are short."

And while they were excited to see familiar favorites like The Avett Brothers and Brandi Carlile, Brenda Edmondson said she loved discovering new acts like Lennon Stella.

"I didn't know anything about (Stella) until a week ago, and now I'm in love with her," Brenda Edmondson said. "There's something about her that just caught my eye. She's got big days ahead of her."

Pilgrimage has carved out a niche as a family-friendly music destination, and Saturday's event was no different.

"We're going around with a 2.5-year-old," said Austin Maxey, who flew in from Dallas, Texas, for the festival. "It's been easy on the kid, easy on my wife and I. Very approachable for families."

On the Gold Record Road Stage, a selection of artists from the Black Opry highlighted the wide array of Black talent in the area, from Aaron Vance's country twang to a percussive solo acoustic guitar performance from Yasmin Williams.

Ping Rose, a Memphis-based guitar slinger, backed up the performers with his band The Anti-Heroes.

"It's actually really gratifying because there's no other single place where a band like us gets to play all of that stuff at once," Rose said. "We were playing blues, folk, country, Americana, pop, what have you. It just ran the entire gamut of different genres."

Offstage, Pilgrimage brought local craft vendors, food and the return of the Americana Musical Triangle, which highlights the fertile, creative triangle of Memphis, Nashville and New Orleans that has produced countless chart-toppers and influential songwriters.

Pilgrimage Festival continues Sunday with headliners Chris Stapleton, The Avett Brothers and Elle King.