File Photo/SCOTT MCCLOSKEY The Blame My Roots Festival will be back for year two in July of 2020 west of St. Clairsville.

MORRISTOWN — Blame My Roots Fest, which held its inaugural country music event in July, today confirmed it will return to Valley View Campgrounds next summer.

The second installment has been set for July 16-18 and will again include camping and a lineup of national and local acts performing on two stages. Attendees can bring their own beverages to the site along National Road east of Morristown.

The 2019 festival featured 28 acts over three days. The national-level lineup included Trace Adkins, Joe Diffie, Tyler Farr, Whiskey Myers, Ryan Hurd, Gabby Barrett and Lindsey Ell. Among the more local acts were Joe Zelek, The 11/70 Band, Tim Ullom, The Stickers, Frank Vieira, Sydney Mack and a third “Buskers Stage” dedicated to showcasing acoustic artists.

Blame My Roots Fest Event Coordinator Chris Dutton said he and his sister, Nina, are building off of last year’s successes to make the 2020 show even better. The siblings launched the show to fill the void left behind when Live Nation announced in November 2018 that the long-running Jamboree In The Hills country music festival would be on “hiatus” for 2019. Since then, there has been no indication that JITH will be revived. Valley View Campgrounds, located across U.S. 40 from the Jamboree site, had hosted JITH attendees for many years and is owned by the Gentile family, including the Duttons’ mother, Rita Dutton.

Chris Dutton said last week that he and Nina pulled plans for the first Blame My Roots Fest together quickly. And while attendance was not as large as they had hoped, they were pleased with the response and hope to attract more people in 2020.

“The first year of a new festival is always a little scary,” Chris Dutton said. “You’re not sure how things will turn out, how many people will actually buy into what you’re trying to do and if a second year is even feasible. But the positive feedback we received from everyone involved — be it attendees, and media partners alike — made the decision for 2020 pretty easy.”

Organizers said the country music festival also was lauded by Nashville booking agents, who commended Dutton and his team for the service and professionalism they displayed throughout the planning process, during the event itself and throughout follow-up procedures.

“The feedback we received from Nashville was quick and something I never expected,” Dutton said. “Nashville is bigger than the Ohio Valley, but not that much bigger. Word of that stuff gets around, and it’s actually come up in our booking process for next year. It’s been incredible.”

Speaking of the booking process, the Blame My Roots team is in talks with national artists and already has secured acts for next summer.

“I think people will be pleased with the lineup we’re putting together,” Dutton said. “We’ll have a blend of seasoned artists and up-and-comers. We’ll begin announcing acts and ticket sales early next month.”

Tickets for Blame My Roots Fest 2020 will become available by December, just in time for Christmas, at blamemyrootsfestival.com.