T-L Photo/ROBERT A. DEFRANK Ohio University mascot Rufus the Bobcat joins Ohio University Eastern Dean David Rohall, left, and Blame My Roots Fest co-founder Chris Dutton in announcing a partnership between college and festival.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Students at Ohio University Eastern are about to get schooled in country music, as the campus is partnering with Blame My Roots Fest this summer.

Blame My Roots co-founder Chris Dutton and members of his team joined college officials at the OUE campus Wednesday to make the announcement. Since its start in 2019 after the long-standing Jamboree In The Hills outdoor concert directly across U.S. 40 from his family’s Valleyview Campgrounds was discontinued, Blame My Roots has grown in popularity and performing talent despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dutton said a partnership with OUE is particularly fitting, since he and many others have connections with the college.

“It means a lot to us. My parents and I are alums of Ohio University, so putting this partnership together and getting Rufus out here on a day like today, to see them is pretty special for us. Community support is big for us. It’s a newer festival, so to get people out and about and talking about the festival is very important,” he said.

Dutton added that he learned to appreciate live music at OU’s Athens campus.

Along with promoting the festival among those connected to the college, Dutton has said the festival is looking to expand and hire more staff, and he has hopes that OUE might help.

“We’re looking into the student body here at the university to help us with some opportunities at the festival,” he said. “We have a national live music-type event and we can sort of use some of the students, some of the faculty here. … Providing a unique experience for those students.”

Dutton added that there will probably be about 25 positions open in various fields.

“We have a lot of opportunity and a lot of positions,” Dutton said. “There might be someone who’s interested in communications here … that comes out and might work any position with us, but might see how this stuff works, how an operation like a festival works.

“We’re a small staff. I think it’s interesting to see what a small staff can do with such a big event,” he said. “It just provides a unique experience.”

The university will also be inviting alumni to a nearby tailgate event during the Blame My Roots festivities. Officials said OUE is fulfilling its mission to invest in the area’s culture.

“We’re helping sponsor the event, and we’re trying encourage alumni from all over Ohio University to come out,” David Rohall, dean of campus and community relations, said. “We’re going to have a tent set up there for alumni to meet. There’s going to be giveaways. … It’s a cultural activity that’s important to this region.”

“To throw a festival and have such a big group like Ohio University out there is pretty cool for us,” Dutton said. “As an alum, being down on stage, looking up the hill and seeing Ohio University represented is going to be very special.”

“We’re going to really push it out there with social media,” Rohall said. “We are working with the Alumni Office extensively. … There’s alumni all over the state of Ohio. It’s not going to be just us pushing it regionally, they’re going to push it all over the place.”

Rohall mentioned his own musical background as a member of a band in Illinois.

“I know what live music is like, and I know what it’s like to set up and take down,” he said.

Rohall said students may be interested in employment opportunities.

“If somebody wants to be involved in that industry, I think that’s a nice opportunity for them,” he added.

“I think it’s a great opportunity. I think it’s an exciting opportunity for the campus,” freshman nursing major Casara Orr of St. Clairsville said. “I have a ton of friends from high school in the area that went to the Blame My Roots festival, even last year. … It’s a very exciting event. I’m a music person, so a lot of my friends are into music. We would all go to the event. It sounds like a great thing to bring big music to a small valley.”

Other students agreed.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for people who go to OUE and all campuses alike, and also alums,” said senior Larissa Orr of St. Clairsville, who is studying early childhood education and social work. “It’s a great opportunity to bring everyone together and celebrate life and music and everything God gives us.”

Students wishing to apply for staff positions can talk to their teachers or contact the festival directly through the website blamefest.com.

The festival will be held July 14-16 at Valleyview Campgrounds in Belmont and will feature country music stars such as Dierks Bentley, David Lee Murphy and Niko Moon.