KYLE MURPHYStaff Writer

Though September has just arrived, anticipation is on the rise for the 13^th annual 41A Music Festival returning to downtown Tullahoma later this month, Sept. 29-30.

This past May, the Highland Rim Kiwanis Club, who hosts the annual community music festival, announced the festival would not only be returning to downtown, but it would returning as a two-day event. Since 2021, the 41A Music Festival has been held as a one-day event and held at Grider Stadium following not holding the event in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, the Highland Rim Kiwanis Club unveiled this year’s headliners: Ace Monroe for Friday and co-headliners The Boy Band Night and their sister act, the Country Night, for Saturday. Festival officials would reveal the four other bands who will be performing the two-day festival.

Kicking off Friday’s festivities will be returning local favorites Utopia at 6 p.m., followed by Bad Monkey at 7:30 p.m. before Nashville act Ace Monroe hit the stage at 9:15 p.m. For day two, local act Salem Creek will get the evening started at 3:30 p.m. with The Differents following at 5 p.m.

Concluding the 41A Music Festival will be co-headliners The Boy Band Night and The Country Night, two genre tribute acts covering popular country and boy band hits.

The free, family friendly event is the largest fundraiser for the club, which supports children’s charities in the area in the spirit of the Kiwanis mission. The money raised at the event is divided among the various charities that the Kiwanis assists with throughout the year. Over the years of hosting the festival, the Highland Rim Kiwanis Club has raised over $150,000 to put back into the community and organizations that directly benefit the children in the area.

Previous festival lineups have included: Chase Clanton & Vintage Vibes, Stagger Moon Band, Mötley Crüe tribute band Motley Inc, the Van Halen tribute band Atomic Punks, Mary Katherine Williams, The Reckless, Southern Moss, The Boogie Nights and Rubik’s Groove.

The festival, sponsored by L&H Distributing Company and Cherokee Distributing Company, is free to attend, with family-friendly entertainment for attendees. For more updates about the festival, visit the Highland Rim Kiwanis Club’s Facebook page.

The festival is still in need of volunteers. Anyone wishing to volunteer can contact Kiwanis President Raths at 931-434-5193. Vendor deadline has already passed.