This article has been updated to reflect the announcement of a gofundme page on May 10, 2018
The Southland Jamboree in Lexington, Kentucky is a Bluegrass music concert series that happens weekly during the summer at MoonDance Amphitheater in Beaumont.
According to a Facebook post from Billy Sherrow, Southland Jamboree’s organizer, the concert series will be cancelled this summer. “The Southland Jamboree will be unable to continue for the 2018 season due to lack of funding,” Sherrow said.
A previous post gave a clue as to what happened. Sherrow asked for donations and funding from sponsors to keep the series going. “As our fans know, our sponsorships for the 2017 were down significantly and, while we had a reserve from prior years and finished out the season okay, the prior funding methods aren’t sustainable for the future.”
Sherrow stated his gratefulness to the Lexington Department of Parks and Rec and Southland Jamboree fans. “We have a wonderful bluegrass fan base in Central Kentucky and it was all of you that made the Jamboree a huge success. Thank you for your faithful support over the last twelve years. It has been a lot of fun for all of us.”
The statement did leave hope for the concert series to return in years to come, but funding would be necessary.
UPDATE:
Beth Tibbitts has started a gofundme page to save The Southland Jamboree. According to Tibbitts, “If we can raise about $8000 I believe we can rescue part of this summer’s concert season, perhaps beginning in July. More, and we can assure continuation for the future. A full season costs us about $10-12000. I will also be needing hands-on help if this is to continue, and information about larger corporate sponsors is very welcome and would ease our worries for the future.” In one day the page has raised about 40% of their $8,000 goal.
