The 2025 Bells Festival will see changes both in entertainment and the place this summer, according to an announcement by the president of the festival of the Bells, Tom Zile, and the vice-president Tiffany McCoy on Friday.
This year’s festival will take place from July 10 to 12 on the theme “Let The Good Times Roll”, with a return to the Highland County Fairgrounds for the first time in many years due to the construction at Crossroads Park.
The festival will open with the traditional Christian evening with the Christian pop artist Austin French. Friday will be a whole new star evening, entitled “Rock the Bell”, with two rock cover groups: Captured Louisville, A Journey Tribute Band, and Simply Queen, a Tomage Queen group, sponsored by Hillsboro Eagles 1161. On Saturday will offer a variety of genres with genres with festivals outside Sean Genres) before 90s 90s Country Ricoch Ricocht Ricors.
“We are delighted with this year and some of the changes we have made,” said McCoy. “We know that the change is difficult and hope that people are always ready to go out and not only to support our sellers, but also to enjoy a weekend of free music and entertainment.”
According to a biography provided, the Frenchman is “from the Georgia of the small town” and contributed to the “Rising Star” of ABC (on which he ranked second) and “The Voice” of NBC. His first album, “Wide Open”, was released in 2018 and “presents songs that talk about the ups and downs that inevitably occur while living wide open life. The album is refreshing in its honesty, approaching the rupture of us, providing empathy in our most painful moments and presenting the hope of Christ. ”
French followed this album with “Wake Up Sleeper” in 2020 and “Broken Home” in 2024. According to his website, his singles included “Freedom Hymn”, “Why God” and “Born Again. The Frenchman is currently on tour with We Are Messengers on the Where The Joy is.
McCoy said Hillsboro Eagles 1161 generously sponsored “not one but two headliners” for Friday for the first “Rock the Bell” evening.
“We are trying to bring more to the festival than country music for those who have other interests,” said McCoy. “We are delighted with this change and think he was giving us place for a big Friday evening. We cannot thank the Eagles enough for their generous sponsorship. ”
Friday evening will begin with Captured Louisville, “at Journey Tribute Band known for its exceptional and authentic performance”, according to a biography provided. The group “quickly established itself as one of the first tribute acts in the country. Barely trained a few years ago, the group captivated the public of all ages with its loyal interpretations of the classic successes of Journey and deep cuts.
“The singer Rob Maupin and the guitarist Matt Coddington direct the charge, embodying the emblematic aesthetic of Steve Perry and Neal Schon. Each member of Captured Louisville is a professional and awarded professional, ensuring an unforgettable concert experience.”
The night will end with Simple Queen, a “completely live tribute” group which interprets all the emblematic songs that have made Queen one of the most legendary rock groups of all time ”, according to a biography provided. The group “faithfully recreates the large extent of the Queen’s live program – musically capturing and visually the incredible live queen experience that has filled stages in the world.
“The group is led by Freddie Mercury Extraordinary Impersonator, Rick Rock (vocal / piano / guitar), CC Lambrick (guitar / keyboard / vocal). and beyond. “”
McCoy said on Saturday will be “full of music” with something for everyone. The concert slate will start with the herd, a Blues, Folk and Americana trio, followed by local artists Kyle Norris, Sean Poole and Buckin Krazy as opening acts for the headliner.
According to their biography, “in 1996, the members of the Country Ricochet Supergroup watched their first single,` What I do Know “,” Rise to the Top 5, winning the group The Honor of the Single of the Year. Graphic (where he remained n ° 1 for two consecutive weeks).
“The distinctive musical style of the group and the complex harmonies have earned them recognition as one of the most popular vocal groups of country music, a coat they still wear today.”
In addition to the annual concert series, McCoy said that festival participants can expect a variety of “fun events for the whole family throughout the weekend”, including a Queens return competition for its second year.
“We are delighted to bring the Queens competition sponsored by the Hillsboro Jr. female club,” said McCoy. “Thanks to their sponsorship, we can offer our newly crowned queen a university scholarship of $ 500.
“Like normal, Saturday is our busiest day with our 5K, 3 basketball tournament, 3, our car show, the parade and more. A calendar will be released next month with all the new exciting events.
Handicraft sellers will be open all weekend, as well as incredible food sellers. »»
McCoy said the parade will be held on Saturday at noon, the range starting the parking lot of the former Hillsboro High School.
“It’s free to enter, and we hope to see more local businesses, old tractors, old cars and not in the car show and any other interested person takes the time to participate,” she said. “It is always a fun event for families who show up.”
Although the activities will remain the same as in previous years, McCoy has spoken of the big change in the place, because the construction will take place at Crossroads Park – which hoped to be the permanent home of the festival – for a large part of 2025.
“The biggest change of this year will consist of a change in our location,” said McCoy. “Although we were looking forward to the finished renovations of Crossroads Park, we wanted to keep the festival alive, and that meant to offer a new temporary location.
“This year, the festival will be held at the Highland County Fairgrounds. We hoped that he could stay in green space; However, due to the renovations, we were informed that we had to make the temporary change. ”
MCCOY concluded by thanking the festival sponsors and encouraging the community to consider supporting the highlight of the annual summer.
“As always, we would like to thank our sponsors,” said McCoy. “We could not continue to do this event without their support. As with everything in the world, costs are increasing, which means that the festival is increasingly to produce. We want to continue to offer this event to the public for free and will not be able to start doing it without our incredible sponsors.
“This year, we have made changes to our sponsorship levels, which makes sponsorship more available not only for businesses, but also families and individuals. If you wish to become a sponsor, please contact one of the committee members or contact us via our Facebook page. ”
For this year festival updates, please follow the committee https://www.facebook.com/festivalofthebells.
Publisher’s note: A free press is essential to have well -informed voters and citizens. While some press organizations opt for paid websites or expensive payment walls, the Highland County Press has maintained a newspaper and a free website in the past 25 years for our community. If you wish to contribute to this service, it would be greatly appreciated. Donations can be made at: The Highland County Press, Po Box 849, Hillsboro, Ohio 45133. Please include “for the website.