A Celebration of Music, History & Community
By Sonia Duggan
Bluegrass music returns to Olde City Park this month for a beloved Wylie tradition — Bluegrass on Ballard. The annual music and arts festival will take over historic downtown Wylie on Saturday, May 31.
This year’s event promises fun for the whole family, with the unmistakable sounds of bluegrass, a classic car show, arts and crafts vendors, fair food, and children’s activities.
What began in 1978 as Wideawake Wylie’s July Jubilee—a weeklong event with everything from speed boat races to square dancing—gradually evolved. Over time, it was shortened to three days and rebranded as Jumping Jubilee Days in the 1980s. Memorable highlights included quirky competitions like the 1998 Toilet Race, where local businesses raced wheeled toilets down Ballard Avenue.
Eventually the celebration was pared down to a single evening known as the Street Dance. A flatbed trailer parked at the intersection of Marble Street and Ballard Avenue became a makeshift stage for local country-western bands as locals and visitors two-stepped in the street. That communal spirit laid the groundwork for what would eventually become a music festival of sorts.
The event we now know as Bluegrass on Ballard began in 2013, when city leaders sought a new direction for the July Jubilee.
“We wanted to maintain a family-friendly atmosphere and create a new, unique event for the community and visitors in our city,” said Craig Kelly, public information officer for the City of Wylie. “There was only one other Bluegrass festival in the Metroplex, and we thought that genre of music was the perfect fit for our community.”
Because they needed a partner that could assist with the Bluegrass musicians, Kelly and Wylie Downtown Merchants Association president Jeremy Meier reached out to Alan Tompkins of the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation.
Tompkins, an attorney and lifelong bluegrass enthusiast, remembers that initial meeting well.
“They wanted more family friendly music to reinvigorate downtown,” he said. “We all got together for lunch—Bobby Heath, Jeremy, Craig—and talked about the possibilities.”
The event, said Kelly, was born through a partnership with the Wylie Downtown Merchants Association, Bluegrass Heritage Foundation, the City of Wylie, East Fork Masonic Lodge #650, and the Wylie Chamber of Commerce.”
The first Bluegrass on Ballard took place on Ballard Avenue, with a portable stage borrowed from the City of Allen.
“We had a huge crowd,” Tompkins said.
As the event grew, Tompkins said they tried different locations, eventually settling on Olde City Park.
“I think where we are now—in the park—is the best option. It’s comfortable for people,” Tompkins said.
Traditionally tied to July 4, or more recently the last Saturday in June, this year’s event moves to late May to avoid extreme heat and unpredictable storms.
“I think it’s going to make it a lot more appealing to people having it earlier in the year, when it’s cooler,” Tompkins said.
Despite its success, Bluegrass on Ballard remains a volunteer-driven effort. The city partners with the WDMA to organize, plan, and market the event and the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation books and manages the bands and makes sure things go well from a backstage perspective.
“We’ve got a great stage and sound vendor,” Tompkins said, adding, “I know most everybody in the bluegrass music industry, so we carefully select people who are easy to work with.”
Bluegrass Heritage Foundation
Founded by Tompkins, the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to promoting bluegrass music in Texas and surrounding states. Its mission focuses on educating the public about this uniquely American art form—born from Irish, Scottish, and English traditions—through performances, workshops, historic preservation, and community outreach.
In addition to the Wylie event, the Foundation supports many other festivals, including the long-running Farmers Branch Bluegrass Festival and Bluegrass Saturday Night at the McKinney Performing Arts Center.
Tompkins is a bluegrass musician himself, playing banjo with Bobby Giles and Texas Gales, or upright bass with the band Hillbilly Fever when needed.
“Most of the musicians we work with are in it because they love it,” he said. “It’s a tight-knit community—we all work together.”
One of the Foundation’s most impactful programs is Play It Forward, which provides instruments—banjos, mandolins, fiddles, guitars, dobros, even upright basses—to young musicians at no cost. Tompkins credits a chance conversation with a friend at Pizza Hut’s former Plano headquarters for getting it off the ground. “They had youth-committed funds and wanted to support a music program,” he said. “We already had the idea, and their funding helped us launch it.”
The program continues to thrive, giving aspiring bluegrass musicians the chance to play—literally—without the barrier of instrument costs.
Tompkins also hosts the Bluegrass Heritage Radio Show, a two-hour program airing Sundays on KHYI-FM 95.3 in Dallas/Fort Worth. It features 30 minutes of bluegrass gospel followed by 90 minutes of traditional and progressive bluegrass
Through the Foundation’s outreach and the radio show—Tompkins and the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation keep the genre alive and thriving in North Texas.
2025 Festival Lineup
Now in its 13th year, Bluegrass on Ballard continues to grow while staying true to its roots as a free, family-friendly celebration of music, community, and local culture. This year’s festival will once again fill Olde City Park and downtown Wylie with the toe-tapping sounds of bluegrass, classic cars, crafts, food and fun for all ages.
Throughout the day, festival-goers can enjoy performances from a stellar lineup of bluegrass bands, including Bobby Giles & Texas Gales at 11 a.m., Riley Gilbreath & Lone Star Blue at noon and the Dean Osborne Band at 1 p.m. Hillbilly Fever takes the stage at 2:15 p.m., followed by Carson Peters & Iron Mountain at 3:30 p.m., with Authentic Unlimited closing out the show at 4:45 p.m.
The popular car show, hosted by the East Fork Masonic Lodge #650, runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will showcase more than 225 classic and vintage vehicles throughout downtown. Over 100 arts and crafts vendors will display unique handmade goods from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., perfect for those looking to shop local.
The Battle of the Badges blood drive will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and musicians are invited to bring their instruments for informal jam sessions throughout the day.
Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets and enjoy the music under the shade trees of Olde City Park.
“I feel like we have a nice event,” Tompkins said. “I consider it a terrific success.”
Learn more at bluegrassheritage.org or discoverwylie.com