World-class talent performing in multiple listening rooms, a songwriting workshop and potentially some new opportunities are returning to downtown Seymour.

Seymour Crossroads Entertainment recently announced the return of Crossroads Acoustic Fest on April 28 and 29 after a three-year hiatus.

Intimate acoustic performances will take place at the Jackson County Visitor Center, Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie 655, Brewskies Downtown and Knights of Columbus Council 1252. The latter two are new venues this year.

With a weekend wristband, a person can create their own festival experience, moving freely from one listening room to another and seeing the artists they want to see.

Music will go from 6 to 11 p.m. each day. Tickets are $60 for both days or $40 for an April 29-only ticket. They are available for purchase online at crossroadsacousticfest.com. To buy with cash or check, stop by the visitor center, 100 N. Broadway St., Seymour. Wristbands will be available to pick up at the visitor center beginning April 26.

Crossroads Acoustic Fest was conducted in 2018 and 2019 and was planned for 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of it.

“We had a lineup out. We were selling tickets,” said Shawn Busby with Seymour Crossroads Entertainment. “If they purchased in 2020, we offered refunds for a short time. If they didn’t, we encouraged them to just hang with us. We thought we would be back sooner than this, so I’ve got several sold tickets from 2020. We’ll be honoring those tickets.”

Busby said he and the committee were close to bringing the festival back last year. He starts booking artists in November, but around that time in 2021, there was a new COVID-19 variant surging, so they decided to cancel the 2022 event.

“Our festival is different than a lot of others,” he said. “Other festivals are by their nature a little bit safer if you think about it because they are outside. All of our stuff is inside. You’re sitting right next to people.”

This year seemed like the right time to bring Crossroads Acoustic Fest back.

“We always knew we were going to come back and just finally feel it’s time,” Busby said.

The initial lineup recently was announced. Favorites coming back are Buffalo Wabs & The Price Hill Hustle, Tim Grimm, Will Kimbrough and Grayson Capps with Corky Hughes. There also will be Indiana-based musicians Otis Gibbs and Jennie DeVoe and other first-time performers Nicholas Jamerson, Cristina Vane, Session Americana and Nora Jane Struthers.

Busby said it’s a mix of artists he has seen perform and some he hasn’t.

“Generally, I like to see somebody perform whenever possible,” he said. “I have a couple of festivals that I attend on pretty much an annual basis. There’s a festival that we basically borrowed the idea from. It’s down in Florida, the 30A Songwriters Festival. … Some of the same artists, that’s where we discovered them. They do multiple rooms. It’s mostly inside, just like us.”

Session Americana is only playing on the first night, but most of the artists can be heard on the second night. Some are playing both nights.

Busby said Freetown native Don Pedigo also will perform. Plus, a local act featuring former band mates will perform under a new name, and possibly a few more local musicians will be added to the lineup. Those acts plus DeVoe and Gibbs will perform at the Eagles to give an Indiana vibe.

In all, there will end up being 15 to 20 acts.

“Part of our thought process was to try and bring back some folks that have performed before so that there is some familiarity because we’re presenting artists that people don’t know, and we’re very much aware of that,” Busby said. “Rather than having a lineup full of people that they don’t know, we thought, ‘Let’s bring back some folks that they have seen before and liked.’”

In terms of genre, Busby describes the acts as “world-class talent of the roots variety.” Many of them will share stories in between presenting original music.

“Most of them are either singer-songwriters or playing some sort of roots-type music,” he said. “Some people call it Americana. It’s kind of a newer term, but a lot of folks still use the term roots or folk music. Any of those terms could probably be applied to what we’re doing here.”

During performances, audience members will be asked to give their full attention to the musicians, creating a quiet listening experience for all attendees.

The current plan is to have shows at the visitor center and Knights of Columbus on the first night and all four rooms open on the second night. The official schedule will be available a few days prior to the festival.

Also part of the festival is a songwriting workshop the morning of April 29 at the Knights of Columbus. That was introduced during the second festival and was facilitated by Robert Reynolds.

He once again will lead that, shining a spotlight on Brit Taylor and Adam Chaffins and asking them questions about their songwriting process. They will perform that night, too.

“They are both Nashville-based songwriters,” Busby said. “That’s a free event that anybody can attend. We’re a nonprofit, so we like to find ways to kind of give back to the community and do something for the community, so we’d love to have a full room for that.”

While it’s a lot of work to put this festival together, Busby said it’s a lot of fun when it all comes together.

“It’s unique not just for Seymour but the whole region. Probably for the whole Midwest, there’s not a whole lot of this kind of thing going on,” he said. “We just hope that people who haven’t had a chance to come out and try it before will give us a chance. I know they are looking at a list of artists and they don’t probably know who they are, but the talent is for sure there.”