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Excitement building for Homecoming entertainment

By Jess Mancini 3 min read

PARKERSBURG – Entertainment is the name of the game at the Parkersburg Homecoming Festival where Saturday will feature the renowned Queen of Bluegrass.

Rhonda Vincent and the Rage will take the main stage at 8:30 p.m. for the headline act that precedes the 10 p.m. fireworks show

"She's been a star for more than 20 years, I bet," said Chuck Lipps, a local promoter who organizes the entertainment at the annual festival. Planners have been trying to get Vincent, but her schedule is filled far ahead, he said.

"We've been trying to get her for the past two years," Lipps said. "She's booked more than a year in advance."

Lipps estimates that Vincent, known as the Queen of Bluegrass, does about 300 shows a year. That's a lot of performing, he said.

"You have got to have the energy," Lipps said. "Boy, she has it."

Vincent has won numerous awards during her tenure. She received seven consecutive Female Vocalist of the Year awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association between 2000 and 2006, unprecedented in the industry, then won an eighth time in 2015.

She received a Grammy in 2017 for Best Bluegrass Album, Entertainer of the Year in 2001 and Song of the Year in 2004 with “Kentucky Borderline," which she co-wrote, and was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in February 2021.

"The whole band is excited about this," said Johnny Staats of the local bluegrass band Johnny Staats and the Delivery Boys, which performs at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

Staats, an internationally known mandolin player who has performed for 26 years, hopes to share the stage for at least one song with Vincent.

"She's a great friend of mine," Staats said. "Hopefully we can pick a tune together."

Saturday's entertainment lineup starts at 3 p.m. at the Point Park Amphitheater with Matthew Enoch, a Parkersburg native and performer who now lives in Tennessee. Enoch, who was with the band South of the River, was eager to come home and do the Homecoming, according to Lipps.

"He said 'I'll come and do it for free,'" Lipps said.

At 3:30 p.m. is Luke Colombo, who is from Parkersburg and was on "American Idol."

The 24th annual Johnny Staats Bluegrass Festival starts at 4 p.m. and includes Waverly Run bluegrass and gospel band and the Johnny Staats Project at 5:15 p.m.

Following a show by the Yo Yo Elite baton and show corps, Johnny Staats and the Delivery Boys will perform at 6:30 p.m.

Staats released his first album, "Wires and Wood," in 2000 and received critical acclaim. He's been featured in stories in The New York Times, People Magazine and the Today Show, made six appearances on the Grand Ole Opry and has continued to work his full-time job as a UPS driver.

Staats was inducted into the 2026 West Virginia Country Music Hall of Fame for lifetime achievements and support for music.

He's excited about the show on Saturday and that it’s been 24 years since the first bluegrass festival was held at the homecoming.

"It just seems to get bigger every year," Staats said.

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