Getting Ready for the Red River Revel 2025
The Red River Revel is a local Shreveport festival that occurs every October as a way to bring people together from all over the Ark-La-Tex area and celebrate the arts. For almost 50 years this event has been put on, growing through achievements such as becoming a nonprofit to creating art education opportunities for local schools and becoming a staple piece of our community. So what’s on the ticket for this year’s run dates of Sept. 25 - 28 and Oct. 2 - 5?
Music
With four separate stages for a variety of artists spread out across many genres, there are too many to list out here. The headliners for this year, however, include The Hollow Decks, Pam Tillis, The Rumble, Howard Hewett, Tab Benoit, J & The Causeways, Galactic, and Front Cover Band. The Revel organizers have also provided a Spotify playlist with an available song from all performers. Go check that and the easy to navigate calendar of performances on the Red River Revel “Music Lineup” page.
On Oct. 4th check out the namesake event for this year’s theme: “The Beat Goes On” at the Advocate Depot Stage. It’ll be a celebration of drums and percussion with performances and workshops.
Art
While at the festival attendees can make their way through Art Alley and see booths for visual artists of all sorts and can often purchase works to take home including paintings, glass, ceramics, jewelry, and so much more.
Over the two weekends there are several events that encourage and involve attendees to make their own art. This includes glass blowing, puppet-making, clay painting, and a poetry brunch!
& Everything Else
There are going to be many food booths, with classic festival foods as well as more hearty meals and inclusive of many dietary requirements. There are, again, too many groups to name but it must be mentioned that you may recognize Chef Linda B. Montgomery with her kitchen Teal Garden Nutrition. Over the summer she helped to put on the first annual Vegan Community Cookout, has written a nutrition book, and works in the Centenary Caf.
This isn’t just a festival for adults, as previously mentioned, the Revel provides art education opportunities for younger groups. Kids under 12 get in for free, with adult accompaniment, and can find a variety of activities over in the Discovery Maker Zone. Teenagers can also attend events geared towards them like the “18 and Under Band Festival”, “Youth Talent Show”, or some musical instrument workshops, to name a few.
If you are looking for volunteer hours, there is still time to apply. On the Red River Revel website under the “Festival Info” tab, click on “Volunteer” and submit your resume.
When to Attend
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday hours are 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM and on Sundays they close just an hour earlier at 9:00 PM. Art Alley closes 30 minutes before the festival closes each night.
Thursday and Friday admission is free until 5:00 PM. After 5:00 PM Thursday and Friday, and all day Saturday and Sunday the ticket cost is $10 per person. There are bundle passes: $25 for four admissions and $50 for eight admissions at any time.
Look through the calendar to see what events you might want to attend, get a group together, and enjoy taking part in a piece of Shreveport culture at the 2025 Red River Revel festival!