Some of the best events to get together to eat, listen to music and have fun throughout the day take place in many places; from big cities and wide landscapes to neighborhoods and small towns. Here’s a guide with a great cast of country music celebrations.
CMA Music Festival
The “City of Music” is home to the Country Music Association (CMA) Music Festival in Nashville, Tennessee, which brings together nearly 400 performances at three major downtown venues each year during the month of June. Featured artists include Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean, and Darius Rucker. Before hearing the sounds, you will want to know the story. Take a guided tour of RCA Studio B, featuring interactive exhibits, recordings, and the very studio where legends created the songs that made Nashville the focus of country music. Your ticket also allows you to enter the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Heartland Stampede Music Festival
Originally called the Country Stampede Music Festival, the Heartland Stampede Music Festival held in Topeka, Kansas, brings together some of the biggest stars in country music for three days of music, dance, food and camping at Heartland Motorsports Park. This popular music festival is the largest in the state and usually takes place the third week of June. While you’re here to hear the best of country music, you can also explore Kansas City. Visit an attractive collection of colorful art and storytelling at the Great Mural Wall of Topeka, or take a hike to untouched grassland habitat.
Even without a guitar, a cowboy is the most country thing there is. You know there will be plenty of country connections at the Montana Cowboy Poetry Gathering and Western Music Rendezvous, the second oldest cowboy gathering in the country. A welcome barbecue, western music, more than 100 cowboy poets, country line dance and music event are among the highlights of this festival held each August on the high plains of Lewiston, Montana, cowboy town.
Carolina Country Music Fest
More than 30 performances in the 3 days of music at this outdoor festival in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in addition to a zip line, which takes place during the first week of June and occupies more than 7 hectares of coastal area. Some of the artists who have performed are Cole Swindell, Tracy Lawrence, and Josh Phillips. Some must-see places include The Bowery, a 70-year-old establishment on the Atlantic Ocean that serves cold beers and great dishes with country music playing in the background, and Wheels of Yesteryear, which provides a visual feast for fans of cars and American vintage trucks.
Watershed
The Watershed Music Festival is a feast for the eyes with country music as the soundtrack. The three-day festival takes place in early August at the Gorge Amphitheater in George, Washington. A place that many consider one of the most spectacular places to see concerts in the country, with impressive views of the Columbia River (Columbia River) and the Columbia Gorge (Columbia River Gorge). As such, this festival is famous among campers, with packages that rise as high as the Gorge Oasis Campground – a two- or four-person luxury experience with fans and electricity. With multiple stages and a mix of superstars (including Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, Big & Rich, and other local artists), the Watershed festival is a must-see event for music lovers. The event also includes rides, line dancing, and a foam party.
Stagecoach
The country cousin of the Coachella festival makes the public hallucinate in the same venue, the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, at the end of April. The world’s highest-grossing country music festival features a mix of well-known and emerging artists playing various genres: folk, traditional country, alternative country, and bluegrass. In addition to megastars from the past and present (such as the Eagles, Roger McGuinn, Willie Nelson, Luke Bryan, and Jason Aldean), the outdoor event includes an indoor dance hall where you can learn and participate in line dance, “two-step “and quadrille. The Ferris wheel, a popular spot for marriage proposals, offers incredible views of the surrounding palm trees and mountains.
Country 500
There are many coincidences between fans of auto racing and those of country music. This is why the Country 500 festival, held each year for three days at the end of May, is so popular. Emerging artists hang out with superstars like Sugarland and Toby Keith; Plus, you can camp inside the Daytona International Speedway racetrack in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Rock the south
Rock the South, which was intended as a one-time fundraiser in 2011, became a tradition that brings stars like Eric Church, Hank Williams Jr., and Luke Bryan each June. A major attraction in historic Cullman, Alabama is the Festhalle Farmers Market, which has events throughout the year in Alabama’s largest timber-framed building. Nearby, you can learn about local history at the Cullman County Museum.
Taste of Country Music Festival
The Northeast isn’t exactly a hotbed of country music, but you can find a hidden gem in the small town of Hunter, New York, in the Catskill Mountains. This festival is remote enough to have a picturesque concert experience, but it’s close to some big cities, like New York’s state capital Albany. You can see more than 20 artists on two stages. Normally, the party takes place during the first week of June.
Windy City Smokeout
The Smokeout is one of the most highly-rated national festivals, thanks to its combination of barbecues from experts from around the country (including Kentucky, Nashville, and of course Chicago, Illinois), beers from some of America’s best breweries, and a wide variety of presentations by emerging country artists.
Night in the country
Three days in a quiet part of northern Nevada, in the farm town of Yerington, sounds very relaxing, unless you go to attend the annual Night in the Country festival, an event with modern country stars and quadrille, that takes place in late May. The field is packed with campers for two days of everyone’s riding, mud volleyball, a tournament of champions with games like cornhole and beer pong, plus a wild nightlife scene.