Country Fest
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (March 2008) |
Country Fest is a major music festival that is held every year right around late June in Cadott, Wisconsin. Over thousands of people attend this music festival that was started in 1987. There have been numerous famous artists that have performed at Country Fest that include; Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, Blake Shelton, and Carrie Underwood.
Contents |
[edit] Introduction
Every year since 1987 country music fans have been flocking to Cadott, a little Wisconsin town of 1,345 people. Every summer towards the end of June, the famous concert known as Country Fest is held there. The event consists of four fun-filled days of hanging out with friends, meeting new people, “roughing it” at a camp site and sleeping in a tent. This is a great excuse for people to get out of their town and do something new, but most importantly, have the time of their lives listening to their favorite music. Country Fest is not an inexpensive event. The price of a four day adult general admission ticket is $165. Additionally, there is a $20 fee to park and another $95 for a four day general admission camping ticket. Many people find it easier to go with a group of people and split the cost of parking and camping to save money on their expenses. Although it is not required to get a camp site, most people prefer to do so because of the outdoors experience and the fun that goes along with the concerts. Ordering tickets and reserving a camp site is a short, easy task. Just log on to countryfest.com to place an order and the tickets will arrive in days. Country Fest attracts all ages, but their primary consumers consist of young adults, mainly over the age of the legal drinking age, twenty one. The four main sponsors include; Miller Lite, Captain Morgan and Jack Daniels and Pepsi. However, it is important to recognize that there is a security check at the gates for anything that is related to drugs, alcohol or weapons. Many people who attend Country Fest make sure to leave with a souvenir such as a hat or shirt to recall the memorable event. Country fest is known to be one of the top country concerts with the hottest country artists. There will be a wide variety of outstanding talent at the 2008 Country Fest this coming summer that should not be missed. The 2008 lineup is fantastic. Kenny Chesney, who has been nominated for twenty six awards and has received eighteen, six of these awards have been for Entertainment of the Year, which is an outstanding accomplishment. Brooks and Dunn, who have received an astounding fifty-two awards, have just released a new album. Cowboy Town will be performing as well. Sugarland (who will also be attending) ended a six year reign as Vocal Duo of the year for Brooks and Dunn. Other big artists include American Idol contestant Kellie Picker, Miranda Lambert, Emerson Drive, Trace Adkins, and Billy Currington. Each Country Artist will include songs from both of their old and new albums. It is always exciting to hear their latest songs, but it’s even better to hear familiar songs to sing and dance along to. Many people would agree that Country Fest is the chance of a lifetime. Although it is a “different” kind of vacation, it is known to be an unforgettable experience. If you are a person that likes country music, can tolerate camping, likes to have a great time with friends, and is available from June 26th through June 28, 2008 than Country Fest is the place for you!
[edit] Cadott Wisconsin
The place where Country Fest is located, is in a little place called Cadott Wisconsin. Cadott Wisconsin was named after Jean Baptiste Cadotte, who was a famous fur trader. The town is located about 15 miles east of Chippewa Falls, WI and is located in one of the most gorgeous parts of Wisconsin. The town sits on the middle of the border of the Northern Hemisphere, which is located at the 45th parallel (a place that is right in the middle of the Northern Hemisphere and the Equator.) Many beautiful things are located here in Cadott Wisconsin. The Yellow river runs straight through the city and is one of the four main rivers located in Wisconsin. There are many other types of things that you can see around Cadott Wisconsin. There is beautiful scenery and woodlands that you can look at that present recreational things to do. There are also all sorts of rocks that are a site to see when in the city. Something that is very special to Cadott Wisconsin is that they possibly have the only remaining wooden butter churn. It might not seem like anything special, but to the older clubs and organizations in Wisconsin, it is. Cadott Wisconsin is very big on music festivals. They have two very popular music festivals during the summertime, which people from all over the Midwest attend. One of the festivals is called the Country Music Festival that features very famous country singers. Some singers that have performed in prior years include Carrie Underwood, Toby Keith, Montgomery Gentry, and much more! The festival is usually held around the end of June, so it is a nice break for many college students to go listen to their favorite country singers. The other music festival is called The Rock Festival that is usually held in mid July. Again, they feature very popular rock bands and performers. Some performers that they have featured in the past are: Kid Rock, Motley Crue, Poison, and many more. Both of these festivals are very popular things during the summer. Although Cadott Wisconsin has many features that may attract site-seers, the most well-known characteristic is that it is marked as a halfway point from the equator to the North Pole. Altogether Cadott Wisconsin is a place to be! It has many attractions for site-seers, music lovers, and even outdoorsmen. The city of Cadott Wisconsin is very proud to be located in such a prime spot. The city plans on celebrating is superior features for many years to come.
[edit] 2008 Featured Artists
- Thursday June 26th
5:00p.m. Whiskey Falls, 7:00p.m. Jason Michael Carroll, 9:00p.m. Billy Currington, 11:00p.m. Sugarland.
- Friday June 27th
3:00p.m. Bucky Covington, 5:00p.m. Kellie Pickler, 7:00p.m. Chris Cagle, 9:00p.m. Miranda Lambert, 11:00p.m. Brooks & Dunn.
- Saturday June 28th
3:00p.m. Jack Ingram, 5:00p.m. Danielle Peck, 7:00p.m. Emerson Drive, 9:00p.m. Dierks Bentley, 11:00p.m. Kenny Chesney.
- Sunday June 29th
2:30p.m. Luke Bryan, 4:30p.m. Steve Holy, 6:15p.m. Blake Shelton, 8:15p.m. Terri Clark, 10:30p.m. Trace Adkins.
[edit] Country Music Culture
Country music has evolved in a unique way over the past century. Starting in the 1920’s, country music has made some long strides with the American culture. Country music began networking through old-time radio growing in popularity with performers from all over the country, and fans from unparalleled amounts. This unique style of music and culture is a distinct form of self-conscious community of music entertainment that this author calls “country music culture.” Focusing on the culture of this individual society of music and entertainment, country music has continuously accumulated shared attitudes, values, traditions, beliefs, rituals, and ceremonial events. Country music has a wide variety of styles and forms including private jam sessions, traditional local sites such as VFW’s, neighborhood barn dances, and even small town get-togethers where you might find semi-professional gospel singers. This study specifically focuses on professional country music, which the author states as the commercial phenomenon promoted aggressively by business interests through print and electronic media, recordings, radio, network and cable television, movies, public occasions, festivals, theme parks, and tourist destinations. Although country music has been influenced by over eighty years of evolution and diversity, it has maintained a distinct and personal tone. Country music has also kept its form of the domestic social life. Singers and songwriters have embraced the social and technological modernity, the popular country music culture has a delightful imagination for perceiving the transcending negative effects of culture and life in the present. The social energy at country music concerts has been recognized by many. Gatherings at country concerts have been compared to extended family dinners. There is a certain sense of connectedness that concert goers have been recognized for. This action has been perceived as a sustained affection for social connectedness, possibly a cure for the segregated and individualistic characteristics we see in so many societies in today’s American Culture. Country music has been recognized by many as the popular expression of heart break, hard times and personal failure. Many stereotypical views of country music consist of the traditional American male expressing his hard times in life when adapting to the social norms or expectations of the rural society. While country music has a respectively solid form, musicians have found new and interesting ways of integrating today’s pop culture and many other forms of vocal and instrumental styles into their own music.
[edit] Camping At Country fest
The most fun and maybe the most important thing to do at Country Fest, is to camp. Although I could not find any articles in print on the subject of camping at Country Fest I found a really good book by Cliff Jacobson called Camping’s Top Secrets, that you could use at Country Fest. The book had many good points about camping in the wilderness but I will only talk about the ones that you will use at the festival itself.
Tents/ Setting up
When camping at the festival you will probably just use a ready-made nylon tent. But, here are some important ways on dealing with poor campsites. The list in the book said not to place tents too close to each other, this could cause rain to build up in the middle and flood in the chance of a storm. Also he talked about how you could use blow up mattresses or foam mats. I think another good idea would just be to bring a surplus of blankets and soft goods to sleep on. The book also had a lot of other good ideas that I think would go hand in hand with camping at Country Fest.
Beating Insects
Bugs and insects are a terrible nuisance and at Country Fest maybe really bad at times. The book stated a few good ways in protecting yourself from this; it said that insects are attracted to dark clothing, so wear light colors. Also, the book talked about different bug repellents and how they work, saying that bug sprays containing more Deet seem to work the best. The book also talked about bug nets and garments to keep the bugs away from your skin. The most frequent pest at the concert would be the mosquitoes, they love to bight at dusk and just after the rain. The weather at the festival if nice could provide a nice fun time but, if rainy and crappy would make it a nightmare.
Determining Weather
The book Camping’s Top Secrets, had a very good chapter on determining the weather without the use of radios or televisions. It had a lot of good ways in determining how the weather may be the next day, the next few hours, or right before a storm. I really enjoyed reading about this, and found it vary helpful, it gave some information about birds will get really loud before a storm but, won’t fly because of the low pressure. I found it very interesting to the wives tales he said were true like, “red skies at night, sailors delight, red skies in morning sailors take warning,” this referring to the color difference of low lying cloud cover. Overall, I did not find anything in the library to be pointing directly towards or topic “Country Fest,” I believe that this is very helpful to the people that would be attending it.
“Tent Only” Camping
Starting in 2008 there will be a new way to camp at Country Fest, its called “tent only.” This means that you cannot bring your car to this campground or any gas powered generators. This new kind of campsite was created in honor of a young lady who lost her life at Country Fest 2007, due to carbon monoxide poisoning. After this tragic event the people at Country fest wanted to create a “safer” way of camping and thus created the new “tent only” campsite.
[edit] External Links
[edit] References
Ellison, Curtis W. Country Music Culture: From Hard Times to Heaven. Univ. P of Mississippi. 03 Mar. 2008 <http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=P1qyHCmpT7EC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=country+music+concerts&ots=UdB-5LHfhK&sig=WlAJ1Ja1ja7qvjMaDNRQQvDkHPs#PPR17,M1>.
Gilbert, Calvin. "Sugarland Enjoys First Vocal Duo Victory, Taylor Swift Wins Horizon Award." CMT News. 2008. 13 Feb. 2008 <http://www.cmt.com/news/articles/1573763/20071107/underwood__carrie.jhtml
Henri. “Country-Eind Festival 2007. Danni Leigh (USA).”2007. 12 August 2007. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdCqSoLmOAY
Hoffman, Greg. "cadott Marks Halfway Point of Northern Hemisphere." OnMilwakee 27 Nov. 2006. 25 Feb. 2008 <http://www.onmilwakee.com/visitors/articles/beyondcadott.html>
Jacobson, Cliff. Camping’s Top Secrets: a Lexicon of Camping Tips Only The Experts Know. Old Saybrook, Conn.: Globe Pequot, c2006.
SitePro. “Get excited for country fest 2008.”2008. January 2008. http://www.countryfest.com/index.cfm
U.S. Geological Survey. “WI HomeTownLocator.”2007. October 2007. http://wisconsin.hometownlocator.com/References.cfm
