Toby Keith, Eric Church headline festival
Flag-waving country superstar Toby Keith and country- rock outlaw Eric Church will headline next year’s Country Thunder in Calgary, which will run Aug. 17 to 19 at Prairie Winds Park.
The lineup for the festival was announced Thursday morning in Calgary. Keith will play Saturday, Aug. 18, and Church will play Sunday, Aug. 19. Friday’s headliner will be announced at a later date.
Other acts confirmed for Calgary include Lindsay Ell, Hunter Brothers, Madeline Merlo, Dean Brody, Jess Maskaluke and Bryan White.
“The headliners are the names at the top of the marquee and they are the ones that deserve the most careful consideration,” says Gerry Krochak, director of marketing and media relations for Country Thunder Music Festivals. “Big headline acts are where it all begins and the process begins well over a year in advance. We listen to what the fans say.”
This will be the third time Calgary has hosted Country Thunder, which also holds festivals in Saskatchewan, Wisconsin and Arizona.
Keith, who has sold 40 million records and has had 21 No. 1 country hits, was one of the headliners in Craven, Sask., last summer. After the country superstar ended his set, he made his way to the beer garden. That’s where he joined the band on stage in an epic, 15-minute version of Cocaine, Krochak said.
“You get different things at festivals in terms of the joy and spontaneity of what’s possible,” Krochak says. “It’s a little different than your average arena show. Music in the outdoors and not knowing what’s going to happen next are a big part of it.”
Church was announced as a 2018 Calgary headliner in August during Country Thunder. He played the city in March, where he put on an intimate show at the Scotiabank Saddledome after it was determined that heavy snowfall had added too much weight on the roof to hold Church’s lighting and video rigs.
“He’s become one of the top three or four names in country music,” Krochak says. “He became somewhat of a legend in Calgary. He’s an authentic artist in a time when there’s way more pop than country with some pop-country stars. He loves this city. His show here last March when they had the snow troubles with the roof at the Saddledome, he just flat out refused to cancel that show and had the balls to stand on stage by himself for pretty much solo acoustic, off-the-cuff show.”
Beyond the headliners, the lineup also includes both veterans such as Canadian superstar Dean Brody and U.S. country artist Bryan White as well as up-andcoming stars. That includes Calgary expat Lindsay Ell, who now lives in Nashville and is making waves with her album The Project; Saskatchewan’s Hunter Brothers; B.C. singer-songwriter Madeline Merlo and Saskatchewan countrypop singer Jess Moskaluke.
“The key with any great festival lineup is you have a balance of the hottest up-and-coming acts, keep an eye on some really hot Canadian talent, and some of the heritage acts that has stood the test of time,” Krochak says.
“That gives you the well-rounded lineup. It’s not always about seeing your favourite band, it’s about discovering your new favourite band.”