Festival joy in Pukekohe
New Zealand’s biggest country music festival, headlined by two major international acts, is fast approaching, and it’s happening in Pukekohe.
The inaugural Stampede Music Festival, headlined by American Idol winner, Scotty McCreery, and two-time Grammy award winner LeAnn Rimes, will take place at Pukekohe Park Raceway on March 4.
Vintage trucks, hay bales, mechanical bulls, and pulled pork will all help to transform the venue into the North Island’s very own Texas.
Event organisers Greg Mosen and Sue Mosen opted to establish the festival at Pukekohe Park Raceway - located between Hamilton and Auckland, as a means of influencing people out of the city and into the country-themed music festival.
‘‘The plan with Stampede was to bring a type of country festival to an out of Auckland destination, so we chose Pukekohe because the race track is ideal. The reason we wanted it out of Auckland, was because we wanted to cater for the greater Waikato and those in Auckland as well,’’ said Greg Mosen.
Along side headlines, McCreery and Rimes, festivalgoers can also expect to see popular New Zealand performers Brendan Dugan, Gray Bartlett and Eddie Lowe.
Other acts include Cooper’s Run, Jody Direen and The Warratahs.
There’ll also be motorhome and caravan parking set up for people to stay the night.