BOOT SCOOTIN’ BASH
Rounding up the best picks of Country Thunder 2017
Are you ready for the country? They’re calling it “one of the greatest lineups ever assembled” in the state of Arizona. And by they, I mean the folks at Country Thunder. The formerly local Dierks Bentley, Blake “The Voice” Shelton (who also headlined in 2015), Thomas Rhett and Chris Young are set to headline Arizona’s biggest country-music festival, which takes place Thursday, April 6, through Sunday, April 9, in Florence. Here’s a guide to those headlining acts, as well as a handful of critic’s picks, ranging from a young female duo Spin magazine thinks could fill the Taylor Swift void to ‘80s pop crossover stars the Oak Ridge Boys.
THURSDAY Headliner: Chris Young
It’s been 11 years since Young became a Nashville star by winning “Nashville Star.” Since then, he’s sent five singles to the top of Billboard’s country chart — “Gettin’ You Home (The Black Dress Song),” “The Man I Want to Be,” “Voices,” “Tomorrow” and “You.” And he’s gone platinum with a few that didn’t even make it to the top – “Aw Naw,” “Who I Am With You” and “I’m Comin’ Over.” The last of those was also featured as the title track of Young’s first album to debut at No. 1 on Billboard’s country chart. 10 p.m. Thursday.
Don’t miss: LoCash
These guys were one of last year’s Country Thunder standouts. As I noted at the time: “Watching LoCash, it’s easy to see how Chris Lucas and Preston Brust became so tight with (Chris) Janson, who came out to join them on ‘I Love This Life.’ They have the same sort of loopy charisma, although their sound is often closer to the country-pop side of the tracks. They joke with the crowd about seeing way too many Speedos at the campsite and introduce a rousing ‘Drunk Drunk’ by noting that sometimes you get to overthinking a song and ‘We did not do that at all with this song.’” Their hits include “I Love This Life” and “I Know Somebody,” which topped the country airplay charts last year. 8 p.m. Thursday.
Also playing Thursday: Brandon Ray (3:30 p.m.), Jackson Michelson (5 p.m.), Terri Clark (6:30 p.m.).
FRIDAY Headliner: Dierks Bentley
This Phoenix native has topped the country chart with six of eight studio albums since moving to Nashville to launch a career, including last year’s “Black,” which also sent a platinum smash called “Somewhere on a Beach” to No. 1 on Billboard’s country songs chart. “Somewhere” is the star’s third platinum single, following two from his previous effort, “Riser” (“I Hold On” and “Drunk on a Plane,” a song that looms so large in Bentley’s legend that it now ends all his concerts). Other hits include chart-toppers “What Was I Thinkin’,” “Come a Little Closer,” “Feel That Fire,” “Sideways,” “Am I the Only One,” “Home” and “5-1-5-0.” Before he gets to Country Thunder, Bentley returns to the ACM Awards to co-host with Luke Bryan. 10 p.m. Friday.
Highlight: Maddie & Tae
They made a name for themselves in 2014 with banjo-driven answer song to the bro-country movement called “Girl in a Country Song.” “I hear you over there on your tailgate whistlin’,” they sing. “Sayin’, ‘Hey girl’ / But you know I ain’t listenin’ / ‘Cause I got a name / And to you it ain’t ‘pretty little thing’, ‘honey’ or ‘baby.’” That single went platinum, topping Billboard’s country airplay chart. And they followed through with a second Top 10 single, “Fly,” from an aptly titled debut, “Start Here.” Spin responded to the album with “Maddie & Tae’s emergence conveniently arrives in the wake of Taylor Swift’s departure from country, a 2015 radio landscape still dominated by male-driven nostalgic remembrances of tailgates past. Maddie & Tae … provide a much-needed teen-girl perspective.” 6:30 p.m. Friday.
Also playing Friday: Gunnar & the Grizzly Boys (2:30 p.m.), Runaway June (3:30 p.m.), Aaron Watson (5 p.m.), Jon Pardi (8 p.m.).
SATURDAY Headliner: Thomas Rhett
Rhett co-wrote a song on Jason Aldean’s triple-platinum smash “My Kinda Party” and released his own first single – the Top 20 country hit “Something to Do with My Hands” – two years later in 2012. Since then, seven of his songs have topped the country airplay charts. The biggest-selling of those hits – “It Goes Like This” and “Die a Happy Man” – went double-platinum. Four others – “Get Me Some of That,” “Make Me Wanna,” “Crash and Burn” and “T-Shirt” – were certified platinum. If that seems like a lot of hits in a very short time, that may explain why he won Country Artist of the Year at the 2017 iHeartRadio Music Awards. 10 p.m. Saturday.
Recommended: Joe Nichols
A former country DJ, Nichols topped the country songs chart in 2002 with second single “Brokenheartsville” after losing steam at No. 3 with his previous single, “The Impossible.” He returned to the top in 2005 with “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off” and again in 2010 with a single called “Gimmie That Girl.” More recently, he topped the country airplay charts with “Sunny and 75” and “Yeah.” 8 p.m. Saturday.
Also playing Saturday: Dorado (2:30 p.m.), Ryan Hurd (3:30 p.m.), Randy Rogers Band (5 p.m.), Frankie Ballard (6:30 p.m.).
SUNDAY Headliner: Blake Shelton
Shelton may be best known in the mainstream as the leader of Team Blake on NBC’s “The Voice.” But he’s bringing a truckload of huge country hits to the party, including the 13 tracks that topped the Billboard country songs chart -- “Austin,” “The Baby,” “Some Beach,” “Home,” “She Wouldn’t Be Gone,” “Hillbilly Bone,” “All About Tonight,” “Who Are You When I’m Not Looking,” “Honey Bee,” “God Gave Me You,” “Drink on It,” “Over” and “Sure Be Cool If You Did.” His latest album, “If I’m Honest,” topped the country charts in May and sent two singles -- “Came Here to Forget” and “A Guy With a Girl” – to No. 1 on Billboard’s country airplay charts. He’s won Male Vocalist of the Year five times and Entertainer of the Year twice at the CMA Awards. 9 p.m. Sunday.
Blast from the past: Oak Ridge Boys
Can I get a “Giddy up a-oom poppa oom poppa mow mow?” The Oak Ridge Boys crossed over in a big way in the early ‘80s, going Top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 while topping the country charts as well with their platinum remake of the Dallas Frazier cut “Elvira.” A year later, they crossed over one more time with a track called “Bobbie Sue” that was clearly recorded to capitalize of the ‘50s rock vibe of “Elvira.” In a good way. And those are just two of the Oak Ridge Boys hits that topped the country charts, from the wistful “I’ll Be True to You” (1978) to “No Matter How High” (1989). They were inducted to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2015 (and covered the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” in 1989, with the riff reworked as doo-wopflavored vocal part). 5:30 p.m. Sunday.
Also playing Sunday: LANCO (2:30 p.m.), High Valley (4 p.m.), Tyler Farr (7 p.m.).