This story originally ran on July 6. TBnewswatch is running it again in case you missed it.
THUNDER BAY – Organizers of one of the biggest music events in the city are preparing for the biggest year yet with the help of some of country music’s best-known stars.
Country on the Bay, set for the weekend of July 19 to 21 at Fort William Historical Park, is bringing in more than 15 country music artists including headliners Blake Shelton, Dallas Smith, and Trace Adkins.
“This year we’ve kind of stepped it up with the bands,” said Country on the Bay president and co-producer Dave Allen.
“We went above and beyond of what we normally see in Thunder Bay bringing in Blake Shelton and even Trace Adkins, who came a long time ago, and some American bands that we just don’t have the facilities for them.”
The music festival has grown significantly since its early days in Murillo when it first started and Allen said that is because of the support of the fans.
“It seems to have grown every year,” he said. “We get a good response from the patrons and everybody and we hope to grow it every year.”
This will be the biggest year for Country on the Bay and organizers have invested substantial sums of money into bringing world renowned country music artists to the city.
“We spent $2.5 million on acts this year compared to $1 million last year, so we’ve spent a lot more money this year on acts,” Allen said.
Allen said they are expecting approximately 8,000 people to attend the festival and while Country on the Bay has grown every year, there might not be enough room for further growth in the future.
The venue at Fort William Historical Park is the only area in the city that provides the space and infrastructure needed to hold an event of this size.
“There’s really nothing bigger that has the infrastructure, with the power, the parking, there’s really nothing else that could work,” Allen said.
“The marina is smaller venue wise and area wise. Unfortunately, there’s nothing bigger we can move to. We are capped at about a 12,000 capacity. Even at 12,000 that’s pretty jam packed in there.”
Tickets first went on sale last November and VIP passes sold out quickly. Regular weekend passes are still available for $299. A two-day hybrid pass was also made available in July for $275.
Allen said because of the cost of bringing in such high calibre acts, they could not offer one-day passes.
“Ticket sales aren’t bad. They have their spurts,” Allen said. “It’s not where we want it to be this close to the festival, but we are hoping it gets strong toward the end. The VIP sold out right away and the general tickets have been going and we are hoping to fill the place to make it a successful event.”
There will be numerous food vendors available, as well as off-site camping and shuttle services. But it’s the big names in country music that are drawing in fans from across the country and the United States.
“There’s a different mixture of music from old to the newer country to local talent,” Allen said. “We have three local bands kicking off each day. It has a little bit of everything.”
For the full lineup and to buy tickets visit the Country on the Bay website.
