The thunder rolls again next weekend.
That’s not a weather report.
Country Thunder, Osceola Heritage Park’s newest annual blowout country music festival, barrels back into Osceola County — finally! — Sept. 10-12.
We will welcome country luminaries Old Dominion, Dierks Bentley and Eric Church as the headliners, along with a cast of many other great musical acts.
It’s the fourth set of dates for Country Thunder. Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, the second big-time OHP event, following the inaugural back in March 2019, was originally scheduled for March 27- 29. That’s right when COVID-19 took hold. It was moved to October 2020, then March of this year, then to the weekend after next. The 2022 event will also return in September.
And if you bought tickets for any of those dates, hold tight to them, as they’re good for this month’s concert.
“Next to nobody asked for refunds,” said Country T h u n d e r Director of Marketing Gerry Krochak. “We’re going to be a near sellout. We surpassed 2019’s numbers long ago.”
In 2019, the show debuted in Osceola County, and Toby Keith, Luke Bryan and Luke Combs headlined a show that Krochak said “had a great vibe,” and this year will just build on that.
Krochak and OHP officials confirmed next week’s event will be at full capacity. Ticket packages, a few with RV camping options thanks to OHP acquiring more space in the last 18 months, are available at CountryThunder.com.
Robb Larson, General Manager of OHP/ASM Global, said everyone at the event complex is “just excited to gather together and hear some music.”
“We’re pleased to have more space this year to allow the festival to grow,” he said. “I was very impressed in the loyalty we’ve had from the artists, so it’s going to be a great weekend, and we’ll be outside.”
OHP has its safety protocols in place, Larson said, noting the Silver Spurs Arena hosted a Latin concert last weekend without a hitch.
Aside from swapping Old Dominion for Kane Brown, one of only a few acts with a schedule conflict, Krochak said it’s been easy to keep the performers engaged and part of Country Thunder.
“They’re like the rest of us, they haven’t been able to perform in public,” he said. “And they want to get paid. This is one of Eric Church’s best markets. We’re going to grow great in this market.
“We’ve had two very good shows this year in Iowa (June) and Wisconsin (July) this summer. Everyone wants to have live shows, and we were not going to do it until it’s safe. I think we learned, it’s in our DNA to gather and cheer. I don’t think we’ll ever take that for granted. You can’t Zoom Country Thunder. I’ve never gotten goosebumps from watching a show on my laptop.”
Krochak said virus protocols will be in place. Those include eliminating “meet and greets” with the talent, as face-to-face meetings are being cut back.
“We will follow the letter of the law when it comes to the CDC and local officials. If you’re someone who wants to wear a mask and hang back, you can do that,” he said. “If you want to go up in front and party on with your beer, you can do that. We’ve had hand sanitizer out for years, nobody used it.”
Here’s a look at the stacked lineup of artists:
Friday, Sept. 10 — Nolan Still (2 p.m.), Meghan Patrick, Dallas Smith, Lonestar, Lee Brice, Old Dominion (scheduled for 10 pm.); Saturday, Sept.11 —
Saturday, Sept.11 — Jenny Tolman (2 p.m.), Ernest, Tensile Townes, Sawyer Brown. Lanco, Eric Church (10 p.m.);
Sunday, Sept. 12 — Payton Smith (1:45 p.m.), Kameron Marlowe, Jon Langston, Parker Mccollum, Russell Dickerson, Dierks Bentley (9 p.m.).
