There wasn’t a cloud in sight on the festival’s opening day, Friday, when a sold-out crowd basking in the late-summer heat celebrated Country Thunder’s return to Alberta for the first time since 2019.
Friday’s lineup included Canadian Country Music Award winners McKenzie Porter and High Valley, American Idol alum Laci Kaye Booth, Texan Granger Smith and headliner Lee Brice.
“The artists were doing their job, but it was really about the fans, 21,000 of them.” said Country Thunder spokesman Gerry Krochak. “It was just fantastic. An amazing sight.
“It’s like we’ve never been away.”
The event is being held at Fort Calgary for the first time, moving from its previous location at Prairie Winds Park in northeast Calgary, which has allowed the festival to increase capacity and made it possible to book higher profile acts this year.
“This historic site is a home for us,” Krochak said.
Saturday’s lineup includes Aaron Goodwin, Phil Vassar, Blanco Brown, Hardy and headliner Morgan Wallen.
Tickets for the three days are sold out.
On Friday, organizers tweeted that those taking an Uber or dropping off at the festival should ask the driver to drop them off at the designated 6th Avenue carpool zone.
They have also closed advance wristband pickup at the National Music Center so that all wristbands can be picked up at the front gates.
Kroczak said that despite the heat and the packed house and high spirits, Friday’s crowd was “pretty well behaved.”
For weekend festival-goers, he advised allowing a little extra time to get to the site. There are city garages and parking lots throughout downtown, and cyclists can park around 6th Street SE and 8 Ave.
High Valley at Country Thunder on August 19, 2022 (Photo [email protected] @dalemphoto)
