SUNFEST COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL
Featuring: Darius Rucker, Kip Moore, Randy Bachman, Hardy, Orville Peck, and more
Where: Laketown Ranch Music and Recreation Park, 8811-2 Youbou Rd., Lake Cowichan
When: Thursday through Sunday, July 28-31
Tickets: $61.95-$240.45 daily; $282.45-$838.95 for a weekend pass from sunfestconcerts.com
The Sunfest country music festival, the third and biggest of three multi-day events at Laketown Ranch this summer, officially gets underway Thursday night with 10 performances on two stages.
Movement has been underway for two days, however, as eager campers mapped out what will be their temporary home for the better part of the week. Many attendees camping on site took advantage of the Lake Cowichan festival’s early load-in option this year.
Upward of 200 sites were occupied Tuesday, with another 600 sites readied on Wednesday. The most dedicated fans will have spent six days on site by the time they load out Monday.
Some camping spots are still available for latecomers, according to festival manager Mike Hann, but he expects those will be gone once music on the festival’s three stages is fully underway Friday. “We’re feeling great heading into this weekend,” Hann said.
“We are two festivals in and running like a well-oiled machine.”
Darius Rucker of Hootie and the Blowfish fame is this year’s headliner, and 9,000 fans should be in the concert bowl area for the Grammy Award winner’s anticipated Saturday set, according to Hann. That adds to what has been a very busy mainstage area at Laketown Ranch in recent weeks, with performances by the Wu-Tang Clan, Arkells and the Glorious Sons at Laketown Shakedown (June 30-July 2) and John Fogerty and Tom Cochrane at Laketown Rock (July 22-23).
Sunfest appears poised to better the attendance of its brethren, attendance-wise. More than 50 performances are on tap, including a few big ones. Hardy, the U.S. country star who was named songwriter of the year by the Academy of Country Music in March, is poised to close out the festival in grand style Sunday.
When the event wraps, Hann said it will be strange to not have another event on site until next summer. “It has been a lot, managing three events. The different moving parts with all that, it’s a juggling act, for sure.”
Busy schedule aside, many of the site improvements have enriched the customer experience and made Hann’s job much easier. “For those who have never been here, we’re getting a lot of great feedback on the experience. There are festival curveballs that get thrown at you, but we feel great about how the site is flowing and looking.”
Among the curveballs this year was the late cancellation of Billy Currington, who backed out less than two weeks ago. Currington, who was due to headline Friday, has been replaced on the schedule by Randy Bachman of the Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive fame.
“We’re really happy that we were able to sign him with such short notice, which in this day and age is not an easy thing to do,” Hann said. “Over the years, we’ve seen a lot of country acts on our stage covering his music to great fanfare, so we’re really excited.”
Temperatures in the Cowichan Valley are expected to top 30 C this weekend, but the 260-acre multi-use Sunfest site is well-equipped to handle a heatwave. Shade tents, misting locations and water stations will be available throughout Laketown Ranch. Drinking water comes from a natural aquifer located directly under Laketown Ranch.
“We don’t charge for water,” Hann said. “If people bring a plastic reusable water bottle, they are set.”
The festival also offers RV pump-outs for revellers who are staying for an extended period in one of the RV areas. “These are little things which make their stay comfortable, especially if it is hot,” Hann said.
mdevlin@timescolonist.com
