Hunter Mountain in New York recently hosted the 3rd annual Taste of Country Festival. For the gorgeous summer weekend, ski boots were traded in for cowboy boots as the resort was taken over by some of country music’s best fans and artists. Attendees had the option of camping right at the mountain or coming in daily. Many, like us, stayed at some of the gorgeous bed and breakfasts and hotels in local towns. Those who camped were treated to a special Thursday Night Campground Party featuring Rachel Lipsky, Dylan Scott and LOCASH.
The Festival kicked off Friday afternoon with Lipsky taking the main stage at 2:00 pm for the second of her three sets that weekend. The mountain was already pretty crowded, filled with campers who had stayed over Thursday night and those who came up early on Friday. Those who didn’t camp were glad they were able to catch the ‘Bones’ singer. She kicked the weekend off right, getting the crowd excited for the non-stop stream of talent to follow for the next three days.
Up next was one of the performers I was most excited to see for the weekend, Logan Mize. His song, ‘Can’t Get Away from a Good Time’ has been my jam of the Spring and Summer and it was awesome to get to hear it live. Despite having a bit of a bum leg due to a calf injury, Logan fought through and put on a show that did not disappoint.
One of the most exciting parts of the entire festival came from LOCASH. The duo brought the energy of the festival even higher with an awesome lineup. The set hit a little bit of everything from a reggae jam to ZZ Top’s ‘Tush’ to all of their hits including ‘Hey Hey Hey’ that had everyone screaming along. They slowed it down a bit with ‘Shipwrecked,’ a rock ballad they said they hope will be a single in the near future. They also said that, according to iTunes statistics, New York is the state that buys the most of their music. As a thank you, they played a brand new song called ‘What We Got.’
Colt Ford later took the stage to a thunderous applause. The mountain had really filled up as people who traveled up Friday after work were now at the Festival excited to get their weekend started. Ford used a shotgun with an American flag on it as a microphone stand as he rocked all of his hits. He paid homage to traditional hip-hop with a cover of Eminem’s ‘Lose Yourself’ that had the crowd rapping along. LOCASH came back out to join him on the crowd-favorite ‘Dirt Road Anthem.’
Even after all these amazing acts Day 1 was still just getting started. Eli Young Band took the stage a little early due to pending storms. No one complained as there was so much excitement in the air for this awesome act. Before each act a short interview with each artist or group would play on the jumbotrons on both sides of the stage. Eli Young Band’s was one of the more memorable ones as the group discussed the “dad bod” phenomenon. After the video the “four proud dad bods” took the stage. The sun was setting over the mountain and made a beautiful backdrop for their performance.
The beautiful sunset was followed by a storm quickly rolling in. The Festival did a great job of clearing the field. Buses brought people to a local school and fans also took shelter in the lodge at the mountain to stay safe from the lightning. The worst of the storm passed and the mountain filled back up with fans anxious for the night’s headliner, Keith Urban, who came on around 11pm. It was still drizzling when Urban took the stage, opening with ‘You Gonna Fly.’ One of the highlights of his set was ‘John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16,’ on which Urban actually plays a bass guitar. Throughout the set he lived up to his reputation as one of the greatest guitar players alive. Urban continued something he had on last summer’s tour bringing up local singers to do Miranda Lambert’s part on ‘We Were Us.’ Despite the delay Urban played a packed set of over 15 songs that left fans excited for the next couple days.
Saturday was the biggest day of the festival with almost 12 full hours of music. The day kicked off with Amanda Watkins on the main stage. Watkins, formerly of Miss Willie Brown, picked the energy right up where it left off the night before. Up next was Oregon native Jackson Michelson. Michelson’s set was a reminder why you always get to festivals on time. Sometimes the acts you had never heard of are some of the best of the day. His set had everything from originals to Destiny’s Child covers. If you haven’t already, check out his single, ‘The Good Life,’ which has been recommended by the likes of Cole Swindell and Lee Brice.
Chase Bryant was up next. The rising star showed why many regard him as the next mega country star. From great songs, to amazing guitar playing and vocals, to straight up good hair, he is the real deal. Rocking ‘Jet Black Pontiac’ to the ballad ‘Change Your Name,’ the set had a bit of everything and fans loved it. Him and his band had enthusiastic energy on stage and it is quite obvious why Tim McGraw chose to bring him out on the Shotgun Rider tour.
Country legend Tracy Lawrence took the stage after Bryant. Some fans had spent the early afternoon hanging out in the campground or checking out some of the awesome activities on the mountain like zip lining, however, by the time Lawrence took the stage, the field was pack with everyone super excited to see him! At one point, a fan threw a cassette tape of his 1991 album ‘Sticks and Stones’ on stage for him to sign. Almost 25 years after his first number 1, his incredible, distinctive voice has not changed. Towards the end of his set, Tim McGraw joined him on stage for one of the festival’s best moments. Tim, still in gym clothes from one of his famous workouts, snuck up behind Lawrence during ‘Find Out Who Your Friends Are’ and paired up with him for their massive hit.
Lawrence was just the beginning of an entertaining evening of music. Easton Corbin and his band brought another energetic set to Hunter Mountain. Corbin has a great stage presence and his band clearly feels right at home in front of a crowd. It was clear they were having a blast on stage and the fans joined right in on the fun. One of the coolest parts was when he let each of his band members ‘introduce’ themselves by playing a solo representing where they come from during a cover of, appropriately, Alan Jackson’s ‘Where I Come From.’ The band also pranked him by going into TLC’s ‘Waterfalls’ as he was introducing a medley of his favorite songs he grew up on.
Like Eaton Corbin, the next artist, Billy Currington, has so many hits it wasn’t uncommon to hear fans go ‘oh I forgot he sang this song’. In addition to his extensive list of number ones, Currington played some new songs off his album, ‘Summer Forever.’ We really enjoyed the version of ‘We Are Tonight,’ which had everyone clapping along during the stripped down introduction.
Before the headliner for the festival took the stage, a video played introducing Kenny Chesney as the 2016 headliner for what will be the 4th annual Taste of Country Music Festival. The crowd went absolutely insane at the announcement!
Tim McGraw was the seventh act to take the main stage Saturday, truly a day packed with talent. After opening with ‘Truck Yeah,’ which really brought the energy level up, it became an instant singalong to ‘Something Like That.’ From there, fans did not stop singing along and having an awesome in-the-moment experience as Tim played an amazing set consisting of a mix of the classics and new songs. Fans really appreciated a lot of the older songs such as ‘Indian Outlaw’ and ‘Where The Green Grass Grows,’ which made them Tim fans some 15-20 years ago!
Sunday kicked off with British singer-songwriter Sasha McVeigh, who really made a great impression on the crowd. Not sure if he was impressed with her set that day, or if it had been planned in advance, but Sunday’s headliner, Toby Keith, had McVeigh come back out to sing the National Anthem before his set.
Western Underground, Chris LeDoux’s former tour band, took the stage next. 10 years after Chris’ passing, the band continues to tour and carry on Chris’ legacy. The band did him justice and once again, festival attendees showed the breadth of their country music knowledge singing along with many of the songs in the set.
Up next was my personal favorite set of the weekend, the Josh Abbott Band (which is saying a lot because all the performers were incredible). If you have not seen them you need to make it a point to do so. Even though we were on a huge field in the middle of a mountain range with the sun up, hearing the band transformed you to a small town bar. The band made everyone feel comfortable and at-home as they played. One moment that did draw you out of that small feeling was when the band brought a t-shirt gun on stage and launched merchandise into the crowd. As the band played ‘She’s Like Texas,’ there was some cheering to the left of the stage. Turning to see what it was, we realized that a couple had just gotten engaged! A very special moment, and a great song to do it to, it just added another memory to an amazing weekend.
The beautiful Sara Evans followed. Fans were ecstatic to see yet another megastar take the stage. With her voice sounding as good in person as it does on albums, the talented Evans continued the trend of the festival being one giant sing along. There were a lot of attendees who had no voice when they got back to work on Monday and ‘Born to Fly’ and ‘Suds In The Bucket’ from Ms. Evans’ set certainly played a large role in that.
Jerrod Niemann and his band, the Hung Jury, went out of his way to make sure that even after a long weekend in the sun, fans were not going to slow down the energy. They took the stage throwing koozies and t-shirts into the crowd. You know you are in for a good set when there is a set of bongos on the stage! Overall, it was the super fun set you would expect from the singer of ‘Drink To That All Night’ and ‘Donkey.’ The latter, for example, had the banjo player wearing a donkey mask as he played.
The abundance of patriotic apparel (even for a country concert) throughout Sunday could only mean one thing: Toby Keith was coming! He took the stage a few minutes early due to another incoming storm. As talked about above, Sasha McVeigh came out with a military honor guard before the set to perform the National Anthem. Shortly after that, Toby and his band took the stage, opening with ‘Haven’t Had a Drink All Day’ and getting everyone up and dancing like it was Friday afternoon. There is a reason Toby is known for his live shows and he was the perfect act to end an incredible weekend of country music. Not one person left early, as everyone stuck around for his entire set. During ‘A Little Less Talk And A Lot More Action,’ he let his horn section “The Knuckleheads” absolutely jam, which was a blast for all involved. Sadly all good things must come to an end, but if they must, I can’t think of a better way than with Toby’s traditional patriotic encore of ‘American Soldier’ and ‘Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue.’
It was an amazing weekend with some of the biggest artists of yesterday, today and tomorrow all in one beautiful place. The festival was incredibly well run and we can’t thank Hunter Mountain and Taste of Country enough for their hospitality. Next year’s festival, featuring Kenny Chesney, will be held June 10-12, so be sure to check the festival website for ticket info.