The 2015 Kicker Country Stampede begins Thursday night at Tuttle Creek State Park. With the festival just days away, preparations are in full swing out at the site. A semi-trailer loaded with stage parts was being unloaded, the tents are up in what will be the VIP dining area, and the rest of the equipment is making it’s way to town.
This year’s festival marks it’s 20th anniversary. The four-day country music event brings thousands of fans and top entertainers into Manhattan on the last weekend of June, and has grown since it’s beginning as a two-day event in 1996. VIP seating sold out, and there were just a few campsites remaining. There is high demand to attend this party “twenty years in the making”.
Five-time CMA Male Vocalist of the Year winner Blake Shelton will headline the event on Saturday night, while duo Florida Georgia Line wraps up Friday night. Newcomer Thomas Rhett and veteran artist Travis Tritt will finish off Thursday and Sunday, respectively. The rest of the weekend lineup includes Sara Evans, Craig Morgan, Love and Theft, Kansas native Jerrod Niemann, and others.
With the arrival of the stage and equipment, the park has been turned over to the Stampede, and campers are already setting up in the campgrounds. Record rains in May have caused flooding issues, with some areas still under water. But one group of campers noted that things weren’t as bad as they expected.
There’s water standing down there on the other side”, said Charles Moody. “It’s better than I expected, honestly”, he said.
Moody, along with fellow campers Shannon Moody, Austin Platt, Adam Lee, and Cody Thiebald arrived at Tuttle Creek Sunday morning, and plan to stay through next Sunday night. Their campsite is more like a mini-compound, featuring five campers and a van. Despite living in Manhattan, the group reported they are Stampede camping veterans. “We’ve camped the last twelve years, easy”, said Shannon. “This is our 19th Stampede”. As for which show they’re most looking forward to, the group was split between Shelton and Rhett.
Currently, the forecast calls for chances of showers Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. But that didn’t deter Charles and his fellow campers.
“It’s not Stampede without rain”, he said.
