Music

2019 Summer Festival Season: Here’s What to Look For

V1 Staff |

TRAMPLED BY TURTLES
TRAMPLED BY TURTLES

Blue Ox Music Festival

June 13-15 • Whispering Pines Campground, Eau Claire • Tickets: $80-$215 • We already went over this a few pages back, but this fifth anniversary year of Blue Ox looks to be one of the best they’ve ever thrown. Whispering Pines Campground – pine trees, sunsets, and all – is a perfectly idyllic setting for this eclectic collection of the genre’s finest performers. Blue Ox mainstays like Pert Near Sandstone (the festival’s co-organizers), Sam Bush, and the Del McCoury Band will be back to kick off the Chippewa Valley’s festival season, and they’ve added some cool newcomers to the mix, with a notable first-time appearance by Trampled By Turtles.

HOWARD “GUITAR” LUEDTKE
HOWARD “GUITAR” LUEDTKE

Northwoods Blues Festival

June 21-22 • Riverfront Park, Chippewa Falls • Tickets: $35-$210 • After a significant move to Chippewa Falls’ beautiful new amphitheater in Riverfront Park, the Northwoods Blues Festival – which originated in Spooner a few years ago – is ready to blow the doors off during its two-day celebration of all things blues. Get ready for ecstatic summer vibes with beloved blues tunes from a lineup chock full of rockers from all over the region like Corky Siegel, Bernard Allison, and local legend Howard “Guitar” Luedtke.

COUNTRY FEST
COUNTRY FEST

Country Fest

June 26-29 • Festival Grounds, Cadott • Tickets: $95-$595 • Year after year after year (in fact it’s more like 30+ years), Cadott staple Country Fest has brought tons of seriously huge names in country music to our fair Valley, and there’s no sign it will stop anytime soon. This year’s all about sunshine and good times with a killer lineup of country stars like Little Big Town, Sugarland, and Luke Bryan. Get ready to raise a cup with tons of friends in the perfect setting for an awesome country festival like this.

Rock Fest

July 18-20 • Festival Grounds, Cadott • Tickets: $99-$575 • Many years ago, the rock gods blessed a patch of land in central Wisconsin, saw that it was good, and every year since, Rock Fest has brought undeniable rock ’n’ roll legends to the Chippewa Valley. This year is no exception as Rock Fest and its community of widespread rock fans welcome the likes of Rob Zombie, Evanescence, and Marilyn Manson to continue the legend. Add to that a few killer tribute bands, tattoo parlors aplenty, and even a chapel of love, and you’ll get it: Rock Fest is not to be missed.

CHRIS KROEZE
CHRIS KROEZE

Country Jam

July 18-20 • Foster Farms, Eau Claire • Tickets: $99-$4,000 • For the annual celebration of all things country – from the cowboy boots to the beer – Jam is a country lover’s dream, and it’s just a couple of miles outside Eau Claire. 2019 continues Country Jam’s legacy of garnering huge names in country music to celebrate summer in our own backyard. This year they’ve got Toby Keith, Jake Owen, and Maren Morris at the top of the bill, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. And you might’ve heard the name Chris Kroeze in the last few months at some point? Yeah, The Voice runner-up and Barron native will be performing at Jam as well. For the pure Wisconsinite inside you, there’s nothing quite like Country Jam.

OneFest

July 26-28 • Northern Wisconsin State Fairgrounds, Chippewa Falls • Tickets: $48-$100 (Children under 10 FREE) • Last year saw the addition of Onefest to the Valley’s landscape of big music festivals. The family-friendly Christian music festival brings some big names in contemporary Christian music to perform alongside local acts. This year the festival– which is truly a community effort – got Newsboys to stop by the Valley, rounded out with the likes of Carrolton, Tru Serva, The Young Escape, Building 429, and more performing in Chippewa Falls.

Blues On The Chippewa 

August 2-4 • Downtown Durand • Tickets: FREE • Every summer before the dog days rear their head, Durand preps an awesome three-day blues festival with two stages and tons of great regional and local blues acts.

ASHLEY FOR THE ARTS
ASHLEY FOR THE ARTS

Ashley for the Arts

August 8-10 • Memorial Park, Arcadia • Tickets: $15 • Every year, Ashley Furniture throws a huge three-day party and gives tons of money to non-profits to celebrate their success in their hometown of Arcadia. Ashley For The Arts always sports one of the most interesting lineup of musical headliners in the Valley, and 2019 continues that trend with acts including Lady Antebellum, 3 Doors Down, Brother Osborne, .38 Special, Billy Ray Cyrus – and yeah, our man Chris Kroeze. Go see some awesome music, maybe run the 5K, check out the car show, watch their hot-air balloon launch, and bring the whole family.