Miranda Lambert earned a warm reception at Xcel Center in March. / Brian Peterson, Star Tribune (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Winstock 2018 headliners Lambert, Bentley join crowded country music fest field
WE Fest, Country Fest and Country Jam have also all announced their main acts for next summer, and Florida Georgia Line is only playing two of them.
December 4, 2017 at 2:35PM
The competition is already well under way between next summer's Upper Midwest country music festivals.
Winstock, the camp-out twang fest nearest the Twin Cities, announced its 25th anniversary lineup Monday morning with Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley for its 2018 headliners.
Lambert (playing June 9) is something of a daring pick to top out the lineup. She's not the rowdy, macho yahoo that permeates the mainstream Nashville scene and other festival these days, and she may attract a broader audience than usual to the annual weekend getaway in Winstock, just an hour west of Minneapolis. Meanwhile, "Drunk on a Plane" singer Bentley (June 8) is preparing a new record to release by next summer.
Winstock's knack for bringing in up-and-comers will continue in 2018 with the new group with the current No. 1 hit on the country singles chart, "Greatest Love Story" hitmakers LANCO, who will be joined by other youngsters Luke Combs, Walker Hayes and Jordan Davis. Winstock vets Trick Pony, Neal McCoy, Sawyer Brown will also return to the fest next summer. Tickets are on sale now at $115 for two-day general admission or $185 reserved seating. Call 320-485-4287 or go to winstockfestival.com.
Winstock joins the already crowded summer season that also includes:
WE Fest (Aug. 2-4): The biggest and oldest of the country festivals, held as always on the grounds of Soo Ranch in Detroit Lakes, will have Jason Aldean, Florida Georgia Line and Carrie Underwood for its 2018 headliners. More acts will be announced in the coming months. Tickets are on sale now via WeFest.com.
Country Fest (June 21-23): Over in Cadott, Wis., Jason Aldean will also headline that one along with Brad Paisley and Brantley Gilbert. The rest of the lineup also includes Dwight Yoakam, Jake Owen, Brett Eldredge, Luke Combs, Kip Moore, Neal McCoy, Kane Brown and, oh, an actual woman: Lauren Alaina. Ticket info at CountryFest.com.
Country Jam USA (July 19-21): The other big western Wisconsin camp-out will feature Florida Georgia Line, Miranda Lambert, Brantley Gilbert and Brett Eldredge. Hey, there are only so many names to go around. Details at CountryJam.com.
Critics’ picks for entertainment in the week ahead.
