Throngs of country music fans will flock to Jackson County for a weekend country music extravaganza starring Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson and more. The Local Spins guide to Faster Horses.
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Hold your horses, because it’s Michigan’s biggest country music festival.
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The revelry of the Faster Horses Festival hoedown returns to the grounds of the Michigan International Speedway in Jackson County this weekend, with a host of rising country stars on the docket, from Jelly Roll and Lainey Wilson to Tyler Hubbard and Hardy.
And for Michigan-bred, up-and-coming country singer Sadie Bass, who’s playing Faster Horses for the first time this year, it’s a longed-hoped-for opportunity at a major festival in her home state.
“I went to that festival like 18, 19, 20 years old, and it’s usually just a big crowd of people who are excited,” she said. “I’m just expecting the energy to be high.” (Read more about Bass in a Local Spins interview and radio show podcast on Friday at Local Spins.)
The now-long-running festival hasn’t been without its controversies and fatalities in the past.
Last year, Rolling Stone noted that seven deaths occurred at Faster Horses over just a nine-year period, with survivors demanding accountability from a festival described as attracting a “college-age crowd” with “raucous infield parties that last into the wee hours.” Previously, MLive.com conducted an investigation of sexual assaults at the festival, with one editor noting “that not everyone is safe at Faster Horses.” More here.
In response, the festival last year released this statement: “We work hand in hand with local and state authorities each year to evolve and advance safety and security measures, and will continue to collaborate with authorities and local partners accordingly. In recent years, we have implemented new procedures such as the ‘See Something Say Something’ initiative and the AWARE program, based on feedback we’ve heard from fans. Faster Horses Festival has always been about fostering a strong sense of community, and the safety of that community remains our top priority.”
FASTER HORSES FESTIVAL ESSENTIALS
WHEN: Friday-Sunday (July 19-21)WHERE: Michigan International Speedway, 12626 US-12, Brooklyn
WEBSITE: https://fasterhorsesfestival.com/
THE DRIVE:
125 miles (1 hour, 53 minutes) southeast of Grand Rapids
84 miles (1 hour, 24 minutes) east of Kalamazoo
83 miles (1 hour, 22 minutes) west of Detroit
60 miles (1 hour, 2 minutes) south of Lansing
233 miles (3 hours, 39 minutes) southeast of Traverse City
THE LINEUP: Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson, Old Dominion, Hardy, Cody Johnson, Riley Green, Tyler Hubbard, Shane Smith & The Saints, Jackson Dean, Sawyer Brown, Ashley Cooke and more.
TICKETS: General admission weekend passes start at $289, with various VIP options adding to that total, available online here. Passes do not include camping ($259-$1,285) or parking ($65-$155). Camping info/fees outlined here; parking passes available at fasterhorsesfestival.com/parking.
CAN’T-MISS PERFORMER PICKS
Jelly Roll, 9:55 p.m. Friday, Main Stage – Nashville hip hop artist and country singer Jelly Roll has become a hot commodity, winning “New Artist of the Year” at last year’s Country Music Association Awards, along with three wins at the CMT Music Awards. In just a month, his latest single, “I Am Not Okay,” racked up more than 15.7 million listens on Spotify.
Listen/Watch: “I Am Not Okay”
Lainey Wilson, 9:45 p.m. Saturday, Main Stage – Another rising, breakout star, this Louisiana native has won more than a dozen major music awards since 2021, including a 2024 Grammy for best country album for “Bell Bottom Country.” (By the way, she also was nominated with Jelly Roll, above, for best country duo performance for “Save Me.”) She also boasts a Michigan connection at Faster Horses: Multi-instrumentalist Sav Buist of The Accidentals (aka Sav Madigan) is performing in her touring band this summer.
Listen/Watch: “Country’s Cool Again”
Riley Green, 7:35 p.m. Sunday, Main Stage – Hailing from Alabama, Riley Green maintains on his most recent studio album that it, “Ain’t My Last Rodeo.” A recent concert review in Washington’s Spokesman-Review raved that Green and his band unleashed “a great show all around with high energy, prominent fan experiences and musical excellence.”
Listen/Watch: “Worst Way”
Kip Moore, 5:45 p.m. Sunday, Main Stage – While some fans were disappointed when country singer Ernest dropped out of the festival lineup, replacing him with Kip Moore will likely excite plenty of attendees. His biggest hit, 2011’s “Somethin”Bout a Truck,” is at 219.5 million spins on Spotify and counting.
Listen/Watch: “Kinda Bar”
MICHIGAN’S OWN: Sadie Bass, 1:50 p.m. Saturday, Next From Nashville Stage – The outdoorsy native of Bath, Mich., has long been a regional favorite, made a splash on “The Voice” in 2022, and has made inroads nationally, playing numerous high-profile festivals. With recording plans and new music on the way, Bass says she’ll make sure to play a couple of fan favorites at Faster Horses, including “Holy Ground” and “Wake N’ Bake,” a popular single she released last year.
Listen/Watch: “Wake N’ Bake”
FASTER HORSES FESTIVAL: THE 2024 SCHEDULE
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
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