Chris Stapleton, right, at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, rarely, if ever, plays at festivals such as Country Thunder. He headlines closing night on Sunday, April 14.
Arizona native Dierks Bentley is the Saturday night headliner for this year’s Country Thunder Music Festival, which runs Thursday through Sunday.
Country Thunder 2019 is all about brotherhood.
There are the Brothers Osborne — Maryland brothers T.J. and John; the Hunter Brothers — Canadians Luke, J.J., Ty, Brock and Dusty; and fellow Canadians High Valley — brothers Brad and Curtis Rempel.
Then there are bands that have been around so long they might as well be brothers: Restless Heart, which has the same lineup it’s had since introducing itself in 1984; and Lonestar, whose members have been bro-tight since 1992.
The 2019 festival, which runs Thursday, April 11, through Sunday, April 14, also is all about tipping a Stetson to legacy acts that once upon a full moon had stood on the Country Thunder stage as headliners. Big man Trace Adkins — at 6-foot-6 he will be hard to miss even in a sea of cowboy hats — is the first up on Thursday; Clay Walker opens for Tim McGraw on Friday; pop-country quartet Lonestar opens the nighttime lineup on Saturday; and bluegrass picker Marty Stuart warms up the stage for Sunday’s neo-trad headliner Chris Stapleton.
Here are a five other tidbits and bits of trivia to get you in the mood for four days of country music.
- Expect to see the Brothers Osborne jump on stage with headliner Dierks Bentley on Saturday. The pair teamed up with the Arizona native on his latest single, “Burning Man,” which won the Academy of Country Music Award for best collaboration last weekend.
- Speaking of Bentley, don’t be surprised if after his gig on Saturday night he zips over to Tempe to sneak into Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row. Bentley’s name graces a pair of restaurants in the valley, including the flagship in his native Scottsdale and the second location n Tempe. Bentley is involved with the restaurants, but they are operated by Riot Hospitality Group, whose CEO is UA alumnus Ryan Hibbert and whose president is ASU alum Jon Wright. Talk about a house divided.
- Country Thunder is usually held the first full weekend of April, but it was moved back to accommodate an earlier Academy of Country Music Awards ceremony. Which means that for the first time in at least a decade, the folks we see on stage won’t be beating feet to get to Vegas. Instead, they will be coming from the awards, which were presented on April 7. Among the nominees we will see this weekend: Chris Stapleton, who walked away empty-handed after being up for entertainer and male artist of the year, and song and album of the year; Brothers Osborne, who lost duo of the year, but shared the music event award with headliner Bentley for “Burning Man.”
- This year’s main stage is all about the boys. There’s only one female artist — Abby Anderson, who plays at 3:30 p.m. Friday. A couple of women are set to play the Arizona Copperhead Stage — that’s the secondary stage reserved for up-and-comers out of Nashville and Arizona and regional talents. Safford band The Cole Trains are playing a couple of shows that will surely celebrate the release of their debut album “Lucky Stars.” See them at 8:30 p.m. Thursday and 4 p.m. Friday. And Tucson’s own Drew Cooper is on the stage at 7 p.m. Saturday and 6 p.m. Sunday.
- And finally, if you fancy your dance skills or just like to watch others dance, stick around after the concerts and check out the EDM Dancing with the Thunder contest in the Electric Thunder tent.
