Hold on to your hats: What to know before heading to Country Thunder

Country Thunder Music Festival ready to clap in Florence

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.

Fatherhood comes calling on country music newcomer, changing the gears for good

Brandon Lay is coming off a pretty terrific 2018.

He jumped on the spring/early summer leg of Kenny Chesney’s “Trip Around the Sun” stadium tour last year and then tagged along with Old Dominion in October for the 2018 “Happy Endings” World Tour in the UK and Australia.

Last fall, he made his Grand Ole Opry debut two days after he and his wife Nicole welcomed their first child, Ryder Knox.

And this weekend, Lay, the son of a Tennessee preacher who played basketball in college and started his music career as a songwriter, is making his Country Thunder debut.

“This is my first time so I don’t know exactly what to expect,” he said during a phone call from his home in Tennessee last month. “It’s cool to do festivals like Country Thunder because there’s always so much energy around you. People wait all year for this one event.”

Lay can relate. He waits all year for festival and fair season, and not just because it’s a chance to get on stage and perform for audiences that often number in the thousands.

“I love fair food,” said the 32-year-old, who confessed he has an affinity for fried Oreos or, frankly, anything unique — think candy, butter, donuts and the like — that can be dipped in batter and fried crispy golden brown. “I can get barbecue anywhere, but sometimes you can’t find those obscurities.”

But he’s also anxious to get on the sprawling Country Thunder stage and warm it up for Friday’s headliners — Texan Clay Walker and superstar Tim McGraw.

“We’re champing at the bit. We’re definitely looking forward to it,” said Lay, who kicks off his spring tour with the Florence show.

During our March conversation, Lay talked about what we can expect from that show, the impact on his music of being a preacher’s kid and how fatherhood has forever changed him.

Energy and an escape: “I try to give (audiences) a little something that they might have heard or grew up on. I think it’s important for a guy in my position, a new artist with not a whole lot of songs out, to kind of throw out some classic rock stuff or things that are familiar with if they’re not familiar with my music. We cover a lot of ground between covers and working on our own end. Having a lot of energy because that’s obviously conducive for a country music show. Hopefully it’s just a time where people can escape for a short window of time and just flow with it.”

Making his father proud: “I feel like a (preacher’s kid) can go one of two ways: They either follow their dad’s footsteps or they’re a little wild child. I was a little bit of a wild child, kinda touching the stove if it was hot kind of thing. But the older I get and the more that those life lessons, faith is a bigger part of my life. I tried to incorporate that in my daily walk and songwriting. I’m grateful for it. Country music right out of college for me because we were playing pretty rough biker bars, I don’t think (dad) was thrilled about that, but he kind of knew it was a stepping stone to get where I am now, to play things like Country Thunder. I’m lucky to have his support and it’s been one of those things where I don’t know if I could do it without him.”

Fatherhood and changing priorities: “(Becoming a father was) a gear changer. One of the lessons I learned from Kenny Chesney was to really live in the moment. We might not ever be here again or we might meet again next year. You just never know. I have a tendency to get hyper focused and competitive that sometimes I don’t wake up and smell the roses. ’18 was fun but it was a grind. I think ’19 we’re still going to grind, but I’m learning to enjoy these moments and not look past everywhere I’m at, and it’s made life a little more enjoyable.”

In 2019, more music: “I’m dying to release the songs that I’ve been sitting on. I moved to town 10 years ago and I was a staff writer for Warner before I got my label deal so I’ve got a lot of songs I want to share. 2019 is hopefully the year where I can just share the songs with the world and let them have a new life. And play them live — that’s ultimately the main satisfaction for me. I would like to have a big old smash hit, I’m not gonna lie. But you know what, if I don’t I’m learning to start to enjoy some of this stuff.”

Pop singer Jake Miller brings new EP, tour to Tucson's The Rock

Jake Miller is bringing his spring tour to The Rock.

Back in mid-November, Jake Miller uploaded his uptempo single “Wait For You” onto the crowdsourcing music site Spotify.

Two weeks later, the song had soared; a quarter million Americans had streamed it and that number was nearly double worldwide — at 400,000.

Miller can pat himself on the back. The pop singer wrote and produced the song, the first single off his just released six-song EP “Based On A True Story.”

“Everyday I’m experimenting and I’m learning and I’m messing with new sounds,” said Miller, who brings his “Wait For You” Tour to The Rock on Saturday, April 13. “I study other artists. I do my research of other artists and I kind of take little things from here and there. I pick up on other people’s stuff I like and I try to apply it to my music.”

His crash-course in producing was born out of a desire to regain the reins of creative control over his music, something he felt had gotten lost when he was part of Warner Bros. Records’ big label machine.

Miller left Warner Bros. in 2016 after three years and a few recording projects in which he felt like he was only half-vested in his music.

“I would have to walk into recording sessions with producers and I would come with 50 percent of the lyrics and melodies and I would have to rely on them to deliver the other 50 percent with their beats. And sometimes they wouldn’t be on the same wavelength,” the 26-year-old recalled. “Being able to do everything by myself has always been in my head, I just needed to figure out how to actually play and put it down.”

Miller said he learned by trial and error and listening to music that inspired him, including the 1980s sound that sneaks into “Based On A True Story.” The record has nods to 1980s drum riffs and bass lines, with saxophone and a choir at the end of “What If You Fell In Love.”

“I’ve really been trying to push myself to do things I haven’t done in previous albums,” Miller explained during a phone call last month. “We have choirs, saxophones; ‘80s sounds infused with 2019 sounds. I think I’ve got a little bit of everything for everybody.”

Miller recorded “True Story” in his converted bedroom studio of a house he shares with four roommates. He has the master bedroom, where the bed has become an afterthought, shoved against one wall. Instead, a piano and guitars mounted on the wall along with a saxophone take up most of the space. He composes beats and records vocals and live instruments on his computer and after mixing and mastering, uploads the songs to Spotify.

“There’s nobody to tell me anything. Nobody to tell me I can’t write about this or I can’t do this,” he said.

“True Story” was released by Sony Red, an imprint of the behemoth Sony Records. Miller said being on the smaller label that is aligned with the major label gives him marketing and promotional muscle while allowing him to retain independent creative control.

“Everything you hear comes straight from my heart and my brain. I think it’s easier for me to do this,” he said. “Now that I’ve learned how to (produce), there’s no stopping me in terms of making music. If I hear it in my head, I can easily put it down. And I don’t have to rely on anybody to mix this and interpret my message. It’s been great. And just walking into a studio with other people, I can hold my own and I can compete with some of the best producers in the game.”

Miller’s “Wait For You” Tour will hit 21 cities over the next two months as he plays mostly small venues like Tucson’s The Rock, which can fit about 300. He said it is by design — “I kinda want people knocking on the door trying to get in,” he said — part of his plan to build up his fan base to the point that he will be big enough to fill larger venues. (That won’t be hard; he already has hundreds of thousands of followers on social media and through his so-called Millertary fan club.)

No matter how big or small the venue, Miller said that once he steps on stage, and the mostly female audience starts screaming his name and singing along, “I’m the best version of myself.”

“These are songs that I wrote in my bedroom and now they are all over the world and people are connecting with them,” he said. “I am very blessed to be able to do this for a living.”

The nitty gritty

If you go

What: 2019 Country Thunder Music Festival

When: Thursday, April 11, through Sunday, April 14; festival grounds open at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, noon Friday through Sunday. The grounds close at 2 a.m. each night.

Where: Country Thunder festival grounds, 20585 E. Water Way in Florence

Tickets: Reserved seats are sold out; general admission is $75 a day or $190 for a four-day festival pass at countrythunder.com/az or at the festival box office on site

The lineup

Thursday, April 11

• 5 p.m.: Harry Luge
• 6:30 p.m.: Williams & Ree
• 8 p.m.: Trace Adkins
• 9 p.m.: Brett Eldredge

Friday, April 12

• 2 p.m.: Scooter Brown Band
• 3:30 p.m.: Abby Anderson
• 5 p.m.: Brandon Lay
• 6:30 p.m.: Graig Campbell
• 8 p.m.: Clay Walker
• 10 p.m.: Tim McGraw

Saturday, April 13

• 2 p.m.: Hunter Brothers
• 3:30 p.m.: Austin Burke
• 5 p.m: High Valley
• 6:30 p.m: Lonestar
• 8 p.m.: Brothers Osborne
• 10 p.m.: Dierks Bentley

Sunday, April 14

• 2:15 p.m.: Josh Abbott Band
• 4 p.m.: Restless Heart
• 5:30 p.m.: Morgan Evans
• 7 p.m.: Marty Stuart
• 9 p.m.: Chris Stapleton

The dos, don'ts and fine print

• Do bring: Unopened bottle of water, hat, sunscreen, fanny pack, soft lawn chair, digital camera, small umbrella, blanket.
• Keep at home: Big umbrellas, adult beverages, drones and other remote-controlled flying devices, animals (unless it's a service animal), noisemakers, laser pointing devices, video cameras and weapons including knives, guns and boxcutters.
• Camping: If you didn't get a spot early, you're pretty much out of luck.  All the camp sites are full. And as of last week, there were only two glamping sites available, which offer a furnished tent with a refrigerator, air conditioning and restroom facilities. 
• Platinum Experience: New to the festival this year is the four-day platinum experience. For $600 you get a reserved parking pass, reserved seats all four days and a private elevated lounge area that includes executive restrooms and private food and beverage service; food and drinks are not included in the price. Platinum tickets are limited. 
• Award-winning festival: Country Thunder has won several Academy of Country Music Awards for the country's Festival of the Year including last year. Country Thunder hosts festivals in Arizona, Wisconsin, Saskatchewan and Alberta, Canada, and new this year, Kissimmee, Florida. 
• Questions: Visit countrythunder.com/az for details, to buy tickets and check out more fine print.