Me feeling like a true VIP with my Platinum lanyard. Not pictured the pick from Walker Montgomery. Photo by: Evan Berman

One year ago today, I headed to Fort Loramie, Ohio for the 3-day Country Concert festival. Today’s article is about the experience– the booking, transportation, and music! In short, if you like country music and live in the Midwest, you should consider going next year!

Background

I lived in Columbus, Ohio last year. As many of y’all know, I love music festivals and country music so when the Country Concert came around, I was going to be there! Fort Loramie, Ohio is the epitome of the middle of nowhere– people who have lived in Ohio their entire life have never heard of the town. That’s no surprise given the town has a population of 1,500 people!

Despite the name, Country Concert is an incredible country music festival that has been thriving since 1981. Situated on a sprawling 500-acre area, this festival boasts four fantastic stages, including two impressive permanent ones. It is undeniably the Midwest’s most esteemed country music festival, and has drawn in some of the greatest names in the industry, from the legendary Alabama and Garth Brooks to modern stars like Morgan Wallen (2017 and 2022) and Luke Combs (2018 and 2021). If you take a look at the festival’s lineup history, you’ll discover the numerous iconic artists that have graced the stages here one or more times. The festival’s ambiance is truly remarkable, as most attendees choose to camp, transforming the experience into an immersive musical journey. And as it is located far from any city, you can fully embrace the festival atmosphere.

Booking

Normally when booking a concert, sporting event, or festival, I do so via a reseller such as Ticketmaster or Vivid Seats. In this case; however, there were no resale tickets priced attractively, so I ordered from the website. The festival runs from Thursday to Saturday and it was possible to buy single-day tickets or a 3-day pass. Morgan Wallen was headlining on Saturday which meant that the tickets were long sold out (and I had plans for the day as well, making it a moot point). I opted for GA on Thursday and a seat in the VIP section (aka Platinum) on Friday.

As you can see, the GA price was $149 and the VIP section was $197 with a $19 handling fee. I paid with my Capital One Venture X Card and earned 2x points as with all purchases.

Price: $365

Points Earned: 730 Capital One Venture Miles

Transportation:

As noted in the introduction section, the festival is in Fort Loramie aka the middle of nowhere. That translated into a 2 hour drive to and from Columbus. Parking was $10 per day and was cash only, so make sure you come prepared. As most people end up driving, the parking lot can be hectic when leaving the grounds. I discovered the trick on the second day: when arriving, do not go straight back. Instead, park to the right by the trailers and you will be able to head out much more quickly.

While there are hotels in the town, they sell out quickly and I had to head home on Thursday night for Friday work and Friday night for my Saturday plans.

Evan’s Thoughts:

As usual, this section will provide my thoughts– what stood out to me either positive or negative– and talk about my overall thoughts and share any funny stories.

Experience:

This was one of the best music festivals that I’ve ever attended. From the little things like free exit and re-entry and being able to bring in outside food and drink to affordable prices and an excellent lineup, it seemed like everything was planned expertly. Let’s start with the highlights:

• Seeing many excellent acts, including Brooks & Dunn and Cody Johnson on Friday and Carrie Underwood and Scotty McCreery on Thursday
• Taking home a guitar pick from Walker Montgomery’s act
• Listening to great music in front of 10’s of thousands of fellow fans in a true music festival atmosphere!

There were a couple of minor negatives:

• Driving 2 hours in each direction
• Dealing with the parking lot when leaving was a nightmare– there were a ton of cars!

This festival was terrific. The times of the performances were designed well so it was easy to head over to the main stage after the smaller stage performance was finished or vice versa. Keep in mind that this is a Thursday to Saturday festival. It can be nice to have a lazy Sunday but that means the opening night is Wednesday. You are allowed into the grounds on Tuesday if you are camping.

Thursday:

I arrived on Thursday around 5pm, in perfect timing to experience the euphonious melodies of John Michael Montgomery as he beautifully performed “Sold” (The Grundy County Auction). As I wandered through the general admission area, I familiarized myself with the venue. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed the Scotty McCreery performance even more than I had initially expected. Furthermore, Walker Hayes, whom I had previously seen in Nashville, entertained the audience in his usual fashion.

I made the decision to skip the end of the Old Dominion performance in order to get close to the stage for Walker Montgomery (fun fact: he is John Michael’s son). And boy, was it worth it! I was lucky enough to catch the pick that he threw to the audience after his amazing performance! And to top it all off, Carrie Underwood absolutely blew the crowd away with her powerful and captivating performance. Thursday turned out to be an incredible opening day and I couldn’t wait for what the next day had in store!

Friday:

Work on Friday was a bit more involved so I missed Diamond Rio’s performance. This was unfortunate but the other artists were excellent. Gabby Barrett was surprisingly talented and then the real fun began. Blanco Brown had the entire audience singing along to his eclectic mix of hip-hop, country, soul, and pop. His performance was definitely the one with the most audience involvement.

After that, it was time to head back to the main stage and experience the excellence that is Texas style country music. Cody Johnson was terrific– I ended up seeing him again only 2 weeks later and both times were great!

I was unfamiliar with Callista Clark coming in but she has an incredible voice and I have no doubt will be very popular as she produces more songs. Finally, my favorite band Brooks & Dunn captivated every member as only they can with the blend of #1 hits, harmonies, excellent musical accompaniment, and the onstage antics of Kix Brooks! As usual when they perform, everyone went home happy!

Food and Drinks:

While the food was the typical Midwestern bland, the drink selection was interesting. I had some pizza the first night and a burger the second day as I knew to eat a big lunch at home before heading out. Beers were $3-$6 depending on what was purchased. Coors Light sponsors the event so there were Coors Light, Coors Banquet, Blue Moon, and Keystone Lights available as well as a small selection of cocktails and bottom shelf liquor. I brought in a couple of nice beers and availed myself of a Blue Moon or two each day– I was driving after all!

While the food and drink selection is nothing to write home about, one of the best parts of this festival is being able to bring in your own! That’s one of the many parts that I love about this event. Where else do you know of organizers saying “it’s ok, we don’t care about making a fortune off of marking up bad beers and food. Let’s make sure our attendees are happy with the quality?!?”

Merchandise:

The merch opportunities were absolutely fantastic! I grabbed a cool koozie, a bunch of hats for my friends, and a really attractive t-shirt. The outline is of the state of Ohio, beautifully colored in Red, White, and Blue, since the festival takes place the week after July 4th. It’s safe to say that this is one of the most well-branded festivals I have ever attended!

The Seats:

As mentioned above, I had a GA ticket on Thursday and a reserved seat in the Platinum section on Friday. Platinum is the first of 4 VIP sections.

As usual, the VIP ticket is very much worth it, not just for the view but also for the ability to leave your space at the main stage and have a spot to come back to! When there are 26,000+ (Thursday) or 28,000+ people (Friday), it can be hard to find a good spot amidst the crowds!

Recap:

I had an absolute blast at this festival last year. While the day with Morgan Wallen sold out, the other 2 days did not and this year tickets were available the day of. While I did not camp out in a trailer, the decorations were intricate and that’s a great way to make a week of it! You might have no idea where Fort Loramie is, but now you know to check out the Country Concert!

Evan