Attention, country music fans! Mark your calendars; the lineup for Capital Hoedown 2012 has been announced and it’s bigger and better than ever. “Our first year, we had traditional country artists, and last year, it was all new country,” says Denis Benoit, President and CEO of Concert International. “This year, what we’ve done is we’ve brought them both together.”Making her only scheduled appearance in 2012 so far, Taylor Swift will perform at the third edition of Capital Hoedown, one of North America’s biggest country music festivals.
The one and only Reba McEntire, the Queen of Country, will also perform a headlining set, as will Brad Paisley, one of country music’s biggest superstars. There is a good mix of traditional and newer country artists in Capital Hoedown 2012’s lineup, meaning there is something for everyone.
With a lineup this big, Benoit says a change of venue was in order to accommodate a much larger audience. Capital Hoedown 2012 will take place Aug. 10-12 at Walter Baker Park (Terry Fox Drive at Maple Grove Road) — a Kanata venue that is big enough to host more than 30,000 people.
“We simply outgrew LeBreton Flats. Our attendance doubled from year one to year two and we’re expecting the crowd to double again in 2012,” he explains. “We had to look at other options and we think Walter Baker Park is the ideal venue for Capital Hoedown. There’s a lot of room to expand there.”In terms of the food and other concessions on site, concert-goers will see many of the same popular merchants as last year.
The one noticeable change this time around will be the VIP areas, which will provide a more relaxed festival experience. There will be more room in the Crazy Horse VIP Corral and Front and Centre VIP sections and pass holders will have access to private food and alcohol concessions, private restrooms and a VIP entrance at the festival gates.
After the huge success of last summer’s festival, Benoit has high hopes for the third edition of Capital Hoedown. ”We labelled the festival ‘Ottawa’s Biggest Summer Party’ and, looking around at the festival last summer, that’s exactly what it was,” he says. “But, this year, it’s going to be bigger and better.”