Country music fans in the London area will be able to celebrate Canada Day with an outdoor music festival featuring one of country’s biggest acts.
The Western Fair District, in partnership with Live Nation, Budweiser Gardens, and the London Music Hall, announced on Wednesday a two-day country music festival that will be held at the Fair’s outdoor concert venue on July 1 and 2.
The Trackside Music Festival will be headlined by country duo Florida Georgia Line. Grammy-nominated artist Chris Young was also announced as part of the lineup, along with Cole Swindell, Brett Kissel, Jess Moskaluke, and Chris Lane. More acts are expected to be announced in the new year.
"It's been a couple of years in the making, we had to find the right time and the right line up to get it started," says Hugh Mitchell, CEO of the Western Fair District. "We are just in the early stages of that line up development, but we are off to a good start. We haven't nailed it down but it will be a montage of talent. It will be the better part of eight, maybe ten acts over two days."
It's hoped the massive summer festival will draw 10,000 to 15,000 people to the Western Fair District over the two days. As well as become an annual must-see for years to come.
"It's got a lot of capacity to grow, not only in the size of this event but in the number of events we do together, particularly in the outdoor business," says Mitchell. "We don't want to be competing against ourselves. Budweiser Gardens has a niche in the market, a very strong one, as does London Music Hall. Our intent here is not to overlap those activities."
Trackside Music Festival will also drive tourism dollars into the city, with officials at Tourism London predicting hotels and restaurants in London will be filled to capacity.
"It's really going to raise the profile of the city to people who enjoy really good music. The whole live music scene in this province generates $1.2-billion of economic impact," says John Winston, General Manager of Tourism London. "The music tourist spends twice as much as the average leisure traveler. So it's a large piece of business that London is going after. We think this particular event will strategically position this city as a very important live music destination."
Tickets go on sale this Friday.