Country Thunder Arizona
Canyon Moon Ranch
Florence, Arizona
October 14-17, 2021
By Mary Andrews
Originally scheduled for April this year, Country Thunder Arizona was pushed to October 14-17, 2021. It has been a dry two years for festival-goers and Country Thunder fans have been no exception to the draught. This weekend left attendees wondering if a pandemic ever existed and that was a good thing.
Country Thunder Arizona is typically a four-day weekend starting on Thursday. With that said, people start driving their campers and RVs on the desert site at Canyon Moon Ranch in Florence, Arizona on Wednesday evening prior to Thursday festivities. Fans have a choice of purchasing a weekend pass or a one-day pass.
CT Arizona has existed since 1996 and has had up and coming artists as well as established, top-name performers including Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Taylor Swift, Kenny Chesney, and many more. This year’s headliners were Luke Combs and Eric Church along with Justin Lynch and Old Dominion. (Old Dominion was added after Morgan Wallen stepped out of the lineup.)
This seemed to be the weekend of singer/songwriters and there were plenty of stand-out performers. Who knows, the performers from earlier in the day may be future headlining acts. There were lots of special musical moments during the weekend. Here’s a rundown of what we saw.
Nolan Sotillo – Like many artists this weekend, Sotillo ventured freely into more genres of music than straight-up country. He strutted across the stage and down the runway while singing songs like 3 Doors Down’s “Here Without You.” Early shows are difficult for the artists playing since most of the fans are still sleeping or fighting off hangovers from the night before. Sotillo entertained like there was a full house listening.
Meghan Patrick followed Sotillo wearing shorts and an AC/DC tee shirt. It seems that Patrick and her band had difficulty flying into Phoenix and their luggage was lost. So, she spent time at Forever 21 trying to find clothes for the show. Patrick gave the fans a killer version of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.” Regardless of the obstacles getting to Arizona, Patrick pulled off a rocking set that was a total crowd-pleaser.
There were many one-name artists this year. Filmore was the first to take the stage on the first day. The 30-year old singer signed with Curb Records and had his first hit, “Slower.” His set included that along with songs from his most recent album State I’m In.
Mitchell Tenpenny’s set prior to the headliner, Dustin Lynch, was a crowd-pleaser. Lynch electrified the huge crowd of 30,000 fans. Lynch moved across the large stage and made several trips down the runway to shake hands and sign a myriad of items that his fans handed over to him. Lynch has the charisma that will make him a superstar in country music.
Seaforth is an Australian duo that relocated to Nashville to succeed in country music. Their set was an energetic rollick that had fans dancing throughout their set.
Chris Janson has a special gift of being able to entertain a throng of fans like they are in his living room. Janson’s creativity is experienced when he performs songs like” Buy Me a Boat,” “Fix a Drink,” and “Good Vibes.” All are songs he has had a hand in writing as well. You have to love a man with a sense of humor and he displays it well during his sets.
Singer/songwriter, Drew Parker, got things underway on the third day. Parker co-wrote the #1 hit for Jake Owen, “Homemade.” He also co-wrote Luke Comb’s #1 song, “Forever After All.” Songs in his set included music from his new EP, While You’re Gone.
Parmalee is a platinum-selling band of brothers with Matt Thomas doing lead vocals. Their set was an energetic group of songs featuring the distinct harmonies the group is known for many years.
Ashley McBryde ramped up the volume as she hit the stage with her rock/country hits during her set. Her combination of sweetness and spunk worked to win the favor of thousands of fans. Of course, her music helps too. With highlights like the hard-hitting “Martha Devine,” a dreamy cover of Brooks and Dunn’s “You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone,” and the poisonous ballad “Voodoo Doll,” McBryde offered a master class in great country music.
Luke Combs headlined the third night of CT with all the fanfare given the country-bro superstars of modern country music. Combs doesn’t present himself like many country-bros, but his fans love him just as much if not more than the typical superstars. The show was 15 minutes late due to ongoing fan arrivals on the festival grounds.
Combs kicked off his set with a rollicking take on “Cold as You” and “Honky Tonk Highway.” More familiar tunes included “Memories Are Made Of” “Even Though I’m Leaving” and “This One’s for You.” He managed to take that early momentum and use “Houston, We Got a Problem” to continue to lasso the fans into his utmost control. He shot-gunned a beer in the middle of “1, 2 Many.” Combs’ charisma is unmatched. He connected himself to 40,000-plus people in a way that never felt fake. For a complete setlist, click here.
Chicks With Hits, the all-star trio of country heavyweights, Pam Tillis, Suzy Bogguss, and Terri Clark, performed the final day of the festival. This was an acoustic set on the large outdoor stage with no backing band.
Songs like “Shake the Sugar Tree” had a real sense of intimacy that wasn’t evident in other main stage performances. They could amuse fans with “Girls Lie Too” and have a singalong with “Now That I Found You.” They used rich harmonies to shine in the outdoor setting.
The headliner for the final night was Eric Church and it was estimated that 50,000 fans showed for the final event. Church and his band delivered above and beyond all expectations and the expectations were mighty high.
Songs like “Drowning Man,” “Record Year,” “Drink in My Hand,” and “Jenny” were examples of his wit, joy, and passion. Church’s set brought the entire weekend together seamlessly. For a complete setlist, click here.
Country Thunder announced that Morgan Wallen will be a headliner in 2022. Country Thunder Arizona is slated to return on its usual dates in April 2022.
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