Here for the Party: Country Music Adopts Current Festival Trends
Out of all genres of music, country is arguably the one with the most purist reputation. Country fans, although tolerant of other types of tunes, generally want to keep their country just like that: Country.
Make no mistake: Attending a country music event these days will certainly satisfy your hankerin' for good ol' fashioned redneck fun. However, even the most country of the country fests these days are adding current trends that have made waves at multigenre gatherings such as Coachella and Bonnaroo.
A good example? Coachella caught flak this year for its growing emphasis on electronic dance music, with EDM tents attracting far more fans than the good old-fashioned rock stars on the main stage. While it's doubtful we'll be seeing Skrillex spinning next to Tim McGraw anytime soon, the Faster Horses Festival in Brooklyn, Michigan did bow into this hot trend with its own, country-friendly version.
Dee Jay Silver, described as "country music's premier DJ/remixer," entertained the crowd at the three-day festival between sets spinning his innovative country mashups, as well as helmed a "late night from Nashville" afterparty every night following the close of the main show. Silver, who chatted with Ram Country during the fest, noted that country fans like all kinds of music and there's no need to put anyone in any kind of a box.
In addition to the dance trend, Faster Horses also added ravelike touches to the event, such as a foam party tent in which game partiers could get sprayed head-to-foot with bubbles while grooving (or slip-sliding) to the music. If that wasn't thrilling enough, the bravest of all could test out the largest water slide on earth (yes, really), which zoomed screaming fans to the ground faster than Miranda Lambert's "Fastest Girl in Town."
Despite all these newfangled concessions, however -- which went over with great success, as can be seen in the report above from Ram Country's girl on the scene Cornelia Rowe -- the Faster Horses Festival didn't skimp on the things that country fans wanted most. Rustic campgrounds, red Solo cups, American flags...and, of course, a solidly country lineup from the beginning of day one to the end of day three.
