Friday 12 December 2014

Jason Aldean tops Harrington's 3-day Delaware Junction - The News Journal

Move it on over Firefly, there's a new major music festival coming to Kent County.


And after a seven-month wait, we now know its name and superstar headliners.


Jason Aldean, Toby Keith and Florida Georgia Line will lead the charge at the first Delaware Junction, a three-day August country music bonanza at the Delaware State Fairgrounds, organizers revealed to The News Journal ahead of Friday's 8 a.m. announcement.


The outdoor camping festival, which will run Aug. 14-16, will feature a pair of stages and is expected to draw 20,000 country fans per day. Most will be lodging on site, much like the setup for Dover's ever-growing Firefly Music Festival.


Three-day passes will start at $199 and go on sale Friday, Dec. 19, at 10 a.m. via http://ift.tt/1z0sWtW. Camping packages start at $150. Organizers say there are no plans to sell single-day tickets.


'We believe in this being local. This is Delaware's festival. We are going to do everything we can to keep the spirit of the area involved in this,' says Brian O'Connell, Live Nation's president of country touring. 'We're in it for the long haul - to build a world-class festival.'


STORY: STORY: STORY: Country music festival planned for Sussex Pires halts bid for Sussex County music festival New country music festival coming to Harrington

If Delaware Junction draws 20,000 people, it could be the second largest country music festival on the East Coast behind another Live Nation start-up, FarmBorough at Randall's Island, New York, which is expected to draw 25,000, O'Connell says.


The festival will be held on up to 360 acres of land at the fairgrounds and surrounding areas. More artists will be announced in the coming weeks for the festival, which is planning possible attractions like an over-sized water slide, Ferris wheel and vertigo swing tower.



The Delaware Junction logo.(Photo: Delaware Junction)


Alex Pires, the Dewey Beach-based attorney, bar owner and banker is teaming up with Live Nation to produce the event, which Pires first revealed publicly in May as he eyed a rural location near Georgetown.


When that plan was halted due to community complaints, the focus was moved to his second location choice: the open space just south of where the Delaware State Fair is held each year. In the end, the fairgrounds ended up being the preferred venue for Live Nation's promoters. Artists will perform on two stages in the southern racing oval on the property, an area used for parking during the state fair.


Delaware Junction's main stage will be large, comparable to the main stage at other major festivals like Firefly. A smaller 'Next From Nashville' stage for up-and-coming country acts will be on the same grounds. Organizers say they also will look into booking a Delaware-based act or two for the festival. (Newark-based Chapel Street Junction, a six-piece bluegrass act, sure has the right name.)


Delaware Junction will be leasing the land at the Delaware State Fairgrounds and the Delaware State Fair is not involved in booking or promoting the festival. However, all three of the festival's headliners have previously performed at the state fair.


Danny Aguilar, Delaware State Fair assistant general manager, says both the festival and fair are booking their own acts this summer.


'But we're certainly having conversations so we understand goals and objectives,' he says, adding that they will try to avoid having the same act perform at both the fair and the festival. 'I can't wait to see what they put together.'


O'Connell sees the festival and the fair as two separate entities, even though both cater to country music fans, adding, 'Delaware Junction is a completely different animal. A three-day hillbilly sleepover is a lot different than showing up for a 90-minute show.'


The 96th annual Delaware State Fair runs from July 23 to Aug. 1, giving organizers two weeks to transform the property into Delaware Junction. 'They are pretty confident they can do it,' Pires says.


The festival is named for the 1856 Delaware Railroad junction built in Harrington, which helped spur growth and draw the first sizable population to town. Its logo hits its Delaware theme hard with blue and gold coloring and the diamond from the state flag front and center.


IF YOU GO

Delaware Junction adds to the country music festival portfolio of Live Nation, the world's largest concert promoter. Among Live Nation's other country fests: Watershed Music Festival (George, Washington), Faster Horses Festival (Brooklyn, Michigan), Route 91 Harvest (Las Vegas, Nevada) and New York's FarmBorough, which will launch in June.


'We cannot wait for Delaware Junction to join the family,' O'Connell says.


For his part, Pires is happy to see his festival finally become a reality. It comes 18 months after hatching the idea following a visit to Tennessee's Bonnaroo Music Festival in 2013: 'After all my promises that I wouldn't quit on this over the last 1-1/2 years, now I get to have a big glass of beer [Friday].'


What: Delaware Junction


-- Ryan Cormier, The News Journal. Facebook: @ryancormier. Twitter: @ryancormier. Instagram: @ryancormier.

When: Aug. 15-17


Where: Delaware State Fairgrounds, 18500 U.S. 13, Harrington


Cost: Three-day passes start at $199 and camping passes begin at $150. Tickets go on sale Dec. 19 at 10 a.m.


Read or Share this story: http://delonline.us/1Dmqr9p


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