By Dave Parsons
Country Thunder is a music festival brand that hosted six concert festivals in North America this year. The weekend of October 20-22, the festival took place in Kissimmee, Florida, at Oceola Heritage Park.
Day two of the Country Thunder Florida festival 2023 featured Kip Moore. Moore took the crowd through a set filled with his hits such as “Beer Money”, “More Girls Like You”, and “Somethin’ ‘Bout A Truck.” Moore had subdued lighting with no spotlights for his set, making for a very funky black and white image on the screens, and an intimate setting despite the 20,000 or so fans singing along with every lyric. It made for the most diverse set of the day.
Country music superstars Lonestar took the stage as the sun was going down. Lonestar has more hits than would fit into an hour time slot, and they packed their Country Thunder set with “My Front Porch Looking In”, “Mr. Mom”, “I’m Already There”, and the song that sent them into superstardom, “Amazed.” Although they never left the stage, in the interest of time constraints, they played their “encore” that consisted of a medley of songs that included songs by ZZ Top, Bryan Adams, Phil Colling and Tom Petty, much to the delight of the crowd.
Country music newcomer Cooper Alan, gets to share the trophy for “Gutsiest entertainer of the day.” Not even half way into his first song, the power went out on the grounds again, leaving Alan on his own to keep the show going. He came down the long runway in the center of the festival grounds and proceeded to play requests acapella for the crowd nearest to the stage. Every song was a sing along, and the crowd down front was loud enough to get those farther back involved as well. After the power came back on, Alan took the crowd through his hits “To The Bar”, “First Rodeo” and “This Ain’t Country”. Between his first rate band giving the fans their money’s worth, to never missing a beat when things went wrong, Cooper Alan gave a 100% professional set.
Hailey Whitters took the Kissimmee stage by storm in an adorable retro dress, and pigtails, singing “Glad To Be Here”. She went out on the extended stage immediately and was signing items almost immediately. She spent the better part of her show on the extended ramp, enduring the Florida sun and taking the audience on a wide path of songs including “How Far can It Go?”, “She’s In Love With the Boy” and a good version of “Country Roads” towards the end of her set. Judging from the crowd’s reaction, it will not be her last time on a festival stage lineup.
Brother and sister duo, The Reklaws, treated the early Saturday afternoon crowd to a nice set of originals and cover, that the crowd seemed pleased to witness. Original songs like “Long Live The Night” and “Wish You Were Beer” were perfect for the setting and covers of songs like “Don’t Stop Believing” kept the crowd entertained and happy in the bearing Florida sun.
Canadian band, The Washboard Union, got one song into their set, and the power went off in the festival area. Just as Cooper Alan would do in a similar situation a few hours later, The Washboard Union picked up their instruments, and literally brought the show to the folks who came out early. The entire band played acoustic on the stage extending into the crowd for a good 20 minutes before the power came on and they finished the set they had planned. This is a group to watch in the future!
It was a very fulfilling and entertaining 9 hour day, and as the crowd filed out, it was evident they were ready for more and will no doubt be back on Sunday for the last day of Country Thunder Florida 2023.
Photo Gallery : The Washboard Union – Country Thunder Florida (10.21.2023)
Photo Gallery : The Reklaws – Country Thunder Florida (10.21.2023)
Photo Gallery : Hailey Whitters – Country Thunder Florida (10.21.2023)
Photo Gallery : Cooper Alan – Country Thunder Florida (10.21.2023)
Photo Gallery : Lonestar – Country Thunder Florida (10.21.2023)
Photo Gallery : Kip Moore – Country Thunder Florida (10.21.2023)
