LAKE COWICHAN — It isn’t a difficult equation, where the appeal of country music of the big, bold mainstream variety is concerned. Songs about sunshine, beer and good times pretty much solve it.
The genre’s Holy Trinity was well represented Friday, during the second of four days of operation at the Sunfest Country Music Festival at Lake Cowichan.
There was also a waterslide, mechanical bull, zipline, bouncy castle and tattoo parlour. Sunfest has every base covered, and the something-for-everyone appeal has become a trademark of the biggest ticketed festival on Vancouver Island and the largest outdoor country music festival in the province. Sunfest brought Keith Urban to the main stage on Friday, he of the multiple Grammy Award wins and countless No. 1 singles.
But after nearly a decade of operation at Laketown Ranch Music and Recreation Park, the 172 acres of private land situated between Lake Cowichan and Youbou, it appears fans are eager to enjoy the range of amenities, above and beyond the music.
The main stage area never gets fully going until around 7 p.m., while revellers remain in their nearby campsites for most of the day. That doesn’t mean the festival stops doing its job, however, as three stages were in play during the afternoon. Great sets by Victoria acts Jamiesonrhy and Born Reckless kept fans satiated in the sun.
The site will remain active throughout the weekend, from music poker in the morning to DJ sets late at night, topped each day by U.S. headliners such as Lee Brice (today) and Cole Swindell (Sunday).
A beatific sunny day, verging on sweltering at 30 C by early afternoon, was a big assist to the festival’s chances Friday. Weather can wreak havoc on an outdoor festival, but everything felt like it was falling into place, especially for Urban’s performance, which drew a reported 11,000 fans. The Australian heartthrob has played Sunfest in the past — it was during his 2015 performance that 11-year-old future pop star Lauren Spencer Smith, from Nanaimo, joined him on stage — so diehards were more than ready for his return.
Sunfest is on a recession-proof run at the moment, having tied a career high in terms of attendance last year with headliner Blake Shelton, who drew 13,000 people for his set. Urban isn’t the star Shelton is at this point, but you have to respect his track record and ability to capture the attention of his audience. It was an astute booking.
Ontario-bred- Nashville-based Steven Lee Olsen had the crowd surging during his set prior to Urban, which relied heavily — perhaps too heavily — on cover material. But he isn’t alone in that regard. The genre’s fans are embracing practically everyone as their own at this point, from rapper Post Malone (who Urban tipped his hat to on Friday) to rockers Nickelback. Everything is coming up country at the moment, which is great news for Sunfest.
Organizers aren’t expected to announce their 2025 headliner during this festival, as per custom in recent years, but it might not matter at this point. Sunfest continues to make the difficult job of appealing to audiences in an unstable economy look easy.
That’s a tough equation to crack.
Note to readers: A previous version of this story said the event included music bingo. In fact, it was music poker.
