Sadie Bass’ first trip to the Faster Horses Festival came as a teenage civilian, when the mid-Michigan native and aspiring singer-songwriter headed to the massive country music party with friends.
“Maybe you’ll play this one day,” one of them told her, a scenario Bass says she “kind of laughed off at the time.”
On Saturday, eight years after attending as a fan, Bass will indeed be back at Michigan International Speedway for Faster Horses — this time as part of the artist lineup.
Bass, raised in Bath Township and now a Nashville resident, will perform in the Next From Nashville tent as one of the 15 up-and-comers booked for that stage this weekend. The 27-year-old, who has secured a publishing deal and is set to release a slew of new music, calls it the biggest Michigan performance of her career.
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As always at Faster Horses, the bulk of attention will go to the A-listers on the three-day bill, a main-stage lineup led this year by headliners Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson and Hardy.
But discerning fans have learned there’s good stuff to be discovered at Next From Nashville, an intimate tented space near the fest’s west gate featuring artists who may not even have Wikipedia entries yet. The tent isn’t just a handy escape from July heat — it can be a chance to catch an eventual megastar from just a few feet away.
“The festival has to be viewed in its totality and not just by the first three lines of the poster,” says festival founder Brian O’Connell, the president of Live Nation’s country division.
Since Faster Horses' 2013 debut, the rising artists on that second stage have included many who ultimately lived up to the next-big-thing billing: Chris Stapleton. Cole Swindell. Sam Hunt. Old Dominion. Kelsea Ballerini. Carly Pearce. Brett Young. Hailey Whitters.
Next From Nashville alumni include acts who later made the jump to Faster Horses’ main stage — including Hardy, who performed in the tent five years ago and will now headline Sunday night to close out the fest.
The concept was initially rolled out at another of the signature festivals in Live Nation’s country stable, Watershed in Washington state.
“There are just so many bands working out of Nashville that you want to expose people to,” says O’Connell. “It’s rare they get to work consistently and make any money without being in a club. But once you get to the summer, there are enough festival events occurring regionally that they’re able to cobble together a routing itinerary, get out and play live in a good setting.”
For O’Connell, who oversees some of the world’s biggest country tours, the second stage is also a valuable tool. He spends a lot of time at the tent during Faster Horses weekend, meeting artists and managers and forging relationships that may benefit all in the long run.
“You’re not going to bat anywhere close to 1,000, but if you get that magic, it’s a thing to fondly look back on,” says O’Connell. “It’s fun to sit here 11 years later and go: Wow, Chris Stapleton just played Ford Field.”
Over the long haul, he says, Next From Nashville helps create a sense of community and continuity for Faster Horses.
“That was our whole goal. It’s about that tradition and what’s being built,” says O’Connell. “The kid who was here in 2013 is 28 or 29 years old now. It’s about fostering that relationship with the fans by having them believe in what we’re doing on the Next From Nashville stage. It really starts there.”
The Faster Horses lineup is typically announced early in the year, and the booking process will have been underway well before then. That means by the time July rolls around, an artist slotted for Next From Nashville may have already begun to blow up.
That was certainly the case in 2014, when newcomer Sam Hunt arrived in Irish Hills just as his debut single, “Leave the Night On,” was picking up steam on its way to becoming one of the year’s biggest country hits. O’Connell says a sea of fans poured over the hill angling for spots at the NFN stage.
“Those are the moments people remember: ‘I was in the tent to see Sam Hunt,’” he says.
Along with Bass — who says a host of Michigan family members and friends will be on hand for her 1:50 p.m. Saturday set — Next From Nashville artists to watch include L.A. singer-songwriter Annie Bosko (Saturday), “The Voice” alum Jake Worthington (Friday) and Indiana native Stephen Wilson Jr. (Sunday), whose keen songwriting craftsmanship and indie-rock influences have drawn him growing notice.
The main stage features its own array of fast-rising acts, notably ’90s-steeped Zach Top (Friday), outlaw-leaning Jackson Dean (Friday) and Shane Smith & the Saints (Saturday), a veteran Texas band whose career has been buoyed by its ties to the “Yellowstone” series.
At MIS, work on the Faster Horses site started weeks ago, as the event prepares to welcome up to 40,000 fans for three days of camping, music and festivities. It's one of the biggest country events in the Midwest and among the most celebrated in the industry: Faster Horses has been nominated multiple times as the Academy of Country Music’s Festival of the Year, a category it won in 2018.
This is the 11th edition of the fest (2020 was nixed amid the pandemic), and at this point it’s fair to call it a bona fide Michigan tradition. When the event was conceived in 2012, the choice of place and time — the middle of Michigan on the third weekend of July — was intentional, O’Connell says, and given the event’s success, “I think we read it right.”
“We’re just trying to put on a really cool event for the people in this area, and we do the best we possibly can,” he says.
For Bass, who moved to Nashville in 2020 after abandoning college softball to pursue music full-time, Saturday’s homecoming set is a milestone in a career that seems to be building momentum. On Instagram, her primary social media platform, she's closing in on 200,000 followers.
“I don’t know what I’d write about if I hadn’t been struggling all these years trying to make it happen,” she says. “It makes it so much sweeter.”
Contact Detroit Free Press music writer Brian McCollum: 313-223-4450 or bmccollum@freepress.com.
Who's playing Faster Horses?
2024 headliners are Jelly Roll (Friday), Lainey Wilson (Saturday) and Hardy (Sunday), part of a 15-artist main-stage lineup that also includes Cody Johnson, Old Dominion, Riley Green and more. Nashville DJ Rod Youree will be spinning throughout, taking the place of longtime Faster Horses artist Dee Jay Silver.
Fifteen more artists are booked for the Next From Nashville stage, which will close out with a Sunday evening performance by Stephen Wilson Jr.
When is Faster Horses?
The Faster Horses Festival will run Friday, Saturday and Sunday in its traditional spot on the third weekend of July. The main stage music action starts at 2:10 p.m. daily, while the Next From Nashville stage will rev up at 1:50 p.m.
Fans who are camping will have access to the site starting at 9 a.m. Thursday.
Where is Faster Horses?
Since its founding in 2013, the festival has taken place on the grounds of Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, in the heart of Michigan's Irish Hills area in Jackson County.
How much are Faster Horses tickets?
Three-day general admission passes are $289, with VIP packages available for $459 and $785. (Service fees are included.) Daily tickets are not available, and camping packages are sold out. fasterhorsesfestival.com/passes/
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