OSHKOSH – Don’t stop believing!
The city’s cries for a new music festival have been answered.
Legendary band Journey and multi–Grammy Award winner Shaggy are set to headline a star-studded lineup in August, when Oshkosh welcomes the long-awaited return of a music festival with the inaugural XRoads 41 event at Oshkosh Festivals Park.
Members of the new ownership group, Oshkosh Festivals, made the announcement during an open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday ahead of the brand-new three-day rock and country festival , slated for Aug. 8-10.
“There always used to be a festival here, so when we decided to bring one back to the community, we didn’t want to do the same old thing, so it's important for everyone to know we’re staging a first-class event,” said Oshkosh Festivals Marketing Director Mindy Klein.
“We’re modernizing the festival experience and we’re trying to bring different genres of music together. We’re going to do everything top-notch.”
The inaugural XRoads 41 will be the first festival staged at the expansive grounds in five years after Hypervibe LLC filed for bankruptcy and canceled Country USA and Rock USA.
Since then, Oshkosh has been without a major summer festival while its festivals park went widely underutilized.
And the city has felt the economic and tourism downturn of losing two significant music festivals.
“We always talk about if it was a rainy weekend then Fleet Farm would sell an amazing amount of rainboots and when people are not in town, they’re not making those purchases,” said Oshkosh Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Amy Albright.
“That’s a simple correlation, but when you bring thousands of people to town, then they’re spending thousands of dollars, and Country USA and Rock USA brought tens of thousands of people here.”
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Promoted as a premier music and camping festival, the three-day XRoads 41 event will feature huge acts like country legends Brooks & Dunn and reigning Academy of Country Music group of the year Old Dominion .
Other acts include Jon Pardi , Turnpike Troubadours , Chris Janson , Tanya Tucker , Priscilla Block , Niko Moon , Paul Cauthen , The Red Clay Strays , Larry Fleet and Alana Springsteen .
XRoads 41 will also have a more modernized feel to it, as patrons can use RFID bracelets to pay for everything on-site.
The festival will also have an elevated grandstand platform with fold-down seats for the VIP section while the audience in general admission can make its way right up to the stage.
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“It’s really commendable what they’re doing to breathe life back into the park and just having the event back here in the summertime is really awesome for Oshkosh,” said Oshkosh Chamber President/CEO Rob Kleman.
“Obviously, there’s a lot going on in Oshkosh with AirVenture, but when you bring something like this, which is a national draw, back to the community, it’s going to mean a lot, and we will notice the impact of that.”
Tickets are already on sale for single concert and three-day options as well as campsites. More information is at XRoads41.com .
Have a story tip or public interest concern? Contact Justin Marville at jmarville@gannett.com .
This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Oshkosh music festival returns, with new XRoads 41 coming in August: ‘We will notice the impact’
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