SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The first-of-its-kind GoldenSky Country Music Festival made its debut one week after the Aftershock Festival drew a record-breaking crowd.
More than 25,000 enthusiastic country fans from all over the country are expected to make their way to Discovery Park each day.
"It's our inaugural day one. We're so excited to begin our new tradition here in Sacramento," said Holly Doscher, director of marketing for Danny Wimmer Presents.
While Sacramento hosts dozens of events and concerts, country music concerts don't usually become one of the largest events.
"We haven't had a country music festival of this magnitude in Sacramento," said Mike Testa, President and CEO of Visit Sacramento.
24 artists are performing during the two day event including Tim McGraw, Sam Hunt and Carly Pearce. Attendees are also able to enjoy a craft beer festival, a dance hall and a farm-to-fork dining experience.
"I'm excited. We're big Aftershock fans so for them to have a country music festival is even better," said Jesse Veloz, an attendee who drove from Merced to enjoy the festival. "Definitely during COVID, I was dying for a concert so I gotta make it out to all the festivals."
Country fans enjoyed the first day of big headliners with clear skies and comfortable weather.
"We were surprised we got to see so many big names in one weekend and the weather's perfect so it'll be great," said Fawn Smith, another attendee.
The recent and upcoming major events in Sacramento bring a much needed boost to the local economy two years after many small businesses took a major financial hit amid COVID lockdowns and restrictions.
Last weekend's Aftershock Festival is estimated to have brought in $28 million according to Testa. Another significant revenue boost is expected from this event.
"Certainly in the tens of millions of dollars. The great thing about these festivals is that more than 60% of the attendees don't live in Sacramento, so they're flying here, they're renting cars, they're staying in hotels, they're spending money at our restaurants and bars," said Testa.
Danny Wimmer Presents — the producer of Aftershock and GoldenSky says the debut launch is just the first of many GoldenSky Country Music Festivals to come in the following years.
"Aftershock started as a one day event with 12,000 people and now it's a four day event with 160,000 people, so that is the goal for GoldenSky. We'd like to get it on that level," said Testa.
The festival will take place again tomorrow from noon until 5 p.m. Tickets can be purchased here.
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