We Fest: the hottest seats in country

Jon Bream, Star Tribune
Last update: August 03, 2006 – 12:27 AM

DETROIT LAKES, MINN. - Close the corral. The We Fest -- the country-music-and-camping festival that starts its 24th year today at the Soo Pass Ranch -- is sold-out for the first time.

"They're packing 'em in," said Dianne Matthews of St. Paul, a 13-time We Fester who arrived Tuesday at her site at the VIP campgrounds. "People started coming on Saturday."

The unprecedented sellout of.... 45,000 tickets can be attributed to two factors: the strongest music lineup ever and a reconfiguring of the seating that slightly reduced capacity.

First, the three-day lineup -- it's hotter than July was.

Through Saturday, the $5 million We Fest will present four of country's biggest acts. Rascal Flatts, tonight's headliner, is the most popular country group since Alabama. Their "Me and My Gang" is the second-best-selling album of the year -- in any genre.

Brooks & Dunn, who top Friday's bill, have been named vocal duo of the year by the Country Music Association (CMA) in 13 of the past 14 years.

In 1996, Brooks & Dunn also were chosen entertainer of the year.

And, to top it off on Saturday night, it's the CMA's two most recent entertainers of the year -- Keith Urban (Mr. Nicole Kidman) and Kenny Chesney (the former Mr. Renée Zellweger). That's the country equivalent of Prince and Michael Jackson on the same bill in the "Purple Rain"/"Thriller" days of 1984.

"They've hit it out of the park -- it's the best lineup they've ever had," said Clear Channel Radio executive Mick Anselmo, who oversees nine Midwest country stations, some of which are We Fest sponsors.

Tickets sold faster than ever in all categories -- from $80 three-day general admission to $600 VIP with meals and drinks, said We Fest co-owner Randy Levy.

He said that some $60 one-day-only tickets will still be available but that all 8,000 campsites are taken.

"If somebody shows up in a car with four people who have tickets and one who doesn't, we'll certainly sell them one ticket and not send them back to Minot," Levy said. "But I don't have any camping to sell them."

More seats and services

The promoter said his staff listened to festivalgoers and added more reserved seats, thus reducing capacity by 5,000.

We Fest also added one campground, 10 ice stations, four gates to the music area and 60 permanent toilets, with 43 designated for women.

Despite the unprecedented sellout, Becker County Sheriff Tim Gordon does not expect this We Fest to be different from its predecessors -- save for some road construction in Detroit Lakes that his force has never encountered during the event.

"The majority of what we're doing is the same," said Gordon, who has witnessed every We Fest.

As of late Wednesday afternoon, he estimated that at least 30,000 people had already arrived in the 10 campgrounds.

Some of the fans might want to plan ahead for next year's 25th anniversary We Fest and buy an early-bird special three-day general-admission ticket for $80 this weekend at the Soo Pass Ranch.