Wild Hare Music Fest Returns to Feature Future of Roots Music

Red Shahan/Charles Wesley Godwin/Zach Bryan/Jaime Wyatt

You’re warned often these days to see your favorite independent music artists in smaller settings while you still have the chance. As we’ve seen with performers such as Tyler Childers, Cody Jinks, and the Turnpike Troubadours, once the word gets out, good luck securing tickets even as they play bigger and bigger venues and festivals. Independent music is on the rise, and in a big way.

Well what if you could see many of these fast rising names all in one place, along with other great names in the country, roots, and Americana realm? That is the experience the Wild Hare Music Festival is offering in Canby, Oregon this summer on July 15th and 16th.

Surging singer/songwriter Zach Bryan, reigning Saving Country Music Album of the Year winner Charles Wesley Godwin, previous Album of the Year winner Sarah Shook and the Disarmers, plus Vincent Neil Emerson, Red Shahan, Dalton Domino, Jaime Wyatt and a slew of other names that quite literally define the cutting edge of cool artists coming up right here, right now are all set to perform at Wild Hare.

Add on top of that some well-established titans in music such as Marcus King and Lucero, along with some of the best talent from the Pacific Northwest region such as TK and the Holy Know Nothings, Jenny Don’t and the Spurs, Tylor and the Train Robbers, and the Lowdown Drifters, and it’s just about the perfectly curated experience to see who you want, and discover something new (see full lineup below).

“Our fans have told us they value the opportunity to see rising stars in a more intimate setting before they get so big that their only option becomes stadiums and mega-festivals,” says Wild Hare Saloon Owner and Festival Co-Producer Joan Monen. “Our festival is positioned to be an ’on ramp’ to becoming the next big thing, and a tremendous opportunity for artists and fans to connect.”

Not only that, but with the way the lineup connects, you know there will be some unique collaborations that transpire, like between best buds Zach Bryan and Charles Wesley Godwin, who’ve been touring with each other recently. The fest also will boast evening afterparties included with admission where you may get a chance to see even more intimate and collaborative moments.

Saving Country Music attended Wild Hare in 2019 (read review), and can vouch for the experience. Of course due to the pandemic, the fest has been dark over the past couple of years. This year they’re moving just down the street to the Clackamas County Fairgrounds & Event Center so they can over improved camping and RV options and parking areas, upgraded restrooms, and more amenities, while also keeping the more intimate setting.

And as strange as it may seem, Oregon and the Pacific Northwest is the epicenter for independent country music in the summer, especially with a Texas/Red Dirt flavor. Along with the Wild Hare, the Jackalope Jamboree, the annual Braun Broters Reunion in Idaho, and Pickathon in August also feature independent country and roots.

Tickets for the Wild Hare Music Festival will go on sale Friday, 2/25 at 10 a.m. Pacific at wildharemusicfest.com.

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