Country Night Lights, a new music festival, is making its way to Athens in September with country singer Sam Hunt as the headliner, said Adam Lynn, a founder of Prime Social Group.
The festival will take place on Sept. 26 at The Venue, with tickets costing $25. There will be seven acts total, but the six other performers will be announced at a later date and will not be any major headliners, Lynn said. There is a possibility to have one or two local acts from Athens or Columbus as part of the lineup, he said.
Sam Hunt, an up-and-coming country artist, is most known for his album Montevallo and songs such as "Leave The Night On," "Raised On It" and "Take Your Time."
“It’s a first-year festival, so it’s always challenging to get artists to commit,” Lynn said. “It had a lot to do with the Number Fest brand, being able to explain what Number Fest is and how special Athens is."
No other major events will take place in the fall for the group, Lynn said.
Halftime Fest was very similar to the Number Fest, but Country Night Lights will give students “the best of both worlds,” he said. The last Halftime Fest occurred in 2013, with performers such as rapper Hoodie Allen.
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“I don’t think it’ll be as big as the Number Fest is (right now), but that’s the long-term goal,” Lynn said.
Lynn said he would be satisfied if more than 8,000 people attended the event.
Having the event at The Venue, 8003 W. Union St., is comfortable for the group, considering they have worked in the space before, Lynn said.
“We felt like we really figured out how to put on these festivals and thought country music would do pretty well down here,” Lynn said.
Students’ opinions ranged from excitement to disinterest.
“I definitely think I would be up for that. I am not even going to the Number Fest,” said Mariah Trubisky, a freshman studying early childhood education. “I would be way more interested if it was country."
Alex Taylor, a senior studying nursing, would consider returning to campus for the event and thinks the festival would be good for the other people who don’t get to enjoy Number Fest as much because they don’t like the music.
Dan Storch, a senior studying marketing, did not like the idea for a new festival.
“They blew up our small, fun fest into something that is commercialized,” Storch said. “They’re just trying to make money off of us more than just (allowing) an event that's for the students held by the students.”
The event is for all ages and is meant to be a family-friendly environment like any other country show, said Dominic Petrozzi, the founder of Number Fest.
“The whole premise is we wanted to create a country event for the entire community down in Athens that everybody can enjoy,” Petrozzi said.
Tickets will go on sale on April 24 at noon.
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