The Country Stampede Music Festival is an outdoor

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

and

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more na ...

festival held at

Heartland Motorsports Park Heartland Motorsports Park, formerly known as Heartland Park Topeka, is a multi-purpose motorsports facility south of downtown Topeka, Kansas near the Topeka Regional Airport. When it opened in 1989, Heartland Motorsports Park was the first new ...

, south of

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central U ...

. The festival has been held annually since 1996, historically on the last weekend in June (except in 2020 when it was cancelled due to the COVID pandemic). The festival was held at Tuttle Creek State Park outside

Manhattan, Kansas Manhattan is a city and county seat of Riley County, Kansas, United States, although the city extends into Pottawatomie County. It is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. As of the 2020 c ...

, from its founding in 1996 to 2018. The 2019 festival was moved to Topeka, initially due to potential flood conditions at Tuttle Creek Lake. Organizers announced the move would be permanent on June 20, 2019. Organizers also announced the name of the festival was changed to Heartland Stampede in advance of the 2020 festival. Like many large scale events, the festival was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the festival would once again be named Country Stampede and had a successful 3-day event despite poor weather. Organizers announced on October 19, 2021, that the 2022 festival would be moved to the month of July to attempt to avoid the history of severe weather during the event.

Country Stampede in Manhattan (1996–2018)

The Country Stampede festival was the largest annual music festival in

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

while in Manhattan. Total combined attendance for all days exceeded 170,000 – in 2012 it was approximately 175,000. The record for largest single-day attendance was set on June 23, 2012, when an estimated 55,000 fans watched

Toby Keith Toby Keith Covel (born July 8, 1961), known professionally as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He released his first four studio albums—1993's '' Toby Keith'', 1994's '' Boomtown'', 19 ...

perform. The festival began as a three-day weekend event, and then for several years was expanded to a four-day format, lasting from Thursday through Sunday. Camping was common for attendees, and 2,400 camp sites were available on the grounds. Vendors, and many activities were also present at the festival. Starting in 2016, the festival reverted to a three-day format. The Thursday night kickoff party was expanded into a full-day format, while Sunday was dropped from the weekend. Festival President Wayne Rouse said the decision would allow attendees a day off to recover and travel. The new format was well-received, and Rouse indicated the change would be permanent. During this time, a sister festival was held at the Kentucky Speedway in

Sparta, Kentucky Sparta is a home rule-class city in Gallatin and Owen counties in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The population was 231 at the 2010 census. Sparta is home to Kentucky Speedway. Geography Sparta is located in southwestern Gallatin County at (38.6 ...

, in 2003 and 2004.

Past performers

Notable musical artists performing at the festival in Manhattan include: * Jason Aldean *

Gary Allan Gary Allan Herzberg (born December 5, 1967) is an American country music singer. Signed to Decca Records in 1996, Allan made his country music debut with the release of his single " Her Man", the lead-off to his gold-certified debut album '' U ...

Dierks Bentley Frederick Dierks Bentley (; born November 20, 1975) is an American country music singer and songwriter. In 2003, he signed to Capitol Nashville and released his eponymous debut album. Both it and its follow-up, 2005's '' Modern Day Drifter'', a ...

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* Luke Bryan *

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* Charlie Daniels Band *

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* Chris LeDoux *

Little Big Town Little Big Town is an American country music vocal group from Homewood, Alabama. Founded in 1998, the group has comprised the same four members since its founding: Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman (née Roads), Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbr ...

* Lynyrd Skynyrd *

Maddie & Tae Maddie & Tae are an American female country music duo composed of Maddie Font (née Marlow) and Tae Kerr (née Dye), both of whom are singers, songwriters, and guitarists. The duo was signed to the revived Dot Records in 2014. Their debut album, ...

Martina McBride Martina Mariea McBride (née Schiff, born July 29, 1966) is an American country music singer-songwriter and record producer. She is known for her soprano singing range and her country pop material. McBride was born in Sharon, Kansas, and reloc ...

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* Reba McEntire *

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Thomas Rhett Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

* LeAnn Rimes *

Darius Rucker Darius Carlos Rucker (born May 13, 1966) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He first gained fame as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, which he founded in 1986 at the University of South Ca ...

Sawyer Brown Sawyer Brown is an American country music band. It was founded in 1981 in Apopka, Florida, by Mark Miller (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Gregg "Hobie" Hubbard (keyboards, vocals), Bobby Randall (lead guitar, vocals), Joe "Curly" Smyth (drums), and ...

* Mark Selby (musician) * Chris Stapleton *

Steve Miller Band The Steve Miller Band is an American rock band formed in 1966 in San Francisco, California. The band is led by Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals. The group had a string of mid- to late-1970s hit singles that are staples of classic rock, as ...

* Styx * Sugarland *

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

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* Brett Young *

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Country Stampede in Topeka (2019–present)

Move to Topeka and 2019 festival

In May 2019, after severe rains caused increased water levels at

Tuttle Creek Lake Tuttle Creek Lake is a reservoir on the Big Blue River 5 miles (8 km) north of Manhattan, in the Flint Hills region of northeast Kansas. It was built and is operated by the Army Corps of Engineers for the primary purpose of flood control. ...

Dam, the organizers of Country Stampede announced on their Facebook page that the festival would move to

Topeka Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central Uni ...

for the June 2019 event as a measure to "ensure all of heconcert goers will be out of harm's way". Despite reassurances from the festival organizers on their FAQ page that the event would not permanently move from Manhattan, on June 20, hours before the festival began, Country Stampede officials and leaders from the City of Topeka announced that the festival would permanently move to Heartland Motorsports Park for three additional years, renaming the festival to "Heartland Stampede", and terminating their contract with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism to host the event at Tuttle Creek Lake State Park. 2019 headline performer Jason Aldean was forced to cancel his show due to severe weather.

Planned 2020 festival and cancellation

In September of 2019, officials from the festival announced that

, Luke Combs, and

Cody Johnson Cody Daniel Johnson (born May 21, 1987) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He self-released six albums, including ''Gotta Be Me'', which debuted at number two on ''Billboard''s Country Albums chart, before releasing his first major- ...

would be the headlining performers for the 2020 festival, which was scheduled to take place from June 25 through the 27th. In March 2020, Heartland Stampede announced through their Facebook page that a local credit union, Azura, had become the new title sponsor for the 2020 festival. In April, organizers stated that the event would still go on, but later backpedaled and cancelled the event entirely due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Kansas The COVID-19 pandemic in Kansas is an ongoing viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Government efforts to mitigate the sprea ...

, even after attempting to reschedule the event. An FAQ from the event stated that tickets purchased for the 2020 event would be automatically transferred to the 2021 event, unless purchasers accessed a form and requested a refund between the cancellation date of April 30th and May 31st.

2021 festival

In September 2020, the event, now renamed to "Country Stampede at the Heartland", announced that it would be partnering with a local company, VAERUS Aviation, to bring an

airshow An air show (or airshow, air fair, air tattoo) is a public event where aircraft are exhibited. They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground. The largest air show ...

called "Thunder Over the Heartland" to the event on the final day of the 2021 festival, June 26th, as well as an additional day on Sunday the 27th, with attendees to Country Stampede receiving free shuttle transport between

and

Topeka Regional Airport Topeka Regional Airport , formerly known as Forbes Field, is a joint civil-military public airport owned by the Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority in Shawnee County, Kansas, seven miles south of downtown Topeka, the capital city of Kansas. The ...

for the airshow, the

190th Air Refueling Wing The 190th Air Refueling Wing (190 ARW) is a unit of the Kansas Air National Guard, stationed at Forbes Field Air National Guard Base, Topeka, Kansas. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Mobility ...

based at Topeka Regional would be participating, as well as that individual tickets would go on sale immediately for people wishing to see the airshow, but are not attending the festival. The announcement also included an announcement that headlining artists at the 2021 event would be Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, and Riley Green.

Past performers

Notable musical artists performing at the festival in Topeka include: *

* Luke Combs *

Sam Hunt Sam Lowry Hunt (born December 8, 1984) is an American singer and songwriter. Born in Cedartown, Georgia, Hunt played football in his high school and college years and once attempted to pursue a professional sports career before signing with MCA ...

Jake Owen Joshua Ryan Owen (born August 28, 1981), known professionally as Jake Owen, is an American country music singer, songwriter, and actor. Signed to RCA Nashville in 2006, he released his debut studio album, '' Startin' with Me'', that year. Thi ...

References

External links

Official Website

Heartland Stampede facebook page

Former Country Stampede website

Former Country Stampede myspace profile
{{Coord, 39, 15, 26, N, 96, 35, 01, W, format=dms, display=title, type:landmark_region:US-KS Folk festivals in the United States Rock festivals in the United States Music festivals established in 1996 Music festivals in Kansas Country music festivals in the United States

Country Stampede in Manhattan (1996–2018)

Past performers

Country Stampede in Topeka (2019–present)

Move to Topeka and 2019 festival

Planned 2020 festival and cancellation

2021 festival

Past performers

See also

References

External links