Country in the Park returns to Sacramento as fans embrace second festival of the year
Country music fans gathered at Heart Health Park at Cal Expo for the second Country in the Park festival of the year, bringing thousands together for live music, food, drinks and time with friends.
The festival, presented by country radio station KNCI, has been a Sacramento tradition for 26 years. While the main event typically takes place in May, organizers added a fall edition several years ago to meet growing demand.
For fans like Matthew Hoag, the anticipation is part of the experience.
"Just counting down the minutes until 2, until we can go inside," Hoag said as fans waited for the gates to open.
Outside the venue, groups of friends gathered over drinks and games of cornhole before heading inside for performances.
"It's great to have this place where we can gather with our friends and have some fun, obviously," festival-goer Joel Moore said.
Inside, crews prepared for a lineup featuring Bailey Zimmerman, Russell Dickerson, Ian Munsick and other country artists.
The spring festival typically draws more than 50,000 fans, while the fall edition brings in about 15,000. We asked fans whether Sacramento has room for all of these country music festivals.
"I can tell you right now that there are enough people in the Sacramento area and Northern California in general that would absolutely love to come to this place," Hoag said.
His comments come as GoldenSky prepares to return next year after taking a two-year break. Organizers previously cited an oversaturated country music festival market and challenges booking major artists as reasons for the hiatus.
With GoldenSky returning, questions remain about whether Sacramento can sustain several major country music festivals in a single year. But Country in the Park fans said the events can complement one another and help strengthen the region's country music scene.
"It's a mixing pot in Sacramento for sure. So you just got to look in the right places. You'll find country people if you know where to look," Hoag said.
For Moore, the appeal goes beyond the performers.
"That's the heart of Sacramento, bringing people together," he said.
Organizers plan to announce the lineup for next year's Country in the Park in November.
