Flambeau Fest, a two-day country and Southern-rock music event, debuts this weekend at the Lamar Dixon Expo Center’s Ascension Fields festival grounds in Gonzales.
Sam Hunt, a country star who’s as much influenced by R. Kelly and Usher as Alan Jackson and Travis Tritt, headlines Saturday at the Flambeau Main Stage. Saturday’s acts also include Dustin Lynch, Chase Rice and Jessie James Decker.
On Sunday, classic Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd top the main stage bill. The second day’s other major draws include Hank Williams Jr., the Southern-rock and country-centric Blackberry Smoke and country-pop band A Thousand Horses. In addition to the main stage and its marquee names, Flambeau Fest features the Torch Stage and Songwriter In-The-Round Stage.
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After the tragic mass shooting at a Las Vegas country music festival on Sunday, the Flambeau Fest organizers shared a post on Facebook outlining the steps they and the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office will be taking to increase security measures and provide a safe environment for attendees.
Flambeau Fest co-producer Adam Mark Miller and his Covington-based Pi Entertainment Inc., originally planned to launch Flambeau Fest in 2018. However, Bayou Country Superfest’s relocation from Tiger Stadium to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome this year inspired him to move Flambeau Fest up a year.
The 2016 flood that devastated metro Baton Rouge gave the Pi team more motivation to bring a major new music festival to the Capital City area.
“We want to bring something to the flood region that’s a win, that can contribute to the local economy,” Miller says. “And with Bayou Country Superfest leaving town, we thought there’s no big event in the region now.”
Although moving the fledging Flambeau Fest to 2017 presented challenges, Miller says the festival is ready for business. “We felt like we had lightning in a bottle,” he says. “Everyone jumped on board.”
Miller believes Flambeau Fest and its venue, the 130-acre Ascension Fields, can achieve world-class status with this inaugural event.
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“Festivals are taken seriously here,” he says. “If you’re going to stage one, you better bring your A game. That’s been our goal since day one. We’re doing this with great talent on the stages. And we want to present a family-friendly festival where people can hang out all day. These festival grounds deserve it, and this region deserves it.”
Flambeau Main Stage music runs 4-11 p.m. Saturday and 4-10:30 p.m. Sunday. Music on the two smaller stages takes place noon-4 p.m. both days.
Two-day Flambeau Fest tickets are $149, single-day tickets $85. Tickets, including VIP admission, are available at flambeaufest.com.