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Expo will host major country music festival in 2017 Keith Urban will be among 30 artists Comment By Nick Morgan Mail Tribune Follow @@mtcrimebeat MailTribune.com By Nick Morgan Mail Tribune Follow @@mtcrimebeat Posted Jun. 9, 2016 at 1:37 PM Updated Jun 9, 2016 at 5:29 PM By Nick Morgan Mail Tribune Follow @@mtcrimebeat Posted Jun. 9, 2016 at 1:37 PM Updated Jun 9, 2016 at 5:29 PM » Social News Next year's Jackson County Fair will be a week earlier than usual in order to accommodate a four-day music festival that will draw country music superstars to The Expo. Keith Urban is the first headlining act announced for the Country Crossings Music Festival, which is expected to draw 20,000 people to The Expo July 27-30, 2017. The multi-platinum recording artist will be among 30 top country acts and up-and-comers who will perform on two stages. The fair will move to the second week in July 2017, in order to accommodate the 10-day setup time needed for the music festival. Country Crossings will feature a large portable stage with professional lights and sound at an open field near The Expo, according to Expo Director Helen Funk and Anne Hankins, president of Willamette Country Concerts LLC. "We host some of the biggest productions in the Northwest, so it's a humongous 90,000-pound main stage," Hankins said. “We definitely don’t want people to think the amphitheater is the main stage, because it definitely won’t be.” The amphitheater will be used for up-and-coming acts at the festival, Hankins said. The festival is also exploring the option of a third venue at The Expo. Other than renting out the facility, The Expo isn't involved in organizing the festival. Funk said the rental contract is still in the process of being finalized. She said Country Crossings isn't a large windfall for The Expo but serves the public. “It’s a very tight contract, but it is great for our region,” Funk said. "Our mission is to serve our region." The festival's website anticipates attendance of 20,000 in 2017. Willamette Country Concerts currently organizes the Cape Blanco Country Music Festival in Sixes, which sold out in 2015 with 18,000 tickets, as well as the Willamette Country Music Festival in Brownsville and the Mountain Home Country Music Festival in Mountain Home, Idaho. This summer, Cape Blanco brings headliners Jason Aldean and Kenny Chesney to the coastal location. "We're very well known for bringing the biggest and best in country music," Hankins said. The 2016 Cape Blanco festival will be the last in that town, Hankins said, in large part because of limited accommodations for the thousands who attend the four-day festival. The Sixes location, off Highway 101, doesn't have enough camping on-site, and there aren't enough hotels for festival-goers. "Usually you have to have one or the other," Hankins said. Hankins also said the volunteer base was "rather slim" in the coastal area. Attendance by Medford-area residents has been high at the Cape Blanco and Willamette Country festivals, making Jackson County an "obvious choice." She said The Expo will be more accommodating to Northern California audiences. Although The Expo is different from the open fields where organizers usually set up, Hankins said freeway access, nearby hotels and camping accommodations there made it worth trying a different "footprint." Both agencies worked together to move the festival from the coast to Southern Oregon. Funk said they had met with partner agencies to see how The Expo could better serve them. It started with talks with Bi-Mart, which has sponsored the country music festivals and lawn seating at the Jackson County Fair, and the idea grew. "It became a point of conversation and kind of grew from there," Funk said. Funk said moving the fair schedule back a week is a potential opportunity to draw from a larger pool for concerts and live entertainment options. "We frequently share entertainment between Lane County," Funk said. The Expo schedules the carnival and live acts. "We know the major pieces and parts of the Jackson County Fair are safe," Funk said. Even with a country music festival preceding the fair, Funk said, The Expo plans to offer one country act at next year's fair, along with one metal act and an act popular in the 1980s. Pre-sale tickets will be available at 8 a.m. Monday, June 13. Hankins expects VIP and camping tickets to sell out first. Call 541-345-9263 or see www.cxfest.com . Tickets for the four-day festival range from $215 for VIP tickets to $155 for general admission. Reach reporter Nick Morgan at 541-776-4471 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @MTCrimeBeat. By Nick Morgan Mail Tribune Follow @@mtcrimebeat MailTribune.com By Nick Morgan Mail Tribune Follow @@mtcrimebeat Posted Jun. 9, 2016 at 1:37 PM Updated Jun 9, 2016 at 5:29 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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