Barefoot Country Music Festival is right around the corner, (no seriously, it’s tomorrow) and country fans are ready for New Jersey’s premier country music festival in Wildwood. Here’s what to expect.
Thursday
The fest begins with Barefoot’s annual ‘Thursday Night Kickoff’ concert, which is just the main stage and it only happens at later hours in the day, whereas the other days are across multiple stages and last the entire afternoon and evening.
The first act of the day is going to be DJ Slim McGraw, followed by John Eddie. The US Air Force Heritage of America Band follows, which is a great way to honor America ahead of the 4th of July.
Dillon Carmichael, who was a TBA name until recently, hits the main stage for an hour-long set at 5:30 pm. In the middle of his set, you can head over to Bacardi’s Club Barefoot for karaoke with DJ Joe Werner.
The nighttime portion of the day begins with Alana Springsteen, who is continuing her rise to fame in the country scene, as she hits the stage at 7:00 pm. Oliver Anthony will perform 90 minutes later, who secured his fame with his hit single, ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’, which he recorded in the woods.
Lastly, Old Dominion ends the night with an ultra late night set, festival wise, at 10:00 pm. The band is a multi-platinum-selling group, and Rolling Stone called them “one of mainstream country music’s post popular live groups.”
Old Dominion will conclude their night at around 11:30 pm, as fans can get ready for the real festival to happen over the weekend.
Miller Light Main Stage Schedule
3:30 – 4:00 – John Eddie
4:30 – 5:00 – U.S. Air Force Heritage of America Band
5:30 – 6:30 – Dillon Carmichael
7:00 – 8:00 – Alana Springsteen
8:30 – 9:30 – Oliver Anthony
10:00 – 11:30 – Old Dominion
Friday
The festival kicks off on Friday at 1:30 pm with Back Country Boys, a group from Southwest Florida who has been performing for around 3 years – they’ll kick things off on the Jim Beam Stage. The first act on the Miller Light Stage will be Nolan Quinn, who is performing 30 minutes from 2:00 – 2:30 pm.
On the Discover Stage presented by Patron, The Jess Zimmerman Band is performing at the same time, along with Nick Davisson at Club Barefoot.
As the day moves on, you can catch names like Mackenzie Porter on the main stage, or if you don’t want to see a good artist for some reason, there’s always karaoke with DJ Joe Werner at Club Barefoot, both at 4:00 pm.
Many country fans are calling Hailey Whitters the next big thing, and you can catch her full, hour-long set on the Jim Bean Stage at 4:30 pm.
If you’re looking for a non-mainstream artist late in the day, just to hang out with a few people, and hear people talk about songwriting, head over to the Discover Stage from 5:30 – 7:00 pm to hear Wyatt Durrette, Dave Kennedy, Rob Snyder, Adam Schwind, Jenna LaMaster, and Sonia Leigh talk about creating #1 hits.
Closing out the day, you can catch sets by Bret Michaels, Jake Owen, and eventually Keith Urban, who is closing out the festival at 10:00 pm.
Friday Schedule:
1:30 – 2:30 – Back Country Boys (Jim Beam)
2:00 – 2:30 – Nolan Quinn (Miller Lite)
2:30 – 3:00 – Williams Honor (Jim Bean)
3:00 – 3:30 – Owen Riegling (Miller Lite)
3:30 – 4:00 – Mara Justine (Jim Beam)
4:00 – 4:30 – Mackenzie Porter (Miller Lite)
4:30 – 5:30 – Hailey Whitters (Jim Beam)
5:30 – 6:30 – Niko Moon (Miller Lite)
7:00 – 8:00 – Bret Michaels (Miller Lite)
8:00 – 8:30 – Taylor Austin Dye (Jim Beam)
8:30 – 9:30 – Jake Owen (Miller Lite)
9:30 – 10:00 – Graham Barham (Jim Beam)
10:00 – 11:30 – Keith Urban (Miller Lite)
Saturday
The weekend kicks off with performances by Kane Brown, the Davisson Brothers Band, and many more. It’s one of the best days of the festival.
Chris Rendell and Sonia Leigh both play sets at 2:00 pm to kick off the festival: Chris Rendell is on the Discover Stage and Sonia Leigh is at Club Barefoot.
Gillian Smith kicks off the main stage at 3:00 pm. The Central Pennsylvania native began singing at 8 and hasn’t looked back.
One of the hottest bands right now, The War and Treaty, are playing an hour on the Jim Beam stage at 4:30 pm. The husband and wife formed the band in 2014, and for the past 10 years, have been nominated for countless awards, including a GRAMMY for Best new Artist and Best American Roots Song for “Blank Page.”
America’s Band, The Beach Boys, are performing at 7:00 pm on the main stage. The band consists of original band member Mike Love and a bunch of his family and friends, and select shows feature John Stamos as a band member as well. The band is on their ‘Endless Summer Gold’ tour and just performed a show at Holmdel’s PNC Bank Arts Center.
Scotty McCreery takes the main stage at 8:30 pm, followed by The Davisson Brothers on Jim Beam. The Davisson Brothers Band were named one of the “10 New Country Artists You Need To Know” by Rolling Stone, and are playing in a great spot at the festival.
Kane Brown is healdining night three of the festival, beginning at 10:00 pm and running until 11:30. He was named “the future of country music” by Billboard, and is coming off of his 10th #1 single at Country radio ‘I Can Feel It’.
Saturday Schedule:
3:00 – 3:30 – Gillian Smith (Miller Lite)
3:30 – 4:00 – Avery Anna (Jim Beam)
4:00 – 4:30 – Kylie Morgan (Miller Lite)
4:30 – 5:30 – The War and Treaty (Jim Beam)
5:30 – 6:30 – Conner Smith (Miller Light)
7:00 – 8:00 – The Beach Boys (Miller Lite)
8:00 – 8:30 – Greylan James (Jim Beam)
8:30 – 9:30 – Scotty McCreery (Miller Lite)
9:30 – 10:00 – Davisson Brothers Band (Jim Beam)
10:00 – 11:30 – Kane Brown (Miller Lite)
Sunday:
Barefoot Country ends their weekend with a bang, with acts like Luke Bryan, Bailey Zimmerman, and Nate Smith ending the festival.
Christian Yeager kicks off the festivities of the day at 2:00 pm on the Discover Stage.
If you’re more of a rock fan and heading out to the festival, be sure to check out Aidan Canfield on the Jim Beam stage, performing for 30 minutes at 3:30 pm. He has a rock and country infused sound, with influences of Bob Seger and Bruce Springsteen.
Catch Rodney Atkins on the main stage 5:30 pm, and after him, you can check out Southern Roads who are doing another panel on the Discover Stage from 5:30 – 7:30 pm.
Nate Smith, who mixes soul and rock n’ roll into one country sound, is hitting up the Miller Light Stage to begin the evening. The Californian is performing from 7:00 – 8:00 pm.
Bailey Zimmerman, who might be one of the biggest young country stars at the moment, is playing on the main stage from 8:30 – 9:30 pm. The breakout artist performed at Stagecoach Festival in California, and was billed reasonably high. His big hit ‘Fall In Love’ features his “effortlessly gritty, fervent vocal” sound, according to Billboard.
Closing out the entire festival is Luke Bryan, playing 90 minutes and concluding at 11:30 pm. If you’re going, hopefully you’re not working the next day, because it’s going to be a late one. There’s not much explanation for Luke Bryan, but it can be summed up here: he has 30 #1 hits, has over 20 billion worldwide streams, and has more certified digital single certifications than any other country artist of all time.
Sunday Schedule:
3:00 – 3:30 – Dillon James (Miller Lite)
3:30 – 4:00 – Aidan Canfield (Jim Beam)
4:00 – 4:30 – Sadie Bass (Miller Lite)
4:30 – 5:30 – Bryan Martin (Jim Beam)
5:30 – 6:30 – Rodney Atkins (Miller Lite)
7:00 – 8:00 – Nate Smith (Miller Lite)
8:00 – 8:30 – Redferrin (Jim Beam)
8:30 – 9:30 – Bailey Zimmerman (Miller Lite)
9:30 – 10:00 – Gavin Adcock (Jim Beam)
10:00 – 11:30 – Luke Bryan (Miller Lite)
It’s set to be a great weekend in Wildwood for one of New Jersey’s biggest festivals, with a daily attendance of over 30,000 people in 2023.
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