West Salem’s Country Boom kicks off Thursday, bringing the stars and fans

For country music fans, a three-day festival in little ole’ West Salem, Wisconsin, has steadily grown in popularity.

Perhaps it’s the giant letters laid out across the county, reading B-O-O-M that everyone wants a picture in front of. Or it could be the converted golf course Maple Grove Venues that sets up a picturesque scene.

Or it could be the music. It’s probably the music, and this year’s Country Boom lineup will not disappoint.

“Out of all of our acts — I think we have 10 acts — nine of them came out with either a new single that charted or an album in the last six months that charted,” Country Boom co-founder Jon Holthaus said Wednesday on La Crosse Talk PM. “That’s pretty unheard of — a little bit of luck, maybe a little bit of skill. Not quite sure which one it is, but we’ve got a heck of a lineup this year that kind of blew a lot of people away.

“Megan Moroney is our opener on Friday. She just recently had a No. 1 on country radio, so it’s pretty rare to get lucky with that,” Holthaus added, but didn’t say if he’ll be wearing Tennessee Orange that night.

COUNTRY BOOM

Tickets here
LINEUP
Thursday July 13
The Pat Watters Band – 6–7 PM
Blue Collar 40 – 7:30–8:30 PM
Jo Dee Messina – 9–10:30 PM

Friday July 14
Anderson Daniels – 4:30–5:15 PM
Megan Moroney – 5:45–6:30 PM
Warren Zeiders – 7–8 PM
Dylan Scott – 8:30–9:45 PM
Kip Moore – 10–11:45 PM

Saturday July 15
Lauren Watkins – 4:30-5:15 PM
Jackson Dean – 5:45–6:30 PM
Larry Fleet – 7-8 PM
Chris Cagle – 8:30–9:45 PM
Dustin Lynch – 10:15–11:45 PM

He did note that they book acts about a year in advance, so it’s kind of like playing the stock market, to see who might end up being played on stations like La Crosse’s KQ98 multiple times daily.

“In 2019, we had a crazy lineup, where one of the staples we had was Kane Brown,” Holthaus said. “He had talks of coming out with an album. We headlined him. And, all the sudden, by the time summer rolled around, he was the biggest act in country music that summer.”

But it’s not just about trying to land the big stars. Holthaus said they also try to create some, as well — giving local musicians the big stage.

“We try to incorporate local as much as we possibly can,” he said. “We’ve got the main stage, which we actually have Pat Watters Band — they’re out of the West Salem-Sparta area.  We also have Blue Collar 40, they’re from West Salem, as well.”

Those two bands kick things off Thursday, beginning at 6 p.m. before Jo Dee Messina takes the stage at 9 p.m.

“Being able to have some bragging rights there and being included on the lineup just creates a whole different exposure to them,” Holthaus said of those local acts.

The first year of Boom, they didn’t know what to expect and were blown away when 16,000 fans showed. 

“We actually had to move the stage back for the second year and the years following,” Holthaus said.

Year 2 saw them eclipse the 20,000-fan mark and now, Holthaus said they’re steady in that 24,000-25,000 fan range.

And while it’s the music fans come to watch, the “about” page on the Country Boom website does say something peculiar when it comes to these kinds of multi-day festivals.

It reads: “The days of camping in a hay field are over. Experience the difference of camping under mature trees, and beating the summer heat!”

Holthaus also noted they provide multiple ways to watch the show, if you don’t want to be shoulder-to-shoulder in front of the stage. 

Tickets are still available for all three days, and fans can get VIP tickets for Thursday’s show — but the VIP is sold out for Friday and Saturday.