November 2023

Country Thunder Wisconsin Twin Lakes, Wisconsin 2305 Richmond Road Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, 53181 Friday July 20-23, 2023 Jason Aldean, Country Thunder Wisconsin, 2023 With the sun shining bright and the fields filling up, fans were anticipating a great second day of Country Thunder Wisconsin. The day had an amazing line-up of artists, which included John Morgan, Halle Kearns, Hailey Whitters, Parmalee, Lainey Wilson, and Jon Pardi. Hailey Whitters drew in a small crowd of fans that were singing along to her songs. Whitters is an Iowa native singer-songwriter who has been making music since 2015. Her debut single to country radio, “Everything She Ain’t,” hit number 17 on the US Country Airplay charts in 2022. She recently took home New Female Artist of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards. Bailey Zimmerman, Country Thunder Wisconsin, 2023 Parmalee was next up in the lineup, where the crowd was on their feet dancing along. Parmalee has been making music since 2001 and has had 3 number one singles. In 2013, their first number 1 hit was “Carolina,” followed by “Just the Way” in 2021, which featured Blanco Brown, and “Take My Name” in 2022. Parmalee’s lead singer, Matt Thomas, worked the stage with ease and spent quite a bit of time interacting with the fans. The crowd erupted in cheers as Lainey Wilson took the stage. She moved with ease, worked the whole stage, and danced the entire set. She has an amazing stage presence and spends a lot of time signing autographs throughout her set. Her set included songs off her new album such as “Those Boots” and “Grease,” as well as some of her current hits,  “Wait in the Truck” with HARDY and “Heart Like a Truck.” Wilson is a singer-songwriter from Louisiana who has been making music since 2011. She received her first number one hit on the American country charts with “Things a Man Oughta Know.” Since 2021, Wilson has won countless awards including New Female Artist of the Year at the CMT Awards in 2021 and the CMA Awards in 2022. She recently won four awards at the Academy of Country Music Awards, which included Artist of the Year, Female Artist of the Year, Musical Event of the Year, and Visual Media of the Year. Parmalee, Country Thunder Wisconsin, 2023 It was finally that time of the night for Jon Pardi to take the stage. Pardi sang many of his hits including “Tequila Little Time,” “Dirt on My Boots,” “Heartache Medication,” and “Head Over Boots.” He maneuvered his way around the stage well and spent a lot of time with the fans. Pardi has been making music since 2012 and won two awards in 2012, New Artist of the Year at the CMA Awards and New Male Vocalist of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards. Since then, he has been nominated for a few awards for his albums and songs, including “Dirt on My Boots.” All the artists put on an amazing show and kept the crowd engaged, singing and dancing all afternoon and through evening. Hailey Whitters, Country Thunder Wisconsin, 2023 While the weather forecast was showing the potential for some dicey weather on day 3, fans still lined up early for the day in preparation for the artists ahead. Frank Ray, Shane Profitt, Lonestar, Carly Pearce, and Jason Aldean made up the lineup for day 3 of Country Thunder Wisconsin. The first artist of the day was up-and-coming musician Frank Ray. Ray set the day off on a strong note keeping the crowd on their feet. He spent time telling stories about his music while also singing some of his songs including his song “Country’d Look Good on You,” which has hit number 17 on the US Country Airplay chart. Lainey Wilson, Country Thunder Wisconsin, 2023 Shane Profitt made his way to the stage next and started his set with a bang. He has a great stage presence and makes sure to cover all aspects of the stage and its long catwalk. He spent a lot of time connecting with the audience in the pit. Profitt made sure to interact with the photographers at the show, including myself, which was a nice surprise. He sang many of his songs including his radio single “How It Outta Be,” which has hit number 16 on the US Country Airplay charts. Profitt recently started his career in 2021 where he ran into Chris Janson in a restaurant, which led him to be signed to a songwriting contract for his new album All In. He was then given the opportunity to open for Chris Janson on his Halfway to Crazy tour in 2021-2022 (review to the Halfway to Crazy tour: http://www.thecompmagazine.com/chris-janson-halfway-to-crazy-tour-at-the-rialto/ ) Jon Pardi, Country Thunder Wisconsin, 2023 Lonestar was the next artist to kick off the evening. They put on a strong set where they sang many of their hits, including “Amazed,” “I’m Already There,” and “My Front Porch Looking In.” Lonestar has been a group since 1992, consisting of members Drew Womack (lead vocals, acoustic guitar), Michael Britt (lead guitar, background vocals), Dean Sams (keyboards, acoustic guitar, background vocals), and Keech Rainwater (drums). The group has had 20 singles on the Hot country charts, where 9 reached number 1. Frank Ray, Country Thunder Wisconsin, 2023 Carly Pearce kicked off her set in the rain to a packed crowd of fans. She performed the beginning of her set while under the covered stage where it was not as slippery and made her way down the catwalk as the show went on. She performed many of her hits including “What He Didn’t Do,” “Next Girl,” “I Hope You’re Happy Now,” and “Never Wanted to Be That Girl.” She connected with the audience many times throughout her set and talked with the fans all evening. Pearce started her music career in 2006 as a singer-songwriter from Taylor Mills, Kentucky. She has been nominated for countless awards since 2018 and has won 10. Her most