Buzz Builds for WE Fest 2010

By Tyler Sorensen
Contributing Writer

It can be said that throughout most of the year, the Soo Pass Ranch is a place of natural tranquility. Nestled in between a scattering of groves and shorelines, the 600-acre venue, just outside of Detroit Lakes, emanates a pleasing rural austerity. Driving south on U.S. Route 59, one could conceivably miss the ranch for the view of the countryside that surrounds Lake Sallie.

And yet for at least one weekend, the same highway will be congested with migrant pickups, bacchanalian parties will thrive until daybreak, and the modest population of Detroit Lakes could increase as much as tenfold. Country music will be in season at the Soo Pass Ranch. WE Fest is underway.

Now in its twenty-seventh consecutive year, WE Fest has remained not only a regional staple of outdoor music but has grown to become one of the leading country festivals in America.

With a self-imposed limit of 48,000 daily visitors, the festival has regularly operated at near maximum capacity for the past few years.

For president and CEO Jeff Krueger, who has spearheaded the event since its inception, the idea for WE Fest came from a personal love of outdoor music. “When I was 16, I hitchhiked to Woodstock,” he recalls over the phone in a long story short. “I got backstage tickets and went.” It was a defining moment for Krueger and one that would ultimately drive his future career. He later traveled across the country visiting scores of outdoor music events, including “Country Day” at the US Festival in the early eighties.

Noticing the opportunity for an entire three-day festival of country and western music, a farmstead in River Falls, Wisconsin was Krueger’s first venue of choice. “I was rejected,” he says matter-of-factly. Soon after, he and his team stumbled upon the Soo Pass Ranch. The vast horse-riding meadows were the ideal backdrop for a country-themed festival. In 1983, the first WE Fest – a nod to the US Festival – successfully launched with genre giant Alabama headlining the festival.

As Jeff Krueger is willing to admit, the past twenty-seven years haven’t all been triumphs. “We’ve had our ups and downs,” he says. Through its earliest years, it wasn’t unusual for WE Fest to just recover expenses or even lose money. “We never had the opportunity to get a lot of state funding like the Target Center or the new Twins stadium did,” Krueger adds.

Instead, the festival organizers have had to rely on their own resources for putting up the small city that arrives every year. In 1996, that included the installation of 250 flush toilets (“Our first challenge”). More recently, a mammoth 60-foot tall permanent roof was assembled over the stage for the benefit of the performers. All paid from the private festival pocketbook.

And with country music resonating with a broader audience of young people than ever before, WE Fest has also grown to accommodate the various demographics in its twenty-seven years. “It used to be like oil and water,” Krueger says, referring to the older and younger crowds.

Like a grade school dance hall, the two sides traditionally kept to their own. Even today, the 15,000 reserved seats are typically snatched by the elders while the more spry settle for general. Says Jeff: “If I’m nineteen, I’m probably not going to party with thirty-five-year-olds.” In turn, designated campgrounds were implemented for specific age groups. There are now six exclusive spaces for those under 30 and three sites for families and the abstinent thirty-somethings and older.

For the past seven years, WE Fest shared the ranch with the 10,000 Lakes Festival, a four-day event typically held a few weeks earlier in July. Catering primarily to a jam and folk audience, last year’s headliners included Wilco, Widespread Panic, and the Dave Matthews Band.

In a statement issued last winter, the promotors disclosed that “10KLF could not grow to financial success” and “would be on official hiatus until further notice.” An unfortunate casualty of the recession, the budding festival was only one in a recent trend of concert cancellations.

Despite a tenuous economy, WE Fest promotors are still expecting near-capacity crowds of over 40,000 a day. In fact, the country music festival is already selling pre-sale tickets for 2011. And breaking records too, with only Rascal Flatts and Brad Paisley on the bill.

How do they manage it? Jeff Krueger remains grateful for the festival’s longevity. “I know it sounds corny,” he begins, “but it’s really due to the fans’ loyalty. We dodged a bullet in regard to the recession. I think people love this event. It’s in their blood. Part of it is due to the camping – it’s just a beautiful area.”

Evocative of the state’s unspoiled countryside, the Soo Pass Ranch is indeed a beautiful setting for the tens of thousands of campers that will settle there for the three days. An unlikely spot for such a large festival, Minnesota has also proved to be a viable concert destination for country artists and one they enjoy playing. George Strait, Kenny Rogers, and Dolly Parton are only a few of the WE Fest alumni to dazzle audiences in the North Star State.

This year will mark Billboard-charting Eric Church’s first appearance at the event. A North Carolina native, Church found his audience in the upper midwest. “Minnesota was one of the first places that started our cult following,” he says. “The people who started to follow us everywhere really started to develop in Minnesota and we watched that cult following spread throughout the rest of the U.S.”

Tom Gossin is just as appreciative of the state enthusiasm. As one of the guitarists and vocalists of rising new group, Gloriana, his band will take the Main Stage on Thursday afternoon. “We love playing for our fans in Minnesota! They are always super excited and have great energy,” Gossin says.

Troy Gentry of country powerhouse Montgomery Gentry enjoys the simpler pleasures. “The thing I love about Minnesota most is the weather in the summer,” he replies. “It has been nearly 100 degrees for weeks in Tennessee with hardly any relief. It’s going to be nice to get up there in the fresh air and cool weather for a change.”

Other, more regional acts embrace the opportunity a large festival provides. While the members of Fargo-based Troubadour are no strangers to WE Fest, together the band looks forward to one thing. “The crowds,” says vocalist and steel guitarist Rick Schroeder. “You play in bars most of the time and you don’t get that major response. At WE Fest you have people screaming at you.”

Heidi Owens, of the Minneapolis country/rock outfit, Hitchville, is just as thrilled. “The music fans in Minnesota are very loyal and very enthusiastic, which makes the enjoyment of playing music that much better,” she says. “Country fans in the area are particularly awesome, and some of the friendliest people we meet. WE Fest is something we can’t wait to be a part of.” If the festival’s reputation is any indication, thousands of country fans share Owens’ sentiment. They can’t wait either.

For more information on WE Fest and how you can help the victims of the recent Nashville floods, please visit http://www.wefest.com.

Questions and comments: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)