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iHeartCountry is Back On Track Feat. Gabby Barrett, Kane Brown, Kelsea Ballerini, Sam Hunt, and Many More!

by
  • Arden is a Senior Country Music Journalist for Country Thang Daily, specializing in classic hits and contemporary chart-toppers.
  • Prior to joining Country Thang Daily, Arden wrote for Billboard and People magazine, covering country music legends and emerging artists.
  • Arden holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Tennessee, with a minor in Music Studies.

Time to shine country fans, as soon enough, you’ll get the chance to show your love for Country music by watching the now-virtual iHeartCountry Festival soon to air in a radio-special next month.

No More Setbacks

For starters, the event was supposed to go live way back May 2 in Frank Erwin Center in Austin, TX, but because of the pandemic restrictions, the festival was held back and canceled. Too bad for that country stuff you brought to get the physical experience full-hand. They’ll be staying at home for quite a time, too.

A few days ago, it was announced that the producers of the said iHeartCountry Festival would not want it canceled this year, so they tried their luck by forcing the event to go ‘full virtual’, the same staff, the same crew, and the same stars. The only difference is that it was pre-recorded in Nashville, Tennessee to stream on iHeartMedia’s country stations.

Expect no less, except for the lack of the full-dive experience, as their Country All-star roster is still the same featuring Lady A, Dierks Bentley, Jon Pardi, Dustin Lynch, Riley Green, and Morgan Evans. To make up further with the unavailability of doing things physically, announcements were made that Bobby Bones is bound to also make an appearance.

It’s Junior Rodeo On!

Rod Phillips, the Executive Vice President of Programming for iHeartCountry remains thankful that they remain privileged enough to be assigned to host the event. Part of his enthusiasm is that he’s positive that the lineup they made is one of the most iconic and biggest yet. He added that because they are forced to go virtual, fans might be a little disappointed. The change also opens an opportunity for millions of listeners around the globe to see and hear what Country Music is all about as it’s also available on their exclusive streaming platform, LiveXLive.

But if you think that there will be zero fan interactions, well that’s a no-go as members and cardholders of iHeartCountry can get to play in one of their trivia nights on October 4 featuring Kelsea Ballerini. The lucky players to be chosen will be receiving a signed item from her and the winner gets to be specially mentioned during the virtual performance.

Expect the virtual performance to stream on 150 iHeartCountry radio stations, iHeartRadio’s official website, and LiveXLive exclusives, 8 PM ET on October 23.

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