(June 21, 2015 Jacksonville, FL) Summers in Jacksonville have always had a lot of events happen from concerts, summer camps, beach festivals, Fourth of July celebrations and, of course, The Florida Country Superfest. Last year’s Country Superfest was our first annual festival that sold out due to the artists who performed last year. CMA Fest last year was a week before Florida Country Superfest which worked out well. It at least gave the fans a chance to go to CMA Fest before they went to Florida Country Superfest. This year’s festival, however, was in competition against Nashville’s own CMA Fest, which is a really bad idea. The consequences for this could be low ticket sales, a lineup that may be a hit or miss line up, and frustration with the promoters who scheduled the Superfest event. So, here is a comparison or “clash” of the country music festivals……It’s time for CMA Fest vs Florida Country Superfest.

Let’s talk about crowds. Each festival brings in a lot of people; some of them come from all over the state, even some people from outside the country. CMA and Superfest brought in a lot of crowds last year by having the best choices for headliners. When performers were announced who would be closing each day for the festivals, fans instantly went to get their tickets for that certain day. Weather conditions put a damper on the events and can make the crowds leave the shows. At CMA Fest this year, heat was factor for the fans, and at Florida Country Superfest there were thunderstorms. One place was hot and dry and the other was hot and wet! Now, did those conditions keep the crowd from having fun, absolutely not!!! The fans always go and go all the way to have the time of their lives. For fan attendance, both earn a point for being a successful festival. CMA: 1 - SUPERFEST: 1 

During a festival, fans come out to see the acts, big and small. This is about the big and small acts. At CMA Fest, many people get a chance to play certain locations that are big or small venues. From local artists to small indie artists, they can play at bars or certain stages. In Jacksonville, they get a chance to see the local artists play at Fan Fair or the Jacksonville Landing stage. This year we had a few local artists who wanted to play at the Superfest Fan Fair, but could not; but they were able to perform on the Jacksonville Landing stage. It was great that they added another stage to Superfest this year. CMA Fest had many stages that people could enjoy good entertainment. This year, they had up to 11 stages. Superfest seems to be growing so it may reach that goal someday, but it may take a few more years to get there. CMA earns a point for having many acts perform. CMA: 1 - SUPERFEST: 0

Now, about the number of days for each festival. Each festival has a certain amount of days to go on, and not many people can do everything in one day. CMA Fest lasts for 4 days, and Superfest lasts for 2 days. The amount of artists and performances determines the amount of days needed for the festivals and having enough to do for the fans. At CMA Fest you have a chance to go to Fan Fair X and meet the artists or see some of them perform. But, if you are looking to meet a certain artist, it might be a challenge to find out which day or time they would be appearing and if you are able to meet them. Florida Country Superfest was set up so that fans were able to get to meet any of the artists that were performing first. CMA Fest does that but you sometimes have to purchase tickets for a chance to meet them. It seems like a bit much, but you still get to meet them. Sometimes you do get to meet some artists from hopeful lines. This one is close, but Florida Country Superfest gets a point for this one; you only get to meet certain artists, but you get a chance to meet them for free. CMA: 0 - SUPERFEST: 1 

And on to the line ups. These two festivals are big and each of them have their advantages and disadvantages. Florida Country Superfest had a good line up, better than last year’s. Last year’s lineup included Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert, Eric Church, Little Big Town, Florida Georgia Line, Joe Nichols, Easton Corbin, and Colt Ford. This year, Superfest had Kenny Chesney, Brantley Gilbert, Keith Urban, Zac Brown Band, Tyler Farr, David Nail, Colt Ford, Swon Brothers, David Fanning, Danielle Bradberry, and Cole Swindell. Each of the artists at Superfest played for a certain amount of time. The early acts performed at least 5 to 8 songs and the headliners played an actual set for an hour or 2. At CMA Fest, the performers only played for at least 30 to 45 minutes due to the certain songs they are required to film for the TV show. The CMA Fest line up included most of the artists we saw at Superfest this year. However, with the popularity of artists and the amount of people that travel to see them perform, I would say CMA Fest is the winner for the best festival. CMA: 1 - SUPERFEST: 0

My final thoughts……Last year there was a week between festivals, but this year fans had to deal with two festivals clashing with each other. The artists had to work around both schedules, and the fans had to decide whether to stay in Jacksonville for Superfest or travel to Nashville for CMA Fest. One source says that Sunday at Florida Country Superfest sold out due to Kenny Chesney and Brantley Gilbert being the main acts. I believe that if it wasn’t for them appearing at Florida’s country festival, I think it would have been a bust. I personally chose to go to Nashville, and I was not disappointed. Nashville cannot compete with Jacksonville as far as country music is concerned…..after all, it is “Music City”! Every bar, restaurant and museum in Nashville caters to the country music fan. My pick for the best festival this year is that I would have to go with CMA Fest!