Headliners Zac Brown Band, Blake Shelton, Brad Paisley and Lee Brice Fuel Record Attendance
Shelton’s 40th Birthday Celebration Included
Surprise Onstage Duet with Gwen Stefani
First Headliner Announced for Next Year’s Festival
GRAND JUNCTION, CO – Country music fans of all ages packed the 25th Annual Country Jam music festival this past weekend, June 16-19, at Jam Ranch outside Grand Junction, CO. This year’s attendance totaled nearly 90,000 over the four days (up from 80,000 in 2015), thanks to stellar performances from Zac Brown Band, Blake Shelton, Brad Paisley and Lee Brice, as well as Trace Adkins, Big & Rich, Joe Nichols, Tyler Farr, Easton Corbin, Chase Bryant, Darryl Worley, Neal McCoy, Halfway to Hazard, Canaan Smith, Aaron Watson, Lindsay Ell, High Valley, Drake White and The Big Fire, Stephanie Quayle and Annie Bosko and many others.
The first headliner was announced for Country Jam 2017. For more information go to http://www.countryjam.com. Announcing one of the next year’s headliners during the current festival has become a much-anticipated tradition amongst the legions of regular attendees.
Photo credit: Chad Johnson / Country Jam
As Country Jam celebrated its rich 25-year history over the four days of the festival, another celebration took place: headliner Blake Shelton turned 40 on the day of his festival performance (June 18), and his set included a surprise appearance and performance from his girlfriend and pop rocker Gwen Stefani. Stefani stepped onstage midway through Shelton’s set to perform their song “Go Ahead and Break My Heart,” which is currently featured on Shelton’s If I’m Honest album. The crowd erupted as the two performed. Stefani left the stage and Shelton continued with playing his hits like “Honey Bee, “Austin,” “Sangria” and more, telling the capacity crowd at the end of the evening that he would “remember this night for the rest of my life.”
Minutes after leaving the festival grounds Shelton tweeted “I possibly witnessed the coolest and craziest thing of my life tonight….Thank you Colorado and @gwenstefani!!! Look up the videos!!” Stefani tweeted back “@blakeshelton ummmmm?? Did that really just happen?”
“The 25th anniversary of Country Jam was the best yet, filled with sunshine, great food and drinks, unforgettable moments, and amazing music,” said Dhruv Prasad, Executive Vice President, Live Events, Townsquare Media Inc. “We’re already excited about next year and can’t wait to bring all of our friends back out to the Jam Ranch in 2017.”