Country Thunder Wisconsin
Twin Lakes, Wisconsin
2305 Richmond Road
Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, 53181
Friday July 18-21, 2024
The sun was shining all weekend long as fans filled up the fairgrounds anxiously awaiting 4 days of country music. Randy Houser and Lainey Wilson headlined the first two days. Fans entered the grounds excited for day three of live music, with artists including Emily Ann Roberts, Josh Ross, The Bellamy Brothers, Jake Worthington, Bailey Zimmerman, and Nickelback.
The first artist to kick off day 3 of Country Thunder was Emily Ann Roberts. Emily Ann Roberts started her career on Season 9 of The Voice as a member of Team Blake, where she ended the competition as the runner-up. She signed a record deal with Starstruck Records in 2019 and released her first studio album titled Can’t Hide Country in 2023. Roberts sang many of her songs from her album including “He Set Her Off,” “Chickens,” “Working on Love,” and “The Building.” She spent time on stage interacting with fans from all around the large stage and entertaining the early afternoon crowd. After her set, she had a signing and meet and greet by her merchandise tent. Emily Ann spent time interacting with each fan that attended this personal event.
Josh Ross was the second artist to take the stage for the day. Ross is a Canadian country singer from Ontario. He had dreams of playing in the Canadian Football League, until an injury derailed his plan, which is when he chose to pursue music as a career. Ross has won the Rising Star Award at the Country Music Association of Ontario and the Breakthrough Artist or Group of the Year at the Canadian Country Music Association in 2023. A crowd started to form in the pit during Ross’s set while he performed songs including “Trouble” and “Single Again.” His stage presence was strong and had the audience engaged through the entire set.
Fans then welcomed The Bellamy Brothers to the stage as their set was next in the lineup. The Bellamy Brothers, consisting of David Milton Bellamy and Homer Howard Bellamy, are a country pop duo that had musical success in the 1970’s and 1980’s. They brought together a group of fans, old and new, together by singing “Let Your Love Flow” and “Old Hippie,” along with many other hits.
Jake Worthington brought a more traditional country music sound to the stage. Many songs were performed off of his debut self-titled album, including “Single At The Same Time” and “State You Left Me In.” Whether the audience knew the music or not, they were dancing along to Worthington all night.
The crowd filled in fast as the lights dimmed for Bailey Zimmerman. With an electric energy, Zimmerman ran onto the stage getting the crowd charged for his first song of the night, “Religiously.” His vocals were the star of the show the whole set, as was his attention to detail with each fan he encountered. Zimmerman’s lyrics tell a story that captures the attention of the audience with each word. From moving up one timeslot in the set, Zimmerman drew in a very large crowd of fans. With his performances, a family is created between Zimmerman and his band along with the crowd, creating a once in a lifetime experience. “Change,” “Where it Ends,” “Fall in Love,” and “Rock in a Hard Place” along with many other songs off his EP and debut album. Zimmerman first appeared at Country Thunder two years prior at an earlier set time and has worked his way to being one of the five main headliners of the event. While 2020 was a hard year for the world, it was the start of Zimmerman’s career. He began posting his music to social media as a means to impress girls, but quickly gained attention from music labels with his unique and soulful voice.
Finally, it was time for Nickelback to close out the night of live music. With the lights flashing and the crowd cheering, Nickelback finally entered the stage. The energy shifted in the crowd as Nickelback began playing their 15-song set. The band played a variety of hits, spanning from their greatest hits to their deepest cuts, including “Photograph,” “Worthy to Say,” and “Far Away.” The energy was electric through each song as the fans enjoyed the band and their stage effects. Nickelback blurred the lines between genres by not only performing at a country music festival, but by also bringing Bailey Zimmerman back to the stage for a rendition of “Rockstar.” Nickelback is a Canadian rock band that formed in 1995 with 10 studio albums and has won 70 awards with 143 nominations over their career. Nickelback kept the fans engaged and dancing alongside them all night long.
The final day of Country Thunder arrived with fans are showing up for one last day of country music. While many were exhausted after a long weekend of music, there was a buzz as fans entered in for the last day. The lineup was made up of Meghan Patrick, Randall King, Jackson Dean, Elle King and Eric Church, leaving fans excited for the day ahead.
The first artist to kick off the last day was Meghan Patrick. She is a Canadian American country singer-songwriter who released her debut album in 2016. Since then, she has released 2 more albums, the most recent being Heart on My Glass in 2021. “Wild as Me” and “Girls Like Me” were just two of her singles that she performed throughout her set.
Randall King was the next artist to take the stage. With an “old soul” country music style, King brought the crowd to their feet dancing along throughout his set. Songs including “You in a Honky Tonk,” “Mirror, Mirror,” and “Hey Cowgirl” were some of the few in his set. He spent time maneuvering the stage to make all aspects of the audience feel included in his set. King is a West Texas native who wears his honky-tonk alliance as a badge of honor. He has released a few EP’s and albums, with the most recent being Into The Neon this past year.
Jackson Dean brought his old school, gritty style of country music to the Country Thunder stage. He brought his own flare to the Country Thunder stage with guitars showcasing hand-burned designs he crafted himself. Dean was born in Maryland before moving to Nashville to become a songwriter. He released his first studio album, Greenbroke, in 2022, which includes hits such as “Don’t Come Lookin” and “Fearless,” both which were performed during his set.
Fans gathered as Elle King took the stage after following Jackson Dean. King is a quadrupole threat, being a singer, songwriter, musician, and actress. She is influenced by the musical style of county, rock, and blues. She released her first studio album in 2015 and has released two albums since then. With 13 nominations, King has received two awards, Musical Event of the Year at the 2016 CMA Awards with her song “Different for Girls” with Dierks Bentley and Musical Event of the Year at the 2020 ACM Awards. King had the crowd singing and laughing along with her during her whole set, which included songs “Ex’s and Oh’s” and “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)” in addition to many others.
Headliner Eric Church concluded a great weekend of live country music. While he may have entered the stage 20 minutes late, the fans did not mind at all. Cheers erupted once Church took the stage with his band, singing many hits, both old and new. Church opened his set with “Country Music Jesus,” where the crowd was singing along. His stage presence is amazing, moving to every corner of the stage and venturing to the end of the extremely long thrust. “Drink in My Hand,” “Hell of a View,” “Record Year,” and “Heart on Fire” are just a few of the hits that Church sang in his 20-song set. Church released his debut album in 2006 and has released 6 more since then. He has been nominated for countless awards since 2011 with his most recent wins being Album of the Year for Mr. Misunderstood 2016 and Entertainer of the Year in 2020, both at the CMA Awards. Eric Church brought a group of country music fans together for an unforgettable night. Fans left the fairgrounds sad to see an incredible weekend come to a close, but excited to see what’s to come next year at the 2025 Country Thunder.
For additional information on Country Thunder Wisconsin and these musicians, please visit:
Country Thunder Wisconsin – https://www.countrythunder.com/wi
Emily Ann Roberts – https://www.emilyannroberts.com
Josh Ross – https://www.joshrossmusic.com
The Bellamy Brothers – https://bellamybrothers.com
Jake Worthington – https://jakeworthington.com
Bailey Zimmerman – https://www.baileyzimmermanmusic.com
Nickelback – https://nickelback.com
Meghan Patrick – https://www.meghanpatrickmusic.com
Randall King – https://www.randallkingmusic.com
Jackson Dean – https://www.jacksondeanmusic.com
Elle King – https://www.elleking.com
Eric Church – https://www.ericchurch.com
Photography and writing by Jaclyn Duske.
Jaclyn Duske is a graduate from the University of St. Francis. A consistent supporter of the country music community, Duke has provided coverage of the Midwest music for over 5 years. Check out her work!
Jaclyn Duske – http://jaclynduskephotography.com
