Last year, president of Anaheim-based Activated Events Steve Thacher decided to take a bit of a gamble by adding a country music show to his rotating roster of annual events at Huntington State Beach.
The company has produced events in the area for the last handful of years including Wet Electric, Beach House, the Sundown Music Festival, Silent Sunsets and Beachfront Cinema. It did, however, find success with its first go around with Coastal Country Jam, which was headlined by “Ready, Set Roll” and “Gonna Wanna Tonight” singer-songwriter Chase Rice in July 2016.
It did so well that it returned to the beach on Saturday, April 1, this time with headliner Jake Owen, who will be back to close out Pacific Amphitheatre’s 2017 Summer Concert Series in Costa Mesa on Sunday, Aug. 13.
“No disrespect to Honda Center, the Forum or venues like that, but it’s just not the same experience as being outdoors,” Thacher said.
Over the last decade Southern California has proven to be a rapidly growing market for country music. Goldenvoice’s three-day Stagecoach country music festival in Indio continues to thrive and some of the genre’s biggest artists including Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambert and Garth Brooks are diligent about scheduling stops in multiple venues throughout the region while out on tour.
“This is just country music, barbecue and the beach and people seem very satisfied with that,” Thacher continued. “With Coastal Country Jam, you’re right on the beach and you have this amazing backdrop with the sun setting behind Catalina Island. When you get to the show, you walk up and you’re on the sand and you can lay down your blanket or beach towel and just enjoy the afternoon. In that regard, this experience is very unique. “
With the demolition of the 16,000-plus capacity Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre last year, which was a favorite tour stop for numerous country super stars, it has opened up a bit of an opportunity for area country festivals – such asCoastal Country Jam, Queen Mary’s Shipkicker and Synergy Global Entertainment’s Driftwood at Doheny State Beach – to flourish.
“I think there’s an appetite for country music and for live events,” Thacher said. “If you have a unique event and you’re serving your customers well, I think there’s room for everybody.”
Coastal Country Jam returns to Huntington State Beach on Saturday, Aug. 12 with headliner Billy Currington and support from Walker Hayes, Sunny Sweeney, Daniel Bonte and Kaitlyn Weathers. The event is 21-and-over only and will take place from noon-9 p.m.
For the third installment of the event this year, Thacher and his team have definitely upped the ante by booking arguably one of the biggest acts in the genre, Lady Antebellum, for Coastal Country Jam’s first-ever two-day, all-ages event, which is scheduled for 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23 and Sunday, Sept. 24.
“They just played in front of 18,000 people at the Hollywood Bowl and 20,000 people down in San Diego,” he said of the trio’s successful swoop through the area back in July. “Lady Antebellum has a lot of crossover too, so they appeal to not only people who listen to top country stations but people that listen to iHeartRadio stations love them as well.”
Though set schedules for the artists have yet to be announced, the two-day Coastal Country Jam will also include performances by Old Dominion, Eli Young Band, Michael Ray, Honey County, Chris Hawkey and Orange County’s own breakout country star, Brett Young.
Thatcher said this particular round of the event is like “Coastal Country Jam XL” as it will also include a variety of water and inflatable rides, carnival-style attractions and a silent disco.
“That’s an element we’ve introduced at some of our other events, but I think it will be different for the country crowd,” Thacher said of the silent disco concept, which is an area guests can put on oversized headphones and dance or chill out to music that’s simultaneously synced up with the patrons around them.
Both Coastal Country Jam events will feature barbecue from Black Sugar Rib Co., Culinary Logic, The Pit BBQ, Sweet Lou’s BBQ and Southern Fried Vegan and signature cocktails such as Mama’s Hard Lemonade and Life’s a Beach. They’ll also be installing a wooden dance floor on the sand over at the barn so guests can really stomp their boots along to the music and they’ve beefed up the VIP section to feature numerous seating and lounging options, including beanbags and hammocks. They’re currently working on cool shade structures to place in different areas of the event to help beat the heat during the day.
Coastal Country Jam is also well stocked and prepared to handle the heavy drinking country music-loving crowd.
“That was one of our downfalls last year when we had Chase Rice,” Thacher admits. “We couldn’t believe the lines and we had hired a fairly large amount of bartenders. The show we had in April, we brought in triple that amount of bar staff and I’m proud to say that we found that there wasn’t more than a five-minute wait for a drink at any of the bars.”
Along with a lot of drinking also comes the need for an increased amount of public restrooms. Thacher said his team thought of that as well.
“The ratio of restrooms to guests was ridiculously high, so we didn’t have long lines for the bathroom,” he said. “No one wants to miss something because they’re in line to go to the bathroom. The reason why Coastal Country Jam has grown and will continue to grow if we’re fortunate enough is by keeping an eye on the customer experience. We’ve learned very quickly and rectified those issues.”
As far as the future of Coastal Country Jam, Thacher said he foresees being able to book the event “at least three to four times” per year during the months of April-October. Those dates will include the smaller, one-day jams as well as one, more elaborate two-day event per year.
“People love country music and Coastal Country Jam has been well-received by the city (of Huntington Beach) and the community,” Thacher said. “When we look at our data, we’re seeing people coming from the Inland Empire, Chino, San Diego, Ventura, Los Angeles and, of course, Orange County and now from areas outside of Southern California. Our biggest secret is the venue, the beach and that sunset going down into the ocean. You just can’t beat that.”
Coastal Country Jam
With: Billy Currington, Walker Hayes, Sunny Sweeney, Daniel Bonte, Kaitlyn Weathers and more.
When: 12-9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 12
Where: Huntington State Beach, 21601 Pacific Coast Highway, Huntington Beach
Tickets: $75-$100 general admission; $285-$350 two-ticket VIP admission; $310 general admission combo ticket for Coastal Country Jam show on Aug. 12 plus two-day admission Sept. 23 and 24 for those 21-and-up only at coastalcountryjam.com.
Also: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23 and Sunday, Sept. 24 at Huntington State Beach with Lady Antebellum, Old Dominion, Eli Young Band, Brett Young, Michael Ray, Chris Hawkey, Honey County and more. $225 two-day general admission; $700 two-day VIP passes; $99 two-day child’s ticket (ages 6-12); $310 general admission combo ticket for Coastal Country Jam show on Aug. 12 plus two-day admission Sept. 23 and 24 at coastalcountryjam.com.
