Countryfest looks to double attendance

Dauphin’s Countryfest is hoping to double its attendance next year with an A-list lineup of performers that includes Jelly Roll, Nate Smith and Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line.

Fifteen country artists are headlining the four-day event next June. Regular tickets go on sale today and are expected to go fast, Countryfest president Duane McMaster said Wednesday.

“We can’t believe that we managed to pull something this good together. We’ve had such positive feedback from everybody,” McMaster said.

People have been asking for bigger names for the last few years, he said, adding that he feels they’ve delivered with next year’s lineup.

“Everybody’s thrilled with the lineup. They love Jelly Roll, they’re talking a lot of positive things about Nate Smith, hearing a lot of positivity about Cameron Whitcomb as well,” he said.

Featured artist Jelly Roll has been nominated for two Grammys and has won numerous other awards. He is relatively new to the country music scene, having originally burst into the forefront as a rapper.

“We’re thrilled that we were able to get somebody of that calibre, that level of entertainment, to come here … He’s one of the biggest names out there right now,” McMaster said.

“Getting a name like this to come to a small town in rural Manitoba is amazing.”

Other performers include Brett Kissel, the Hunter Brothers, Owen Riegling, Noeline Hoffman, Blackhawk, Thelma and James, Alli Walker, Hailey Benedict, Jade Turner, The Martin Boys and The Sean Taylor Band.

McMaster said people shouldn’t wait to get their tickets, as they could sell out quickly. There’s a good chance the festival will sell out with weekend passes, and no day passes will be left, he said.

“We have a beautiful facility, but it does have a limited capacity. We only have a certain number of seats available for people, and so once we hit that number, we have to stop. So we can’t keep selling.”

That capacity is an absolute limit of about 14,000, but they won’t sell that many tickets because it would be too crowded, he said.

The 2025 festival drew about 6,000 people per day over the first three days, with Sunday garnering closer to 7,000.

In the past few years, the festival has experienced some financial woes, as the entertainment industry becomes more expensive. But McMaster is confident Countryfest — which is Canada’s longest-running country music festival, now going into its 37th year — will be able to continue into the future, while keeping top-notch talent.

“We try and do all of our due diligence and try and be fiscally responsible, so we make sure we can keep everything going here,” he said. “And the board does a really great job of it.”

Costs have risen in part because artists have to rely more and more on touring as album sales plummet and streaming becomes the norm. The exchange rates for paying artists in U.S. dollars also hurts the bank.

That’s all factored in when searching for talent, and into the price of the tickets, which have gone up since last year.

Earlier this year, the provincial government gave a $500,000 grant to Countryfest in order to boost local tourism.

McMaster said that grant showed that the province believes in Countryfest and recognizes its importance for the region.

The grant helped alleviate the festival’s “mounting debt” and “was really instrumental in helping us keep things afloat here, and hopefully helping us turn the corner here.”

McMaster said doubling the attendance at this year’s festival “is achievable.”

Having the “best facility for an outdoor concert” in all of Western Canada, he said, “there’s just no reason not to come this year.”

The best way to buy tickets, he said, is through the Countryfest.ca website. Members had first access for tickets, with the general public gaining access today at 9 a.m.

Countryfest will take place from June 25-28, 2026.

» alambert@brandonsun.com