Pack your cowboy hat and practice that southern drawl, Dauphin’s Countryfest is bringing the best from Memphis to Manitoba’s back country roads.

The 27th annual festival is taking place from June 30 to July 3, and its president Eric Irwin promises it’s going to be a great one.

“We have lots of new vendors and helicopter rides and the mechanical bull and 50 new bands,” Irwin says.

There’s also a social hall, beach volleyball competition and sports bar. And, yes, it is an outdoor festival.

“We really pride ourselves on providing great service,” Irwin says.

According to him, they have all the amenities anyone could want, including running water in the campgrounds, flushing toilets and showers.

But that’s not what people come for.

“We have great artists – not only the Nashville A-list like Lady Antebellum and so on – but we also have a great Sunday line-up,” Irwin says.

The final day of the festival has been dubbed the rebel country outlook, Irwin says. There will be a tribute to Merle Haggard, and performances by Terri Clark, The Madtrappers and The Noble Thiefs.

With three separate stages, including an amphitheatre, Dauphin’s Countryfest can pack a lot of music into one weekend, Irwin says.

“It’s going to be a great festival. We’ve got great bands. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

People under 25 can buy two weekend passes for $250 together, Irwin says.

Published in Volume 70, Number 27 of The Uniter (June 2, 2016)