Country Thunder is a four-day country music festival. This event was held in Florence, Arizona on April 6th-9th. This was the festival’s 23rd anniversary. Not only were there over 20 artists performing, but there were games like Jenga, corn hole, a slingshot, and multiple dance floors in the camping grounds. Over 90,000 people attended this Arizona 2017 Country Thunder year with Chris Young, Dirks Bentley, Thomas Rhett, and Blake Shelton as the headliners. Sahuaro students have given us an insight on their experience.

Anais Sias, a junior, attended the concert on Saturday. “I went on for Dirks Bentley. It was amazing seeing him because he is one of my favorite artists.  I also played games in the campsites.” When asked what was Anais’s experience was like she stated, “The environment of the concert was awesome. A lot of people were singing along and it was cool to meet different people who have the same likes as you.”

Hailey Crigor, a sophomore, went for all four days, one day happening to be her birthday. She stayed in the same campgrounds as the vendors because she was there with her family, who was with Southwest Smokeless. Crigor’s two favorite artists were Blake Shelton and Dirks Bentley. “I think my favorite part was seeing the people and artists at night. I would probably go again when I was older.” Hailey spoke highly of the henna tattoos there, stating that she had gotten two of them there and they were great quality.

Victoria Plank, a junior, went for four days. When asked what her favorite concert was she undoubtedly stated, “Chris Young. I love Chris Young and all his music. I love him with all my heart. I thought about having his kids but I’m a little young to do that.” Her time there was very eventful, like going to the vendors and getting hats with Autumn Fatovich.   “It was a memorable experience I will never forget.” One of her favorite memories is when a person from her camp, Ayriel, jumped on the main stage while Blake Shelton was performing. “If you like country music it’s definitely a place to go,” she continued.

I also attended Country Thunder all four days with Victoria. My favorite concerts were Chris Young and Blake Shelton. I have always wanted to see Chris Young, so seeing him made me super happy. I have seen Blake Shelton before, but this time I saw him front row. He made eye contact with me twice while singing and waved to me. I was crying the entire concert because I was so happy. This was the first year I had gone with a friend from Sahuaro, and it was a memorable experience to be able to bond with her and my family over the four days at the concerts, campsites, and playing games. If there were some tips I’d give, it would be to wear sunscreen, test out some allergy medicine before because you go because I had a really bad allergic reaction to Claritin while I was there, and drink a lot of water because it’s super hot.