Lordy, lordy, look who's 40.
Minnesota's biggest music festival and rowdiest campout, We Fest, that's who.
The country music marathon in Detroit Lakes — 3½ to four hours north by northwest from the Twin Cities — has endured through seven U.S. presidential administrations, three Blake Shelton marriages, two recent ownership deals and one global pandemic. Only Nashville's 50-year-old CMA Fest has been around longer among country music festivals.
While it had a few wayward years in its 30s under interim owners, We Fest is not suffering any kind of midlife crisis as it makes its 40th annual run this weekend, featuring red-hot Morgan Wallen, with crowds expected to swell to 40,000.
The talent, however, is sometimes beside the point. Here are some of the many reasons fans keep flocking to the festival year after year.
1. Drinking and no driving. The three-day model, especially starting the music on Thursday, is an ideal setup for those who like their country with some brew or booze. If you're staying in the campgrounds, you can drink up on music nights because you don't have to drive. Then you can hit the road on Sunday. We're not responsible for your hangover. You are.
2. Headliners. We Fest has wrangled three big headliners every single year — from the 1983 inaugural with Alabama, Tammy Wynette and Merle Haggard to this year with controversial crossover king Morgan Wallen, who is selling more records than Taylor Swift, as well as Kane Brown and old We Fest pal Brad Paisley.
3. Randy Levy. Inspired by a huge two-day rock happening called Us Festival in 1982 in Southern California, Minnesota entrepreneur Jeff Krueger came up with the idea of a country-and-camping fest on a dude ranch in northern Minnesota. He didn't really know what he was doing because he overpaid to land big names like Johnny Cash and Hank Williams Jr. But Krueger was smart enough to know what he didn't know, and he turned to veteran Minneapolis concert promoter Randy Levy in Year 3. And Levy guided We Fest into a huge success before selling it for $21.5 million in 2014 to Townsquare Media, a New York company. (Live Nation, the world's biggest promoter, purchased We Fest in 2019 for less than half of what the previous owner paid.)
4. Launching pad. A lot of the past decade's headliners have talked gratefully about getting booked at the fest in their early years, including Florida Georgia Line, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton and Kenny Chesney. That helps bring them back. Alas, we doubt '08-'09 newbie Taylor Swift will return to Detroit Lakes anytime soon.
5. Rock on. We Fest has never been exclusively country. Some years, it's been a little bit rock 'n' roll. Over the decades, a parade of Rock & Roll Hall of Famers have made the trip Up North, including Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Ray Charles, Carl Perkins, the Beach Boys, Sheryl Crow, the Doobie Brothers, Ringo Starr, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Steven Tyler. Glen Campbell and Kid Rock, who are a little bit country, also performed on the We Fest stage.
6. Nice campgrounds. Scenic enough to have been a horseback haven in previous years, the festival's host site Soo Pass Ranch and its surrounding campsites border on some of Detroit Lakes' namesake bodies of water and boast woodsy, hilly terrain. Campers don't have to live on top of each other like at other festivals, and they have access to ample facilities.
7. Interstate and even international draw. Detroit Lakes might seem like the middle of nowhere to Twin Citians, but it's actually just an hour from Fargo and 4½ hours from Winnipeg. You'd be surprised how many Canadians cross the border for it.
8. The Cities love country. Minneapolis and St. Paul typically rank as one of the Top 10 and sometimes even Top 5 markets for country music in America. We Fest has capitalized on its proximity to the Twin Cities as much as it has benefited from being an out-state event.
9. Live Nation to the rescue. Say what you want about the concert industry behemoth's inflated prices and questionable tactics via its partner Ticketmaster. Live Nation's takeover of We Fest four years ago unquestionably helped the event rebound after several years of sagging lineups and attendance under an interim owner.
10. Watermelon Patch. Hank Jr. has his family traditions, and We Fest-goers have theirs. One of the annual highlights is a group that spikes a few dozen large watermelons with colorful kinds of liquor on Thursday and then passes out watermelon slices on Saturday afternoon as security personnel stand by. Deliciously intoxicating.
11. Good eating. You can cook at your campsite, eat in the We Fest VIP mess hall or hit a hot dog stand. But we prefer an occasional gastronomic retreat to one of the many restaurants in Detroit Lakes like Zorbaz, Hotel Shoreham, the Fireside, Lakeside Tavern, Long Bridge, Brygge Taps & Taste, Hub 41, Ice House, El Loro and Main Street Restaurant, a cash-only spot for breakfast or lunch.
12. Afternoon delights. Country fans cannot live by music alone. Or day drinking. There are other amusements in the Detroit Lakes area, like 13 golf courses, mini-golf, beaches and flea markets. "Hey, honey, do we have room in the truck (or SUV or RV) for this priceless piece I just bought at the flea market?"
We Fest
When: 2 p.m. Thu., Fri. & Sat.
Where: Soo Pass Ranch, 25526 County Hwy. 22, Detroit Lakes, Minn.
Tickets: $189/day, $209/weekend, wefest.com.
