Dozens of hardcore country music fans waited in line hours before the gates opened for the second day of the YQM Country Fest in New Brunswick on Friday. “We’re always the early crew,” said Trista Heatherington, who arrived at 7 a.m. “We get here early, we get to the stage early. We’re friends with security there and we always feel safe. The later you come, it gets crazy.” Heatherington and Carole Daigle have been to all five editions of the festival. “It’s YQM, it’s great,” said Heatherington. “You meet a lot of people. We get a YQM family going on.” Daigle said the festival provides good value. “There’s a lot of artists. So, for the price you pay you can’t get it anywhere else. It’s not expensive,” said Daigle. The festival takes place in the middle of a Dieppe neighbourhood and has been a hit since its inception in 2022. The multi-act, three-day festival routinely draws more than 20,000 fans to an open field for each show. The big names are what keeps Cheryl-Anne Lewis coming year after year. “I just enjoy the lineup. The lineup is very good. The atmosphere. The people that want to come and everything and I just love country music. I always have,” said Lewis. “They bring the big hitters, the heavy hitters, every single year. Post Malone, Eric Church. You’ve seen Morgan Wallen here, Luke Combs. The biggest people in country are here.” It’s also a great day for many people who live near the concert site like Isabella Doucet. Her family was selling water, hot dogs and key chains to raise money for Doucet’s nine-year-old son’s hockey fees. “It brings the whole neighbourhood together and we get to listen to the music at the same time and meet a lot of people. It’s just a blast,” said Isabella. Her father Fernand Doucet has a theory why the festival is such a hit. “We’ve never had really a country fest before anywhere in New Brunswick that is this big. And that’s why people are going crazy for it because they’re coming from all over the place,” said Fernand. Chris Holden is the general manager at Atelier Tony, one of the closest restaurants to the concert site. “We’re right downtown Dieppe where all the action is,” said Holden. Holden said they aren’t necessarily busy all day, just busier at different times especially when the cowboys and cowgirls come in for brunch before heading off to the show. “Almost everyone is in with the full get-up. The giddy-up get-up we call it. The cowboy hats, the boots, everything,” said Holden. But like every major show, it’s not perfect. Some people who live in the area told CTV News Atlantic on Friday they’re upset with the garbage and the noise, especially at 11 p.m. when the show wraps up and 20,000 people find their way home. There was also an issue with water. On Thursday, many concert-goers complained online about having to dump water out before entering only to find there weren’t any water stations inside. Promoters rectified the issue on Friday and tried to make amends on social media. “We apologize for yesterday’s water situation to our YQM family,” stated a post on the festival’s Facebook page. “We’re going back to the way it’s always been. One 1L sealed water bottle per person will be permitted on site. Let’s have a great rest of the weekend!” Water issues or not, nothing was stopping country music super fan Jacob Hartley from being one of the first ones in the gate Friday. “I travel around. Canada, take some trips to the states if I need to see some country shows,” said Hartley. “I love it.” The three-day festival wraps up Saturday with five acts, including headliner Post Malone. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
