WE Fest 2016 Draws More Than 150,000 to Soo Pass Ranch

For 30-plus years, WE Fest has been one of the leading country music festivals in the United States, offering festivalgoers sets from country superstars and rising stars at a natural venue. In 2016, the festival drew more than 150,000 country music fans to the scenic Soo Pass Ranch, located in Detroit Lakes, Minn., to see performances from roughly two dozen artists, including Eric Church, Billy Currington, Lee Brice, LoCash, Granger Smith and Tim McGraw.

Highlights from the annual festival included LoCash joining Brice onstage for "Parking Lot Party," Smith channeling his alter ego, Earl Dibbles Jr., for his song "Merica" and pretty much everything that happened during McGraw's set, which had nearly the entire (massive) crowd singing along. During his performance, Steven Tyler brought out the Minnestoa Viking cheerleaders as he mixed songs from his new album,  We’re All Somebody From Somewhere, with his well-known Aerosmith hits, while Kid Rock brought the house down with a set that featured some intense pyrotechnics and mixed musical genres. Gary Allan, Joe Nichols, Montgomery Gentry, Amanda Watkins, Halfway to Hazard, William Michael Morgan and High Valley also performed during WE Fest 2016.

“We are so grateful for the continued support of our ticket buyers that, year in and year out, make WE Fest the biggest and best country music and camping festival in the world,” says Dhruv Prasad, the executive vice president of live events at Townsquare Media, Inc., one of the festival's owners. “As we approach the 35th anniversary event, we are planning to deliver our best lineup ever, as well as working on continued operational improvements to the attendee experience. We can’t wait to see everyone again next August!”

The 35th annual WE Fest will take place Aug. 3-5, 2017 -- and already, two of the headliners have been announced: Luke Bryan and the Zac Brown Band. Tickets are available online for those who want to buy early.

The Best Photos From WE Fest 2016