The Wild Hare Music Festival is back — and better than ever. Previously known as the Wild Hare Country Fest, the 2022 Wild Hare Music Festival will take place July 15 and 16 at the Clackamas County Fairgrounds and Event Center.
Presented by the Wild Hare Saloon and J-Fell Presents, which are also the collaborators behind the annual Harefest, the Wild Hare Music Fest will feature a star-studded lineup of 22 artists representing a wide range of genres, including country, Americana, southern rock, blues, red dirt and more.
This year’s lineup includes fast-rising Oklahoma songwriter Zach Bryan, Grammy-nominated guitar phenom Marcus King, alt-country road warriors Lucero and groove-heavy Portland favorites TK & The Holy Know-Nothings.
Also gracing the festival stages will be the punk-inflected honky-tonk outfit Sarah Shook and The Disarmers, truth-telling Texan Vincent Neil Emerson, versatile troubadour Red Shahan, and cinematic country-folk lyricist Charley Wesley Godwin.
Additional artists playing the festival include Jaime Wyatt, Myron Elkins, Dalton Domino, Jenny Don’t and The Spurs, Tylor & The Train Robbers, The Lowdown Drifters, The Piedmont Boys, Blaine Bailey, Roman Giberson and the Long Haul, Robert Henry, Olivia Harms, Marcedes Carroll, Trent Beaver, and more still to be announced.
The festival’s unique, multiple-stage setup allows bands to start their sets in rapid succession with virtually no downtime in between, creating a seamless entertainment experience for concert-goers.
Organizers explained that replacing the word “country” with “music” in the title of this year’s event reflects an industry trajectory where the lines between genres are becoming increasingly blurred.
Beyond the amazing music, the Wild Hare Music Festival features a Saturday morning brunch, party tents, multiple food and drink vendors and more. There will also be after-party events on both nights that are included in the ticket price at no additional charge.
The Canby Current and Now Hear This Studios in Canby is proud to partner with the organizers of the Wild Hare Music Festival this year for an exclusive pre-sale that will open at 10 a.m. Wednesday — two days before general ticket sales are available.
To take advantage, visit wildharemusicfest.com and use the promo code CANBYCURRENT. (Note: This is an early ticket sale, not a discounted rate. Pre-sale tickets will be sold at regular prices.)
Now in its third year, the Wild Hare Music Fest has quickly built a reputation as one of the Pacific Northwest’s premier showcases of rising talents on the cusp of stardom, particularly in the emerging red dirt music scene.
“Our fans have told us they value the opportunity to see rising stars in a more intimate setting before they get so big that their only option becomes stadiums and mega-festivals,” said Joan Monen, owner of the Wild Hare Saloon and co-producer of the festival.
“Our festival is positioned to be an ‘on-ramp’ to becoming the next big thing, and a tremendous opportunity for artists and fans to connect.”
The previous edition, held in July 2019 at Pat’s Acres outside Canby, featured the likes of Cody Johnson, Whitey Morgan, Bri Bagwell, the Dirty River Boys, The Lowdown Drifters, Mike and the Moonpies, Micky and The Motorcars, The Piedmont Boys, and Jason Bolland & The Stragglers, among other stars.
The move to Clackamas County Fairgrounds and Event Center offers expanded and improved tent camping and RV parking areas, shorter distances between overnight and music areas, more vendor space and modern restroom facilities.