Bluewater Borderfest opens Thursday in Sarnia’s Centennial Park

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The stage was going up Tuesday in Centennial Park for the ninth Bluewater Borderfest with three nights of live music beginning Thursday.

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Billed as Canada’s Summer Kick-off Concerts, the volunteer-run event includes Thursday’s country music night, with headliner Chase Rice, and two nights of rock with The Fray headlining Friday and Billy Talent topping the bill Saturday.

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Borderfest started setting up in the park right after Ribfest ended on the weekend, said Mark Perrin, with the organizing committee.

“We’re ahead of the game a little bit, which is nice,” he said Tuesday morning as the stage was going up and Borderfest banners were hanging on the fences around the grounds. “Things are looking good.”

Borderfest attracted about 10,000 attendees last year, and the same number is expected this year, Perrin said.

“I think this is a really great opportunity for people to get out and really enjoy what should be three great nights of music,” he said.

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Out of town ticket buyers account for about 65 per cent of sales and help give the local economy a boost, he said. “We know there’s a few sold-out hotels, already.”

U.S. ticket buyers normally make up six to seven per cent of attendees but that’s down to about three or four per cent this year, Perrin said.

“It’s kind of going with what the trends and stats are showing,” he said. Travel between Canada and the U.S. has dropped in recent months following disputes over tariffs, as well as the U.S. president’s call for Canada to become the “51st state.”

“On our end, we want to be as welcoming as we can,” Perrin said. “The American bands have all been excited to come up and play.”

VIP tickets for Saturday have been sold out for about a month and only a couple hundred were left for Friday, Perrin said. General admission tickets for all three nights are available.

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Gates open at 5:30 p.m. Ticket and other event information can be found at bluewaterborderfest.ca.

Organizers are pushing ticket sales for Thursday’s country music lineup.

“Country’s a funny one,” Perrin said. “Everyone around here always asks for country, country, country, but we’re not necessarily seeing the ticket sales.”

Chase is “arguably one of the biggest country artists we’ve brought in,” and the opening night bill also includes the James Barker Band and Madeline Merlo, he said.

Friday’s lineup includes Big Wreck, Sarnia’s Kim Mitchell and Econoline Crush, along with The Fray.

“This is the 20th anniversary of their big hit, How to Save a Life, which was a theme song for Grey’s Anatomy,” Perrin said about The Fray.

Joining Billy Talent Saturday will be Hinder, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, and Faber Drive.

“Tickets for that are going good,” Perrin said. “I think we’re somewhere around the 4,000 mark already.”

Borderfest is a completely volunteer-based organization and it donates to community groups that lend a hand on concert nights, Perrin said.

“It takes a whole community to put something like this together.”

pmorden@postmedia.com

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