The Country Stampede Music Festival in Kansas is an outdoor country music and camping festival held at Azura Amphitheater in Bonner Springs, Kansas. The festival has been held annually in Kansas since 1996, usually on the last weekend in June (except in 2020 when it was cancelled due to the COVID pandemic).
The festival was held at Tuttle Creek State Park outside Manhattan, Kansas, from its founding in 1996 to 2018. The 2019 festival was moved to Topeka, initially due to potential flood conditions at Tuttle Creek Lake. Organizers announced the move would be permanent on June 20, 2019. Like many large -scale events, the festival was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the festival had a successful three-day event despite poor weather. Organizers announced on October 19, 2021, that the 2022 festival would be moved to the month of July to attempt to avoid the history of severe weather during the event.
Tuttle Creek State Park (1996–2018)
The Country Stampede festival was the largest annual music festival in Kansas while in Manhattan. Total combined attendance for all days exceeded 170,000 – in 2012 it was approximately 175,000. The record for largest single-day attendance was set on June 23, 2012, when an estimated 55,000 fans watched Toby Keith perform.
The festival began as a three-day weekend event, and then for several years was expanded to a four-day format, lasting from Thursday through Sunday. Camping was common for attendees, and 2,400 camp sites were available on the grounds. Vendors, and many activities were also present at the festival. Starting in 2016, the festival reverted to a three-day format. The Thursday night kickoff party was expanded into a full-day format, while Sunday was dropped from the weekend. Festival President Wayne Rouse said the decision would allow attendees a day off to recover and travel. The new format was well-received, and Rouse indicated the change would be permanent.
During this time, a sister festival was held at the Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky, in 2003 and 2004.
After the festival moved to Topeka, it was not immediately replaced; however, a two-day red dirt music festival, Rock the Plains, was planned to be held at Tuttle Creek State Park in August 2025.
Past performers Notable musical artists performing at the festival in Manhattan include:
Jason Aldean Gary Allan Dierks Bentley Big & Rich Clint Black Brooks and Dunn Brothers Osborne Kane Brown Luke Bryan Chris Cagle Deana Carter Charlie Daniels Band Kenny Chesney Cross Canadian Ragweed Sara Evans Florida Georgia Line Pat Green Faith Hill Julianne Hough Alan Jackson Kansas Toby Keith Miranda Lambert Chris LeDoux Little Big Town Lynyrd Skynyrd Maddie & Tae Martina McBride Delbert McClinton Reba McEntire Tim McGraw Montgomery Gentry Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Old Dominion Brad Paisley Rascal Flatts Thomas Rhett LeAnn Rimes Darius Rucker Sawyer Brown Mark Selby (musician) Chris Stapleton Steve Miller Band Styx Sugarland Taylor Swift Keith Urban Phil Vassar Clay Walker Hank Williams, Jr. Mark Wills Gretchen Wilson Trisha Yearwood Dwight Yoakam Brett Young Zac Brown Band ZZ Top
Topeka (2019–2023) In May 2019, after severe rains caused increased water levels at Tuttle Creek Lake Dam, the organizers of Country Stampede announced on their Facebook page that the festival would move to Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka for the 2019 event as a measure to "ensure all of [the] concert goers will be out of harm's way".
Despite reassurances from the festival organizers on their FAQ page that the event would not permanently move from Manhattan, on June 20, hours before the festival began, Country Stampede officials and leaders from the City of Topeka announced that the festival would permanently move to Heartland Motorsports Park for three additional years, renaming the festival to "Heartland Stampede", and terminating their contract with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism to host the event at Tuttle Creek Lake State Park.
2019 headline performer Jason Aldean was forced to cancel his show due to severe weather.
2020 cancellation In September 2019, officials from the festival announced that Toby Keith, Luke Combs, and Cody Johnson would be the headlining performers for the 2020 festival, which was scheduled to take place from June 25 through the 27th.
In March 2020, Heartland Stampede announced through their Facebook page that a local credit union, Azura, had become the new title sponsor for the 2020 festival.
In April, organizers stated that the event would still go on, but later backpedaled and cancelled the event entirely due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Kansas, even after attempting to reschedule the event. An FAQ from the event stated that tickets purchased for the 2020 event would be automatically transferred to the 2021 event, unless purchasers accessed a form and requested a refund between the cancellation date of April 30 and May 31.
2021 and beyond In September 2020, the event, now renamed to "Heartland Country Stampede", announced that it would be partnering with a local company, VAERUS Aviation, to bring an airshow called "Thunder Over the Heartland" to the event on the final day of the 2021 festival, June 26, as well as an additional day on Sunday the 27th, with attendees to Country Stampede receiving free shuttle transport between Heartland Motorsports Park and Topeka Regional Airport for the airshow, the 190th Air Refueling Wing based at Topeka Regional would be participating, as well as that individual tickets would go on sale immediately for people wishing to see the airshow, but are not attending the festival. The announcement also included an announcement that headlining artists at the 2021 event would be Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, and Riley Green.
Past performers Notable musical artists performing at the festival in Topeka include:
Clint Black Luke Combs Sam Hunt Old Dominion Jake Owen Morgan Wallen
Bonner Springs (2024-present) In December 2023, it was announced that Country Stampede would be moving to the Kansas City area for 2024, due to the closing of the Heartland Motorsports Park. It would be held at the Azura Amphitheater in Bonner Springs, Kansas.
Naming At its inception, it was named Country Stampede. In 2011, it was renamed 94.5 Country Stampede, and was sponsored by 94.5 Country Radio. In 2013, it was renamed Kicker Country Stampede, and was sponsored by Kicker Performance Audio Products. In 2020, it was renamed Heartland Country Stampede, due to the move to the Heartland Motorsports Park. In 2021, while still held at Heartland, its name was changed back to Country Stampede. In years since, Kicker has not consistently been included in the name of the event, though they have continued to sponsor it at some level. In 2022 Kicker returned as a sponsor, but has not been included in the name of the event since. It is currently named simply Country Stampede, with a subtitle of "Party in the Heartland".
Attendance
In its first year, 1996, Country Stampede saw around 35,000 attendees. By 2005 it had grown to nearly 150,000 attendees.
History
Summary +YearDatesVenueCityNameHeadlining performers1996June 21–23Tuttle Creek State ParkManhattanCountry Stampede1997June 27–29Tuttle Creek State ParkManhattanCountry StampedeFriday:
Chris LeDoux The Doobie Brothers Alabama
Saturday:
Delbert McClinton Mark Chestnutt Brooks & Dunn
Sunday:
Toby Keith John Michael Montgomery1998June 26–28Tuttle Creek State ParkManhattanCountry Stampede1999June 25–27Tuttle Creek State ParkManhattanCountry Stampede2000June 22–25Tuttle Creek State ParkManhattanCountry Stampede2001June 21–24Tuttle Creek State ParkManhattanCountry Stampede2002June 27–30Tuttle Creek State ParkManhattanCountry Stampede2003June 6–8Kentucky SpeedwaySparta, KYMeijer Country StampedeJune 26–29Tuttle Creek State ParkManhattanCountry Stampede2004June 3–6Kentucky SpeedwaySparta, KYMeijer Country StampedeJune 24–27Tuttle Creek State ParkManhattanCountry Stampede2005June 23–26Tuttle Creek State ParkManhattanCountry StampedeThursday: Phil Vassar Friday: Keith Urban Saturday: Big & Rich
Sunday: ZZ Top2006June 22–25Tuttle Creek State ParkManhattanCountry StampedeThursday: Gretchen Wilson Friday: Toby Keith Saturday: Brad Paisley
Sunday: Terri Clark2007Tuttle Creek State ParkManhattanCountry Stampede2008Tuttle Creek State ParkManhattanCountry Stampede2009Tuttle Creek State ParkManhattanCountry Stampede2010June 24–27Tuttle Creek State ParkManhattanCountry Stampede2011June 23–26Tuttle Creek State ParkManhattan94.5 Country Stampede2012June 21–24Tuttle Creek State ParkManhattan94.5 Country Stampede2013June 27–30Tuttle Creek State ParkManhattanKicker Country Stampede2014June 26–29Tuttle Creek State ParkManhattanKicker Country Stampede2015June 25–28Tuttle Creek State ParkManhattanKicker Country Stampede2016June 23–25Tuttle Creek State ParkManhattanKicker Country Stampede2017June 22–24Tuttle Creek State ParkManhattanKicker Country Stampede2018June 21–23Tuttle Creek State ParkManhattanKicker Country Stampede2019June 20–22Heartland Motorsports ParkTopekaKicker Country Stampede2020June 25–27 (Canceled)Heartland Motorsports ParkTopekaHeartland Country Stampede2021June 24–26Heartland Motorsports ParkTopekaCountry Stampede2022July 14–16Heartland Motorsports ParkTopekaCountry Stampede2023July 13–15Heartland Motorsports ParkTopekaCountry Stampede2024June 27–29Azura AmphitheaterBonner SpringsCountry Stampede2025June 26–28Azura AmphitheaterBonner SpringsCountry Stampede
Full performance list
1996
Friday Pott County Pork and Bean Band Jed Lance Rick Trevino Ty Herndon Chris LeDoux Little Texas Saturday
Jo Dee Messina Smokin' Armadillos Bryan White Blackhawk Faith Hill
Sunday
1997 Friday
Dustin Evans, Kevin Sharp
Saturday
Pott County Pork and Bean Band
Sunday
Jill Marie Sons of the Desert Bill Engvall (comedian) LeAnn Rimes
1998 Friday The Ranch David Kersh Ricochet Sawyer Brown Saturday Dustin Evans & Good Times Montgomery Gentry The Charlie Daniels Band Kenny Chesney Tracy Byrd Bryan White Sunday Clark Family Experience Chely Wright Michael Peterson REO Speedwagon Blackhawk
1999 Friday Dustin Evans Great Divide Mark Wills Diamond Rio Dixie Chicks Saturday Montgomery Gentry John Berry Toby Keith Faith Hill Sunday Clark Family Experience Warren Brothers Foreigner The Wilkinsons Joe Diffie
2000 Friday Shannon Smith Chely Wright Oak Ridge Boys Montgomery Gentry Sawyer Brown
Saturday
Travis Tritt Rhett Akins Lee Ann Womack Dustin Evans Kenny Chesney
Sunday
Jill Marie Brad Paisley Sammy Kershaw Lonestar
2001
2002
2003 (Kentucky)
Main stage Friday
Jolie Edwards Shevy Smith Trace Adkins Jeff Foxworthy (comedian)
Saturday
Cledus T. Judd Carolyn Dawn Johnson Phil Vassar Brad Paisley
Sunday
Kellie Coffey Blake Shelton Gary Allan Diamond Rio
Second stage Friday
Robinella & the CC String Band Mountain Heart Del McCoury Band Ricky Skaggs
Saturday
Dusty Drake Shannon Lawson Jeff Bates Honkey Tonk Tailgate Party: Chad Brock Daryle Singletary Wade Hayes Rhett Akins
Sunday
Dustin Evans Rodney Atkins Aaron Lines Emerson Drive
2003 (Manhattan) Thursday Mark Selby Joe Nichols
Friday
Harry Luge Band Rodney Atkins Aaron Lines Deana Carter Shevy Smith Chris LeDoux
Saturday
Jolie Edwards Anthony Smith Cledus T. Judd Gary Allan Martina McBride
Sunday
Shevy Smith Carolyn Dawn Johnson Chris Cagle Keith Urban
2004 (Kentucky) Thursday Joe Diffie Friday Harry Luge Lane Turner Chris Cagle Neal McCoy Saturday Shevy Smith Dierks Bentley Darryl Worley Terri Clark Sunday Cowboy Crush Craig Morgan Rushlow Clay Walker
2004 (Manhattan) Thursday
Shevy Smith Rushlow Mark Wills
Friday Harry Luge Cowboy Crush Josh Turner Pat Green Clay Walker