Country music fest ‘will put Clinton on the map’

CLINTON, Iowa – This community will kick off a new country music festival next year that likely will bring music, tourists and about $4 million in economic impact to the area.

The Tailgate ‘N Tallboys three-day music festival is expected to launch an annual concert event at Riverview Park in Clinton, beginning in 2023.

“This will put Clinton on the map,” Clinton Mayor Scott Maddasion told the QCBJ this week. “We work hard to ensure our community is a great place to live, work and play, and we are extremely proud of what we have here in Clinton.”

The music festival took a significant step forward this week when the Clinton City Council approved the contract for the festival with USA Concerts. Under the terms of the contract:

  • The festival budget is set at $3 million each year. Clinton will pay half that cost, and the fest promoter – USA Concerts  – will pay the other half.
  • The contract will be a co-promotion partnership between the city and USA Concerts. Expenses and profits will be shared equally between the two entities.
  • The contract is for three years, with the first two years of concerts guaranteed, and the third year will be optional to be agreed by both parties.

Mr. Maddasion added that much work still needs to be done. For instance, the 2023 concert dates should be set in the next week or so. At one point, the concert was scheduled for June 2-4, 2023, but the newly approved contract does not list concert dates. Also, the city and USA Concerts will be working to organize the three-day concert festival.

“We are starting to gather a local team consisting of all key players like public safety, city hall, parks and recreation … to ensure our team on the ground here can work through all the local issues that we need to tackle and then also to work in unison with USA Concerts,” the mayor added.

Mr. Maddasion said all the hard work will be worth it in order to make the music festival a reality. It will not only be a great thing for music lovers, but also for the local economy. At a recent council meeting, city officials were told the event would have nearly a $4 million economic impact on Clinton.

“This event will have a direct impact on our local businesses and our local economy, along with being a great tool for business attraction, expansion and development,” Mr. Maddasion added.

The Tailgate ‘N Tallboys is a music festival that has played at numerous cities across the nation in the past few years. It  is scheduled to make stops in Bloomington, Illinois, June 16-18; and in Taylorville, Illinois, July 28-30. In Bloomington, the music lineup is scheduled to include Riley Green, Morgan Wallen, Brantley Gilbert, Jo Dee Messina and many other acts, according to the concert website.

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