Opry Entertainment Group has jumped into the music festival space by taking a majority stake in Southern Entertainment, which has a hand in Carolina Country Music Fest and more.
The Grand Ole Opry owner, itself majority-owned by Ryman Hospitality Properties, officially disclosed the purchase today.
Founded by North Carolina-based businessmen Bob Durkin and Rob Pedlow, Charlotte-headquartered Southern Entertainment says it’s put on north of 500 live music events (including several country festivals) to date.
Chief among those owned-or-promoted happenings are Myrtle Beach’s mentioned Carolina Country Music Fest, New Jersey’s Barefoot Country Music Fest, and Charlotte’s Lovin’ Life Music Fest, to name a few.
Though the involved parties opted against disclosing the transaction’s precise financials, they did indicate that Durkin and Pedlow are poised to continue leading Southern Entertainment. And according to the two, the sale will accelerate their company’s existing expansion plans.
“Joining forces with OEG will add immediate value to our existing events and allow us to accelerate our plans to bring festivals to new markets,” weighed in Durkin and Pedlow. “We are confident our fans, the artists who play our stages and the cities where we operate will benefit from our alliance with such an iconic name in country music.”
Also in the cards is the integration of Opry Entertainment “artist development programs” into Southern’s festivals. Longer term, the teams intend to jointly create “additional artist-centered experiences in the years ahead.”
“In just 10 years,” Opry Entertainment CEO Patrick Moore said, “the Southern Entertainment team has grown their business into one of the strongest independent festival businesses in the United States. … This investment will allow us to expand our reach to a large and loyal fan base that is complementary to our current audience.”
Notwithstanding the deal and the appropriate execs’ enthusiasm, Southern Entertainment’s sale has arrived amid a clear-cut commercial downturn in the overarching festival sub-sector.
The better part of 200 festivals were canceled or otherwise failed to take place last year, for instance. And even well-entrenched players like Coachella are seemingly feeling the pinch.
Despite a quick-approaching April kickoff, the Goldenvoice happening still had second-weekend GA passes available to purchase at the time of writing.
Nevertheless, the country sub-sector looks to be riding relatively high. The single-weekend Stagecoach (likewise a Goldenvoice event) has sold through its own 2025 GA passes, and Kid Rock’s Rock the Country Festival (featuring Travis Tritt, Hank Williams Jr., Ella Langley, and more) is scheduled to arrive in 10 states starting this April.
The genre is also a major focus at pre-Super Bowl events in New Orleans, with Jelly Roll and Chris Stapleton tapped to headline Madden Bowl 2025. Diplo, for his part, is preparing to deliver a country set at Guy Fieri’s Flavortown Tailgate.