OCALA, FL (352today.com) – A change in venue is in store for one of the area’s most anticipated entertainment events.
Rock the Country, a two-day music festival, will be held May 9-10 at the Florida Horse Park. In 2024, the event took place at Majestic Oaks in Reddick.
This year’s festival will feature multiple headliners from across the country. Kid Rock and Nickelback are the primary acts, with Hank Williams Jr., Tracy Lawrence, Jo Dee Messina, and more also scheduled to perform in Ocala.
“It brings in great brand awareness to our destination,” said Jessica Heller, marketing and communications supervisor for the Ocala/Marion County Visitors and Convention Bureau, tourist development. “A lot of folks who haven’t heard from us before are attending the concert and visiting us for the first time and hopefully coming back and visiting us again.”
At the 2024 event, Rock the Country reported to the Ocala/Marion County Visitors and Convention Bureau that 30,000 people attended each day, with more than 60,000 total over the weekend.
“The anticipated economic impact for the festival for the weekend this year is over $9.1 million, and that’s for our county specifically,” said Heller. “People are coming in, spending the night, going out to eat, buying gas, and doing all the things you might come in and do on vacation, finding transportation, and that’s all the ripple effect.”
Rock the Country’s management company will pay more than $100,000 to have the Marion County Fire and Rescue team on site during the event.