Oshkosh, WI – This year marked XRoads 41’s third year in Oshkosh, WI. The festival is primarily country, but it also mixes in other genres each day. This year, XRoads 41 tried something new by adding a one-day rock festival on Sunday, immediately after the three-day XRoads 41 festival ended. Calling it Rock Detour was fitting, as these grounds once hosted Country USA and Rock USA, both of which drew large crowds. XRoads 41, however, is a completely separate event and is not associated with either festival. It is great to see the grounds being used again, especially now that rock has returned to them as well.
The grounds offer campsites for fans traveling in for the weekend, along with a wide selection of food trucks positioned at opposite ends of the property. Booths sold music memorabilia, clothing and other novelties, while a large tent housed merchandise from all of the day’s bands. A Ferris wheel and slingshot ride appeared to stay busy throughout the day, and several brands were also set up to promote their products and services.
For its first attempt at this new rock festival, Rock Detour seemed to play things relatively safe with the lineup and budget. The festival featured three stages: a large main stage and two smaller stages inside tents on opposite sides of the grounds. The tent stages featured acts more commonly seen in intimate club settings. The Sometimes Stage and Raised Rowdy Stage hosted Drowning Pool, Atreyu, 12 Stones, Saliva and others. The main stage offered a solid lineup, with Breaking Benjamin headlining alongside Daughtry, Memphis May Fire and Dorothy.
The sets were staggered so fans did not have to miss any of the main-stage acts. Once a main-stage set ended, fans had about 15 minutes to choose which smaller stage to visit next. That schedule often cleared the main-stage area as the crowd moved across the grounds for the next performance.
Fans could upgrade to a pit pass for closer access to the main stage. The area also included a large VIP bleacher section, an elevated accessible viewing platform, a general admission section and a lawn area for chairs farther from the stage. A large video screen behind the soundboard helped fans on the lawn follow the action.
Because this was Rock Detour’s first year, a smaller crowd was understandable. Even so, I was surprised when attendance was announced at around 3,500 fans.
I attended the first year of XRoads 41, which featured several major names that should have drawn strong crowds. Even then, attendance reached around 11,000 to 12,000 people each day. The festival has continued growing over its three years, with more than 66,000 fans attending this year’s three-day event. Hopefully, Rock Detour can follow the same path and grow into something much larger. With a stronger lineup and solid advertising, rock fans will travel from around the country to support it.
As for the inaugural Rock Detour itself, every band sounded great, and the main stage was impressive, with a large setup and a long runway extending into the crowd. Everything appeared to run smoothly aside from the gates opening about an hour late because of severe weather. Fortunately, the delay did not cut into the lineup.
Overall, I am looking forward to seeing where Rock Detour goes next. A stronger lineup and a two- or three-day event on its own weekend could help establish it as a much bigger destination for rock fans.
