The New Era
Dierks Bentley wrapped up the 20th
Oregon Jamboree Sunday evening with a
pulsating, high-energy performance that
had a huge crowd singing and dancing
along with him.
All three days of the Jamboree were
jam-packed, despite scorching tempera-
tures on Saturday, as headliners Rascal
Flatts on Friday, Wynonna on Saturday,
and Bentley brought in the crowds.
“We had really great attendance,” said
Festival Director Erin Regrutto. “The thing
people enjoyed the most was the lineup.
People just felt really entertained.”
Regrutto wasn’t ready to announce
attendance figures yet, she said Monday.
“I can say, our three-day ticket sales were
much higher than they have been in the
past.”
One-day ticket sales were lower, she
said, so the crowd was consistently large
throughout the weekend.
“We had one of the biggest crowds
in the history of the Jamboree,” Regrutto
said. It dropped off a little on Saturday due
to the heat, about 103 degrees.
Perennial crowd favorite Neal McCoy
served as host this year as well as giving a
performance Saturday afternoon. McCoy
performed every time he was on stage,
dropping off-the-cuff one-liners that had
the crowd rolling.
“He was so entertaining to watch,”
said fan Kim Snyder of Wilsonville. “He
got the crowd involved and brought a smile
to my face. He, for sure, is one amazing
entertainer.”
This was Snyder’s sixth trip to the
Jamboree and she said she wants McCoy
back next year.
Apparently McCoy does too.
He mentioned several times that he
wants an invite for 2013 and jok-
ingly threatened to come even if he
doesn’t get one.
McCoy announced the
first of-
ficial signing for next year: Toby
Keith – mentioning that he was also
inviting himself back.
Patti and Peter, a couple from
Corvallis who declined to give their
last name, also had McCoy as one
of their favorites, along with Rascal
Flatts.
“Rascal Flatts for the music and
Neal McCoy for the entertainment,”
Peter said.
This year was Peter’s
first time
attending the Jamboree and Patti’s
fourth.
“It’s been real fun this year,”
Patti said.
For many people, Sunday was
the day they were looking forward
to the most, excited for Steve Holy,
Chris Young, and Bentley.
“Holy was entertaining and
Young was amazing,” said Tom An-
derson of Prineville. “I can’t wait to
see Bentley perform.”
Anderson said that this was his
first year to the Jamboree and came
specifically for Sunday’s lineup.
Picking the biggest hits of the
weekend is hard to do, Regrutto
said. “Obviously, Rascal Flatts was
huge, and we had an amazing crowd
Friday.”
Wynonna and Brantley Gilbert
brought two different styles, and
people enjoyed both of them, while
Chris Young and Dierks Bentley
gave the Jamboree its biggest Sun-
day crowd ever.
Chano Garcia of Monmouth
was particularly excited about Sun-
day’s line-up.
“I’ve really been looking for-
ward to this day,” said Garcia, who
was making his first visit to the fes-
tival, as he stood in the Sweet Spot
area just below the stage.
He said he won two three-
day general passes, plus Sweet
Spot tickets for all the performers,
right in front of the stage, in a con-
test conducted by a radio station.
He said he reworked the words to
“White Christmas” by the Drifters
to create a jingle for the Jamboree.
He included the three headliners, as
well as Holy, Young, Gilbert, and
the Eli Young Band, before they
dropped out.
“It’s been amazing,” he said.
“Being in the Sweet Spot is a
blast.”
This was Garcia’s
first time at
the Jamboree and hopes to return
again.
“It’s hard for me because I’m a
broke college student. I don’t get to
splurge on tickets,” he said.
Regrutto said most of the feed-
back has been positive.
“I have to say, we’ve received
so many positive comments from pa-
trons and from sponsors,” she said,
adding that the Jamboree’s 20th an-
niversary event has received more
glowing reviews than ever during
the time that she has been here.
There have been negative com-
ments too, identifying things the
event staff will work on for 2013,
Regrutto said; but overall the re-
sponse has been positive.
Some of the new twists this year
included new seating for sponsors –
a raised deck that included seats and
tables, Regrutto said, and the spon-
sors were “very, very happy.”
Jamboree staff members had
been discussing ways to provide
more space to sponsors, and Rob-
ert Shamek came up with the idea
of building upward, Regrutto said.
Those tables will be for sale to the
general public in 2013. The package
includes Sweet Spot tickets, meet-
and-greet passes and more.
Another new deck provided the
best seats, right above the stage.
“We’re hearing nothing but
positive comments about the Crown
Royal Deck,” Regrutto said. It was
available only through promotions.
“You could only win your way onto
the deck. That was really fun. It was
probably the best view in the entire
house.”
The Jamboree is planning to
keep it and expand it, possibly the
width of the stage deck.
It’s likely that winning a con-
test will remain the only way to get
up there too.
“It’s nice to be able to say you
can only win your way onto it,” Re-
grutto said. “It’s fun to build that ex-
citement and anticipation.”
Regrutto credited volunteers
and fan support with making the
festival a success.
“We are extremely grateful to
the volunteers, the supervisors and
fans who come out every year,” she
said. “We are so fortunate to have
such great fans and great volunteers
in our community.”
She also expressed gratitude
to the community, which instead of
treating the Jamboree like an incon-
venience, treats it like an opportu-
nity.
Chris McAdams from Springfield also
said that she had a blast this year.
“It’s been great,” she said.
McAdams said she enjoyed all
of the concerts, not having a spe-
cific favorite. This was McAdams
and her husband’s 13th year at the
Jamboree.
“I worked seven days a week
at a canning factory. Once it closed,
we’ve come every year since. The
atmosphere is great,” McAdams
said. “I’m so looking forward to
next year. I’m ready to see Toby
Keith.”