Neon Nights Music Festival returns to Stark County. Here's what you need to know
LAWRENCE TWP. ? Aaron Green stood atop a hill at Clay's Resort Jellystone Park on Wednesday as a massive stage was assembled down below for the Neon Nights Music Festival.
Originally considered the little brother of The County Fest, Neon Nights may no longer be in the shadow of the long-running summertime music festival that draws more than 20,000 people to the same venue.
For the first time, Neon Nights, which returns Friday and Saturday, will have a stage just as big and with just as many video screens as The Country Fest.
"We can really fit any show here in the country except for Taylor Swift and Morgan Wallen," Green said of those touring juggernauts. The stage measures roughly 160 feet by 60 feet with about 40 feet of room overhead.
Green and Joel Beichler co-founded both The Country Fest and Neon Nights.
Started in 2019, Neon Nights continues to evolve while it still skews to an older audience that appreciates the concentration of country artists who date to the 1980s through 2000s. Attendance is also capped around 13,000 per day to give older concertgoers room to move around and a more laid-back atmosphere, Green said.
Capacity for The Country Fest is now capped at 22,000 per day.
Neon Nights is now "a full production show," just like Country Fest, Green said.
"This is kind of what we always envisioned with it," he said. "To see it grow to this level."
Who's performing at Neon Nights?
This year's Neon Nights includes a punch of classic rock with Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top, and country stars Brad Paisley and Trace Adkins, along with other artists. Paisley headlined The Country Fest in 2014.
"It really plays well together," Green said of classic rock and country.
Green, who co-operates Country Fest and Neon Nights with Beichler, gazed down Wednesday at the concrete stage that runs over a creek and is reinforced with steel.
"Neon Nights is really in it its infancy," he said. "We're still feeling out what size of talent to bring and what to charge the consumer."
"It's fun to start from nothing and turn it into something. And it's just fun to do it."
Southern rock pioneers: Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist says Neon Nights at Clay's Park is 'going to be nothing but fun'
Before you go, or if you're still debating whether to purchase tickets, here's what you need to know about Neon Nights:
Is Neon Nights sticking around?
The Country Fest isn't going anywhere, Green said. Neither is Neon Nights.
Both Country Fest and Neon Nights are operated under Project Live, an entertainment consulting and production company established in 2009 by Green and Beichler. The business partners have signed a new five-year agreement with the owners of Clay's Resort with an automatic five-year extension as long as terms are met, Green said.
Returning to Stark County: Brad Paisley electrifies enthusiastic crowd to wrap up HOF Festival
And there's also a surprise coming possibly later this year — the duo hopes to announce a third music festival to be scheduled between The Country Fest and Neon Nights.
The idea is "so we have something every month (in the summer)," Green said.
Who's headlining Neon Nights?
Paisley, who headlined the Concert for Legends in 2021 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, is Friday's headliner. Crowd favorite songs include "Mud on the Tires," "She's Everything," "We Danced," "Then," "Water" and "Whiskey Lullaby."
Saturday's lineup may leave some music fans wondering who's the top act. After all, Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top have been co-headlining since last year on the "Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour."
However, according to the show schedule, Lynyrd Skynyrd has the top slot. Its catalog of rock 'n' roll staples include "Sweet Home Alabama," "Free Bird," "Simple Man," "Call Me The Breeze," "That Smell" and "Gimme Three Steps."
ZZ Top's classic songs include "La Grange," "Tush," "Legs," "Gimme All Your Lovin'," "Got Me Under Pressure" and "Rough Boy."
Who else is performing at Neon Nights, and what time?
Besides the big name acts, there's plenty of other music.
On Friday, Darryl Worley kicks off the day at 4 p.m., followed by Pam Tillis at 5:45 p.m. before Trace Adkins takes the stage at 7:45 p.m. Paisley is scheduled for 9:15 p.m.
On Saturday, The Kentucky Headhunters get things started at 4 p.m., followed by Blackhawk at 5:45 p.m. ZZ Top performs at 7:30 p.m. before Lynyrd Skynyrd gets rocking at 9:15 p.m.
A redo for Lynyrd Skynyrd
In 2021, Lynryd Skynyrd was booked to co-headine the Concert for Legends with Paisley during the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival in Canton, but guitarist Rickey Medlocke became ill with COVID-19, so the band had to cancel.
Paisley ended up headlining the show with an energetic, highly visual and guitar-driven performance, including a tribute to the late guitar wizard Eddie Van Halen, with a clever cover of "Hot for Teacher."
During a recent interview, Medlocke explained why the Southern rock pioneers have continued to tour after the last surviving founding member Gary Rossington died last year.
"I promised Gary when I got back with the band (that) I'd be there until the last note of Free Bird," said Medlocke, a member of Lynyrd Skynyrd since 1996. "And that's my intention. That's what I'm planning.
"Gary expressed that he never wanted the music to die out or just be heard now and then on the radio and in commercials — he wanted the band to continue the legacy."
Does Lynyrd Skynyrd have any original members?
Medlocke, however, has strong ties to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band's early days.
He was a member from 1971 to 1972 before the iconic Southern rock group released its debut album and went on to chart a slew of hit songs. Tragedy then struck when band members Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines died in a plane crash in 1977. Other band members were seriously injured.
"I think that the music will be here of course long after I'm gone," Medlocke said. "… Ronnie (Van Zant) wrote all the lyrics and sang the stuff. … (Van Zant) was an incredible Southern poet. I thought, here's a guy in his late 20s that sounds like he's been around for so long that he sounds like an old soul. The way he was able to relate his lyrics to the everyday, common man, the working man, the working woman, the doctors, the lawyers."
As for ZZ Top, Billy Gibbons has been the guitarist since 1969; he's joined by Frank Beard, the drummer since then. Former bassist Dusty Hill died in 2021 and was replaced by Elwood Francis.
What do tickets and campsites cost for Neon Nights?
Two-day passes cost $169.99. Single-day passes are $109.99. Pit passes, which require a regular ticket, cost $119.99 and offer intimate access to the stage area for prime viewing.
Two-day festival camping costs $189.99 and includes two days of concerts, admission to Clay's Resort water park and access to the festival campgrounds, but a campsite permit ($89.99) is required to bring a car, tent, RV or camper to a physical campsite.
Campsites are first come, first served.
For more details and to purchase tickets and camping, go to https://www.theneonnights.com/.
Parking costs $10 and $20 per vehicle, depending on the area.
Any surprises at Neon Nights?
Green said concertgoers on Saturday will get the scoop on at least one of the headliners for Neon Nights in 2025.
Maybe both will be announced, most likely before Saturday's headliner, he said.
And you never know what artists will team up on stage, Green said.
Last year, Jo Dee Messina and Phil Vassar jammed together. Most of these artists never tour together or play a festival jointly, Green said.
Asked to provide tips to those attending Neon Nights, unless they're already camping, Green suggested arriving at least 30 minutes before the 4 p.m. start on Friday and Saturday. Clay's Resort, 12951 Patterson St NW, is on state Route 93 South and near Canal Fulton and state Route 21.
Reach Ed at [email protected].
On X (formerly Twitter) @ebalintREP and Instagram at ed_balint
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Brad Paisley and Lynyrd Skynyrd headline Neon Nights at Clay's Park
