Church on Sunday: SunFest Day 4

The energy Dustin Lynch left the SunFest crowd with last night clearly carried over into the final day of the festival. Despite the sunny skies ramping the temperatures even higher today, the crowds were noticeably larger in anticipation for the Day 4 final line up of James Barker Band, Midland and the Chief, Eric Church. For some, music is a religious experience and how fitting it was to be going to Church on Sunday.

Despite the stage backdrop being drapes covering the headliner’s details, James Barker Band had the mountains lend the perfect scenery for their set. Jimmy and the band took us back to the basics with a purely fun set. From hits like “Just Sayin’” to “Good Together“, the boys got the crowd singing along. And if you weren’t singing yet you sure were with their samples from the Killers, Taylor Swift and Nelly. What an awesome way to kick off SunFest’s largest night.

The boys walked out all boots, all hats, all country. Midland shook it up with their classic country sound, a sound yet to be heard at SunFest 2018. As Midland rocked out they sampled songs like “Stand By Me” and “Dust On The Bottle”. The crowd swayed and jammed out right alongside them welcoming other festival goers as the crowd continued to grow. The boys played their hits like like “Drinking Problem” and “Make A Little” to keep the energy going.

The drapes were pulled back and the stage’s transformation was anything but basic to the largest crowd of SunFest 2018. From the wall of lights made to look like amplifiers inscribed with Chief and the large skull with wings backdrop you knew to expect a rough and around the edges, rock filled country set and Eric Church did not disappoint. Of course the theatrics were just a subtle nod to the music and could not detract from the 2 hour long set in which Church gave us his all. His first time on Vancouver Island, Eric talked about his 3 previous days in Victoria soaking in the BC beauty. For a lot of concert goers this was their first time seeing Church and he did not disappoint. From classics like “How ‘Bout You” to his latest single “Desperate Man“, Church filled his set with music keeping the energy and the crowd going long after it was supposed to end, a first here at SunFest. We’re sure Church will be back for the beauty and that fans will be back for another extraordinary set when he returns to the Island in the future.

If you’re looking for a long weekend country festival to attend next year look no further. SunFest has a gorgeous backdrop of the mountains and the festival gets better and better each year. In the era of the large festival there is a lot of room for error, but SunFest has the basics down. The setting and stage are perfect, the drinks are flowing and the facilities are clean. There is room for campers to make the experience their own and express themselves in whatever speedo or sombrero and sloth puppet wearing way they so choose. SunFest 2019 is already in the works and headliner Jason Aldean will be there along with many more. Stay locked to our socials as we’ll release the details as they come and keep you informed throughout the year. We’re already counting the days until next year! www.sunfestconcerts.com

The third of three events at Laketown Ranch this summer is the Laketown Shakedown which runs on Labour Day Weekend and features headliners Shred Kelly, The Funk Hunters, Dirty Radio and more. Details and tickets here: http://laketownranch.com