Country Thunder Expands

The Country Thunder music festival in Twin Lakes, Wis., is seeing the light at the end of the bankruptcy tunnel and will expand this year, adding a fifth day with a strong lineup of national acts.

Artists expected to perform July 20-24 include Tim McGraw, Keith Urban, Montgomery Gentry, LeAnn Rimes, Big & Rich, Hank Williams Jr., Lynyrd Skynyrd, and ZZ Top.

Festival president Larry Barr told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that officials will assess whether to remain at five days following this summer’s event.

Event organizers filed for bankruptcy four years ago following some setbacks, including a 1997 wind storm that knocked over the stage, seriously injuring some stage crew members and cutting short the festival.

Since then, most of Country Thunder’s debt has been paid and the bankruptcy is expected to be cleared within a year, the paper said.