PRAIRIE GROVE -- Ready for a party? A country throwdown?
Country music singer and entertainer of the year Luke Bryan will bring his 2016 Farm Tour to Ogden Ranch in Prairie Grove next week.
"Pretty cool for little old Prairie Grove, for northwest Arkansas really," said Nathan Ogden, owner of Ogden Ranch and owner and president of Pick-It Construction.
The concert will be held Thursday, Oct. 13, at Ogden Ranch, 11471 Illinois Chapel Road. A sell-out of the concert means 20,000 people will descend on the peaceful farm, located southeast of Prairie Grove between U.S. 62 and Highway 265.
To purchase tickets and a parking pass, go to http://www.lukebryan.com/farmtour.
Ogden Farm has 120 acres on this site and most of it will be used for parking. The venue and concert stage will be located toward the back of the pasture with the stage facing west.
Gates open for parking at 2 p.m. Oct. 13 and entrance into the venue area opens at 5 p.m. The first concerts will start around 6 p.m. Chris Janson, Peach Pickers, Granger Smith and Jon Langston also are touring with Bryan.
The story how the concert came to be on Ogden Farm can be called fate, divine intervention or simply being in the right place at the right time.
"I wish I had a big story how I pulled all these strings," Ogden said.
He didn't pull even one string.
Ogden has participated in a men's ministry with Prairie Grove Christian Church called Men's Encounter. His accountant with Pick-It, Detrick Jenkins, attended the encounter with him and connected with Weston Bartholomew of Prairie Grove.
"Weston told him he worked at One Stop and Detrick had been after me for five or six weeks to eat there with Weston, I told him no maybe 10 times. Finally, he called on a Friday and said let's go, it's catfish Friday."
While there, Bartholomew was telling the men about a meeting later that day to show farm land. Bartholomew turned to Ogden and asked if he had any land that would work for someone to have a concert.
"'Do you mean like a big party? I've got all kinds of places to have a throwdown," Ogden told the man.
At 2:30 p.m. they pulled into the large pasture at Ogden Ranch and the man said, "This is it."
Within 20 minutes, everything was settled, Ogden said.
"If they (Detrick and Weston) wouldn't have connected at Men's Encounter, we wouldn't have been there that day," Ogden noted.
Ogden had to admit that when he was first told the land would be for a Luke Bryan concert, he wasn't sure who that was.
"I didn't know how big a deal he was. When Weston told me Luke Bryan, I said what does he sing? Once I heard some songs, I knew him. But I didn't realize he was that big of a deal."
Ogden's wife, Tracy, said she didn't believe her husband when he first called to tell her about the concert.
Now, she is excited about the concert.
"This is a great deal for Prairie Grove," Tracy said.
The first meeting on the farm was held in March and since then, meetings have been held with many different agencies to prepare for next week's concert.
Some of the agencies involved in the planning include various police and fire departments, sheriff's office and the health department. Ambulances will be on site and GPS coordinates have been established for a helicopter if one is needed.
"They've gone as far as they can go for safety," Ogden said.
Ogden has installed two entry gates and in all there will be three entrances onto the property from Illinois Chapel Road.
He moved his cattle from the land two weeks before the concert to make sure "landmines have time to dry out a bit." He had to tear down a fence near the stage area and then his final job will be to cut the grass. The tour is paying Ogden for his expenses plus giving him a fee to use the land.
The tour company will come in the day before to set up some equipment. The day of the concert, crews will come in early to set up the stage and equipment and by 1 p.m., everything will be ready to go. After the concert, all equipment will be down by three in the morning, with only a skeleton crew left.
"They'll make sure it's good with me and then they'll leave," Ogden said.
Luke Bryan's staff will have about 70 people to help with parking and security. The tour is hoping for a sellout, which means 7,000 cars on site.
Since parking starts at 2 p.m. and the venue area does not open until 5 p.m., fans are encouraged to come early and tailgate, Ogden said. Bring games, coolers, food and have a party, he laughed.
Coolers are not allowed inside the venue area but fans should bring blankets and chairs to sit on for the concert, which is expected to last until about 11 p.m. Concessions will be sold in the venue area.
Ogden said about 110 acres will be used for parking. Light towers will be installed in the parking area so fans will be able to see to get to their cars after the concert.
Ogden warned fans not to be in a hurry to leave after the concert. Washington County Sheriff's Office will help direct traffic but the road is only a two-lane highway with two exits: one toward Prairie Grove and U.S. 62 or the other direction to Highway 265 which will take you to I-49.
Ogden has not met Luke Bryan but he is ready for the concert to get here.
"I just can't picture 7,000 cars out here or 20,000 people. I'm anxious to see it all happen. This will be quite the whirlwind," Ogden said.
Bryan's 2016 Farm Tour goes from Oct. 5-15 and will be held on farms in eight states. According to an article in People magazine, Bryan grew up on a farm and started the farm tour as a mission to honor the farmer. A portion of the profits from the tour go to college scholarships for kids from farming communities.
Bryan has won numerous vocal awards, including 2015 Entertainer of the Year for Academy of Country Music and 2010 Top New Vocalist for ACM. He also is the 2016 Artist of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year for American Country Countdown Awards.
General News on 10/05/2016