The iHeartCountry Festival is among those rejoining the un-virtual ranks this year, as the annual broadcast will return to its previous home of the Frank Erwin Center in Austin on Oct. 30 for an event set to go out live over iHeartMedia’s 150-plus country stations.
Blake Shelton, Toby Keith, Little Big Town, Carly Pearce, Jake Owen, Lee Brice, Cole Swindell and Chase Rice will perform at the show, which will be hosted by nationally syndicated air personality Bobby Bones.
LiveXLive Media is set as the sole global streaming partner for the main stage performances, which will also be heard on the iHeartRadio website as well as affiliate stations.
Presale tickets for Capital One cardholders go on sale July 27 at 10 a.m. ET, followed by a general on-sale July 30 at 1 p.m. ET at TexasBoxOffice.com.
“The iHeartCountry Festival is one of country music’s most-anticipated nights, and this year is especially exciting,” said Rod Phillips, executive VP of programming for iHeartCountry. “Live music is back, and we can’t wait to return to the Frank Erwin Center with this iconic lineup.”
Shelton’s most recent album, “Body Language,” the “Voice” stars first full-length collection since 2017, came out in May. Toby Keith last week announced his first new album in four years, “Peso in My Pocket,” to be released two weeks before the iHeartCountry Festival, on Oct. 15. The two tracks released from the album so far are “Old School,” which was written by Maren Morris, Ryan Hurd, and Brett Tyler, and “Happy Birthday America,” which came out just ahead of July 4.
In 2020, an edition of the festival had been scheduled for the Frank Erwin on May 2, but the pandemic forced it to become a virtual event that took place Oct. 23, with performances by Dierks Bentley, Sam Hunt, Kane Brown, Morgan Wallen and others.