I can’t believe it’s almost time for the 4th annual Party For A Cause Festival.
While my dear friend Jess recounted her first festival experience, I have also attended the first two!
They were so much fun and definitely something not to miss out on! I was especially excited for the 1st Annual PFAC event because my favorite artists, Thompson Square were signing at the event! They rode in the RAM Truck event and did some promo with that, which will also be at the 4th annual PFAC! There new album had recently been released and I had 10 copies I needed signed! Their manager said, if I bought that many, they would sign them all!
It was also the first time I was able to meet some of the artists I had been listening to for awhile, and even meet new artists I hadn’t been. It’s amazing how after that you can become such a huge fan of someone. The moment I saw Country Trio The Henningsens, I knew they must be an artist. I hadn’t seen them before, but I could just tell by the way they were dressed. They looked so polished. I decided I should introduce myself and meet them. They turned out to be a family band, Dad and two of his 10 children! They are definitely now some of my favorite people and I’m so glad to have found that connection with them!
I was able to see a lot of my favorite artists perform, like Charlie Worsham and Katie Armiger. Even Cassadee Pope and Dustin Lynch were signing autographs!
It was such a great weekend, one I will never forget! 2nd Annual recap coming up!
With the ACM Party For A Cause Festival just a few short days away, I thought it might be fun to post a recap of my very first PFAC experience! Prior to the introduction of this multiple day star-studded music filled event, there were free shows on Freemont Street at night during The Week Vegas Goes Country. While those free shows continued during the 2013 ACM Week, they were discontinued the following year.
The first annual Party For A Cause Festival was hosted at The Orleans Hotel and took place Friday April 5th and Saturday April 6th, 2013. This event provided fans with an entire “ACM Experience,” as well as introducing fans to some philanthropic causes including Outnumber Hunger and the Wounded Warrior Project. The ACM Expo was free, but you had to pay to get to the festival inside to see the artists performances.
Just look at the list of autograph signings and performances! Such a FULL packed schedule of country music FUN for the fans!
Day 1, Friday 3/5/13:
Performances by Cassadee Pope, Florida Georgia Line, Justin Moore, Brantley Gilbert, and headlining the first night was The Band Perry!
Florida Georgia Line performing on the Outnumber Hunger stage!
2013 was also the first year that Luke Bryan co-hosted the Awards Show with Blake Shelton, replacing his previous co-host Reba McEntire. The Academy cleverly named this duo “Bluke” and there were “Flat Blake’s” and “Flat Luke’s” passed out at the festival.
Fans inside a restaurant at The Orleans propped their “Flat Luke’s” up in the window for all to see!
Along with this, there was also an amazing contest to win PIT TICKETS at the 48th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards!!
The First Annual Party For a Cause Festival is also where I met the owner of this website, Jencita. I had orginally found her on Twitter, met her in person in Vegas… and now, 3 years later, we will be road-tripping together to Vegas for the 4th Annual Party For A Cause Festival!
Contributing author Jess & site owner, Jencita!
As you can see from that photo, night had fallen. I had won myself a pair of VIP bracelets to Kip Moore‘s late night performance at Freemont Street, so I had to hurry back to the hotel and change and get ready to see one of my favorite artists up close from the pit! Freemont Street was insane, so many people because there were such great artists, all performing for free! It was just a matter of how early you wanted to get there so you could be close enough to see! I definitely miss that aspect of ACM Week!
Day 2, Saturday 4/6/13
Day 2 of the party hosted Dustin Lynch, Love and Theft, Kix Brooks, Lee Brice, Hunter Hayes, Eli Young Band and headliner Dierks Bentley.
Dustin Lynch cranking everyone’s tractors!
The First Annual Party For A Cause Festival was obviously such a success that they are still continuing the tradition 3 years later. If you are heading there this year, make sure to check out our Party For A Cause Survival Guide!
Which artist performance or event are you most excited for this year?! Besides the opportunity to see and meet some of my favorite artists, I’m kind of most excited for the free Red Bull as you leave the festival gates at night to give me some energy for some late night fun! It will also be my first chance to see Maren Morris, Chris Lane, Chris Janson and Granger Smith. I’m very excited to see all of them for the first time!
We had the chance to catch up with Cole about performing for day 2 of ACM Party For A Cause and this is what she shared with Variety Beat:
“I am so crazy excited to play the ACM’s Party For A Cause Festival! It’s a dream to play on the same stage as some of the best artists in country music for such a respected organization and a great cause! I’ve been working up an awesome setlist with songs off my latest EP, including “Ladylike,” “Loud,” and lots of other new tunes!!”
The lineup continues with great music from Jackson Michelson, Chris Lane, A Thousand Horses, Chase Bryant, Brothers Osbourne, Chris Janson, Frankie Ballard, Dustin Lynch, Chris Stapleton, Chris Young, Lee Brice, and headliner Dierks Bentley. Check out their set times here.
Listen to our playlist to get ready for Day 2 of ACM Party For A Cause!
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