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In recent years, country music fans have been inundated with opportunities to attend new festivals, most of them in a field where you spend the weekend walking from stage to stage, fighting through crowds, breathing in dust, and trying to figure out where your next drink and meal are coming from.

Well, there’s a new festival, and I can tell you, Country Splash Cabo was something entirely different.

The inaugural festival brought country music beachside in Cabo San Lucas over Labor Day Weekend, pairing performances from some of country music’s biggest stars with DJ-led pool parties, intimate pop-up acoustic sessions, open bars, wellness activities and an all-inclusive resort experience, making it feel more like a Cabo getaway with country music woven throughout.

Before the festival, Country Splash co-founder Robert Fried told me that they were looking to create an experience that married luxury travel with country music. After spending the weekend there, I can confidently say they accomplished exactly that.

The Experience

From the moment I stepped off the plane, it was clear that the level of service was going to be a major part of the Country Splash experience.

We were greeted at the airport by members of the Country Splash team with cold beverages before being whisked away in a car service headed straight to Paradisus Los Cabos. The drive took about 30 minutes, giving us just enough time to take in our first glimpses of Cabo before arriving at the resort.

Check-in was quick and seamless. Once we arrived, we were treated to light bites, cold drinks and even chair massages before being shown to our rooms.

We were also able to make reservations for the entire weekend at the resort’s seven restaurants, and staff members escorted us to our room with our luggage.

CABO; Photo by @daniel.pressplay

The room itself was bright, beachy and centrally located, and the resort never felt overwhelmingly large. It was easy to navigate, clean and the staff was consistently helpful.

The beach was beautiful, with massive waves crashing along the shore. While it wasn’t swimmable, it was still the perfect place to sit, relax and take in the views. I could have sat there for hours just listening to the waves.

We also had no complaints about the food or drinks at the resort. The best part was that we were always able to get a reservation and never had to wait in long lines.

An Intimate Atmosphere

The thing that stood out to me most about Country Splash was just how intimate it felt.

Attendees had the opportunity to see not only rising artists, but arena-level headliners in a way that can’t be replicated at most major festivals.

When else are you going to see an artist like Riley Green performing an acoustic set by a fire at sunset in Cabo?

Riley Green at Country Splash; Photo by @daniel.pressplay

The artists weren’t just there to perform and leave. They were enjoying Cabo right along with everyone else, and that added another layer to the experience. Throughout the weekend, Dasha could be spotted hanging out by the pool and mingling with fans, while Cameron Whitcomb even ended up in the pool with festivalgoers at one point.

The intimate vibe also carried over into other parts of the festival. During the shows, there was virtually never a line at the bar. You didn’t have to wait for hours to claim a spot near the stage, fight your way through a crowd or stand hundreds of yards away hoping to catch a glimpse of the artist on a giant video screen. Even the merch line was manageable.

It may sound like a small thing, but it made all the difference.

The Music

With most festivalgoers traveling in on Friday, the festival kicked off that evening with the main stage set directly on the beach, with Jacob Hackworth becoming the first artist to perform on the Country Splash stage.

Jacob Hackworth at Country Splash; Photo by @daniel.pressplay

Blake Whiten at Country Splash; Photo by @daniel.pressplay

The music continued with Blake Whiten and Dasha before Tucker Wetmore took the stage, bringing his signature hip-shaking energy and songs from his Sunburn Mixtape, which proved to be the perfect soundtrack for the weekend ahead.

Dasha at Country Splash; Photo by @daniel.pressplay

Tucker Wetmore at Country Splash; Photo by @daniel.pressplay

It was hot in Cabo, but Wetmore was hotter, moving around the stage and showing off the growing confidence and swagger that has made him one of country music’s fastest-rising stars.

By Saturday, the festival had fully hit its stride.

Buzzed-about newcomer Zach John King and LOCASH got the party started before Jon Pardi took the stage, bringing his signature brand of country music to the beach.

LOCASH at Country Splash; Photo by El Matzu

Jon Pardi at Country Splash; Photo by @daniel.pressplay

Then, seemingly in the blink of an eye, Sunday arrived.

Although the end of the festival was looming, the energy never let up. Drinks were flowing, fans were still dancing and the pool remained packed as Lauren Watkins opened the main stage on the final day.

Lauren Watkins at Country Splash; Photo by @daniel.pressplay

Cameron Whitcomb was up next as direct support for Riley Green, bringing a completely different style and an unbelievable amount of energy to the stage. He ran across the stage, jumped, bounced around and even threw in backflips, bringing an unmatched level of energy to his set. By the end of his performance, it was hard to imagine a better way to keep the crowd fired up.

Cameron Whitcomb at Country Splash; Photo by @el_matzu

Green then closed out the inaugural festival, bringing his signature country charm to the stage and giving fans one final big performance before the weekend came to an end.

Riley Green at Country Splash; Photo by @daniel.pressplay

Sunset Fireside Sessions

While the main stage performances were undoubtedly a major draw, some of the most memorable musical moments happened away from the main stage.

Country Splash incorporated pop-up fireside acoustic performances on Saturday and Sunday, giving fans the opportunity to see some of the festival’s biggest names in a completely stripped-down setting.

Dasha at Country Splash; Photo by @daniel.pressplay

The lineup wasn’t announced ahead of time, either. Fans found out who would be performing just moments before through a text message, adding a fun element of surprise to the weekend.

Jon Pardi and Riley Green both took part, performing with nothing more than an acoustic guitar around a firepit, while rising artists including Zach John King, Dasha and Lauren Watkins also participated.

Zach John King at Country Splash; Photo by @daniel.pressplay

For me, these were some of the moments that really captured what made Country Splash different. You weren’t watching an artist from hundreds of feet away. You were sitting around a fire in Cabo, watching them perform as the sun went down. It couldn’t get any better.

Daytime at Country Splash

Country Splash also took a different approach to daytime programming.

Instead of asking festivalgoers to spend the entire day waiting for the main stage to start, the festival brought the party to the pool, with DJs providing the soundtrack throughout the afternoon.

VAVO, DeeJay Silver, DJ Lucky Lou, and ADHD, the DJ duo made up of Nashville hit songwriters Ashley Gorley and Jesse Frasure, all took their turns behind the decks.

Diplo at Country Splash; Photo by @el_matzu

Then came Diplo, who packed out the pool for his set and brought Country Splash’s country-meets-DJ concept to its biggest party of the weekend. He also welcomed Cameron Whitcomb and Dasha into the DJ booth during his set.

It Wasn’t All About the Music

Wellness was another part of the weekend that helped set Country Splash apart.

The festival partnered with Sports Research to offer wellness experiences throughout the weekend, including Diplo’s Morning Wellness Experience on Sunday. The hour-long flow session took place on the lawn and gave guests a chance to ease into the final day before the music and festivities got underway.

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It was definitely not something I expected to find at a country music festival, but it fit perfectly with the overall experience. Instead of feeling like you had to go full speed all weekend, there were opportunities to slow down, reset and actually enjoy the resort.

Looking Ahead to Year Two

By the time the inaugural Country Splash came to an end, Robert Fried was already thinking about what comes next.

Throughout the weekend, Fried maintained a notably hands-on presence, working alongside his team and interacting with guests and artists alike.

When I asked him about the lessons of year one and what he hopes to take into the next festival, he explained that being hands-on during the inaugural event was intentional.

“Year one, you have to be hands-on in every detail because it’s the only way that you’ll know what to tweak, what’s going wrong, talk with the customers, talk with your guests to find out what their opinions are, what’s good, what’s bad,” Fried told me.

Country Splash Cabo; Photo by @el_matzu.jpg

Fried said they’ll take everything they learned from year one and use it to make year two even better. And yes, he confirmed that Country Splash Cabo is coming back.

“Yes, we are planning next year. Yes, it will be in Cabo. Yes, it will be country music,” Fried said. “Not going to say much more than that, but yes, we intend to keep this going for a long, long time.”

The concept, he said, is simple: combine an incredible travel destination like Cabo with A-list country music.

After spending the weekend there, I’d say they accomplished exactly that. Country Splash didn’t feel like a typical music festival. It felt like a vacation where country music happened to be everywhere you looked, and honestly, that’s a pretty great way to spend a long weekend.

The post I Attended the First-Ever Country Splash in Cabo: Here’s What Made It So Different appeared first on Country Now.

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