Considering the level of talent it books and the number of people it draws, Hunter Mountain’s fifth annual Taste of Country Festival goes down rather quietly, pretty much invisibly in the milieu of the mid-Hudson Valley music scene. The same can’t be said of Mountain Jam or Clearwater or Grey Fox, or heck, even Oktoberfest. Taste of Country is the region’s secret little alternative universe. And it is hopping as all get-out.
The festival takes over the hills of Hunter from June 9 through 11. And this is no county fair lineup, people. Hell, even I have heard of many of the headliners! Like Mountain Jam on the same slopes, the 2017 lineup is huge at the top and quite firm in the middle. The three biggest names are the Georgia-born genuine country megastar Jason Aldean, who edges out the substantive “bad girl” singer/songwriter Miranda Lambert and the successful college quarterback Sam Hunt for toppermost top billing. Other notables include Kip Young, Chris Moore, Maren Morris and Tyler Farr.
Ticketing and camping options are as various and as complex as at any other major festival. The website at http://tasteofcountryfestival.com does a pretty good job with the breakdown. Hunter Mountain is located at 64 Klein Avenue in Hunter.
Taste of Country, rather refreshingly, is a simple two-stage festival without a lot of side attractions and act overload. I am guessing also that it won’t culminate in a late-night electro/trance afterparty. Nice.