Dauphin's Countryfest has a lot more competition than it used to, making it more difficult to book acts.
Countryfest vice-president Ann Ransom says in the near 27 years Countryfest has been around, a lot more festivals have come into the scene.
"What used to be, sort of, Dauphin's Countryfest was the only country music festival, now there's a whole bunch of festivals across North America. So that's sort of increased the competition for finding acts, securing acts," says Ransom.
Promoter/producer Rob Waloschuk says sometimes a radius clause is imposed, which means an artist can't play in a certain area within a certain time of another gig.
An informational meeting was held in the Parkland Rec Complex's Lion's Den last Thursday to explain some of the challenges and strategies of running Countryfest.
Ransom says they wanted to clear up some of the negative comments they've heard, and says an economic assessment in 2010 showed the festival brings $9.7-million of new money into the community during its run.
