Boxcar Country Music Fest kicks off festival season in Saint John

Festival season is officially underway in Saint John, N.B.

Thursday night the second annual Boxcar Country Music Festival kicked off at the Area 506 Container Village, headlined by Brett Kissel. The three-day festival will have High Valley headline on Friday while The Reklaws will put a bow on the event Saturday night.

While the gates didn’t open to country music fans until 3 p.m., Maritimers were at the Conatiner Village early.

“I only did one day last year and I was kicking myself in the butt for it, so I'm doing all three this year,” says Lorna MacPhee of Hampton. “(Thursday) was my first time ever seeing Brett Kissel live and he didn't disappoint.”

“I’m excited,” says Crystal Miller, who travelled down from Truro, N.S., for a weekend of country music. “High Valley's awesome in concert.”

Martha Mclean said the opening night was fantastic, and she will be back in the crowd to see High Valley Friday.

“It's nice that I can bring my teenage daughter to this and be completely safe,” Mclean says. “And she enjoyed every minute of it.”

After Boxcar, the ninth rendition of the Area 506 Festival set to take place over the New Brunswick Day long weekend. Headliners include Our Lady Peace and Sum 41.

Festival founder Ray Gracewood says there is more than just the headline acts to check out over the next few weekends.

“Come down early because it's a lot of great acts before the headliners,” says Gracewood, noting Saint John’s own Brent Mason, who took the stage on Thursday. “We always try to support local talent where we can so we’re excited to provide some great maritime and New Brunswick based talent.”

Focusing on Boxcar, Gracewood says they have tried to create a country event in the middle of the city. He highlights a mechanical bull, lasso and line dancing lessons, and country karaoke in the village over the course of the festivities.

The next few weekends in uptown will be busy with various festivals. The sixth edition of the International Culturefest will take place within the village and on Water Street over the long weekend. The following weekend will mark the long awaited return of the Buskers on the Bay Festival at the new public space in front of Market Square, while later this month the Moonlight Bazaar comes to the Port City.

Envision Saint John COO Jillian MacKinnon says the festivals will fill hotels and restaurants in the area. She notes the economic impact from these events will be felt in more than just the city’s uptown core.

“This is economic impact that we feel throughout the region,” MacKinnon says. “People are exploring the Bay of Fundy, they're going on coastal hikes, and they’re riding our river ferry. It's just tremendous and we are really, really excited for the rest of the season.”

MacKinnon also points out once the festival season wraps up, cruise ships will be docking at the port on a regular basis, adding to Saint John’s economic growth.

Gracewood says he and his team feel pride in helping bring an economic boost to Saint John with these festivals.

“We set out a long time ago to make sure that Area 506 was a driver of the local economy and that we contribute as much as we can,” says Gracewood. “Hopefully we have become a showcase for the city and creates that pride of place with the people here.”

Tickets for both Boxcar and the Area 506 festival can be found on their website.

For more New Brunswick news visit our dedicated provincial page.