Country Thunder — the largest Country music festival brand in North America — closes out season two of its fan favorite podcast, “On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer,” by presenting a very special episode available now. For the grand finale, Country Thunder CEO and host Vollhoffer sits down to share his own story in an interview conducted by close friend, colleague, and owner of Action Entertainment Collaborative, Nick Meinema. Over the course of the conversation, he traces his fascinating journey from growing up in Regina, Saskatchewan through a hockey career to creating one of the most impactful festival experiences in Country music and beyond.
Vollhoffer’s history has all the ingredients of a best-selling novel wrapped up in this one podcast. We hear about his earliest music memories. He recalls getting his first autograph from Kenny Rogers at six-years-old and apprenticing as a local stagehand during his early teens. With his mom and dad in show business, there were summers spent in Las Vegas where he passed entire days by the pool alone as a kid. He paints a vivid picture of randomly meeting legendary comedian and actor Redd Foxx who graciously bought him a milkshake and took him to watch heavyweight contender Jerry Quarry spar in preparation to fight Muhammad Ali.
Then, there was all of his time on the ice. Vollhoffer signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins as a free agent in 1986. For a handful of years, he bounced around the country on various minor league teams. At one point, a scrimmage in Boston ended when he traded blows with none other than Bruins Hall of Famer Ray Bourque. “I actually won that one,” he laughs. “I didn’t win many in my career!”
Simultaneously, he balanced playing hockey with running his company Premier Global Production and providing staging and lighting on the road for the likes of Charley Pride, Dionne Warwick, Def Leppard, and Metallica—who remain a client to this day.
Along the way, he established Country Thunder as a juggernaut. He directly points to the significance of Craven Country Jamboree, which later evolved into Country Thunder Sasketchewan. One specific performance by Taylor Swift in 2009 still sticks out.
“We’ve had a lot of magical moments,” smiles Vollhoffer. “I mean the list goes on and on. Taylor Swift in minus one degree weather, and she’s doing the ‘Rain Gag’. It’s raining on her for the encore, and they’re basically turning to ice cubes. I mean it’s that cold out.”
At the end of the day, it’s clear that Vollhoffer’s passion for music has only grown stronger with time.
“When that artist walks on stage and you have a venue full of people and they get on their feet, you're part of a team that just gave 18,000 people a total buzz,” he says. “They get that hour-and-a-half or two hours of performance time to forget all of their problems, and you're part of that.”
|
Speaking of entertaining tens of thousands of people, Country Thunder Wisconsin just hosted almost 100,000 attendees last weekend. The crowd experienced an A-list lineup, including Cole Swindell, HARDY, Jelly Roll, Dierks Bentley, Gavin Adcock, Ashley McBryde, Tyler Hubbard, and Zach Top, to name a few. Plus, the festival notably celebrated the arrival of its “One Millionth Fan” with a once-in-a-lifetime prize pack. Turning heads, instant critical acclaim followed from Holler, Early Registration, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and more. Not to mention, CMT rode shotgun for the weekend and will air a special CMT Hot 20 episode on August 2 and 3.
Season two of “On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer,” has effectively cemented Vollhoffer as a major voice in the world of podcasting. Over the course of these 12 episodes, he hosted The Core Entertainment Co-Founders Simon Tikhman and Chief Zaruk, MULTI-PLATINUM Country superstar Jake Owen, MULTI-PLATINUM, 9X-GRAMMY® nominee Blake Shelton, MULTI-PLATINUM arena-filling phenomenon HARDY, MULTI-PLATINUM artist Justin Moore, award-winning PLATINUM superstar Jordan Davis, rising Georgia Country star Gavin Adcock, ACM award-winning, North Dakota-born duo Tigirlily Gold, and more.
This year, “On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer” expanded to include video as season two gains traction, landing at #1 in Music among Apple Podcasts in the U.S. with already featured episodes including MULTI-PLATINUM rising star Koe Wetzel, top booking agents Rod Essig, Curt Motley, and Nick Meinema, and MULTI-PLATINUM Country superstar Dustin Lynch – whose episode launched in the Top 1% of all podcasts. The Jordan Davis episode was also the highest performing YouTube video with nearly 100,000 views. Making waves, MusicRow touted the podcast and Amazon Music has included it in their Featured Podcasts.
The show is hosted by Country Thunder owner and founder Vollhoffer. With cameras rolling and tape running, he engages in funny and freewheeling discourse with major Country talent as well as buzzing acts. The episodes are filmed from Vollhoffer’s tour bus and home studio, providing an unfiltered vignette into the lives of artists as they tell stories, recall memories, and share unwavering passion for music.
During season one, Vollhoffer played host to Country music royalty with a string of fascinating, funny, and enlightening conversations. The roster included Dierks Bentley, Jon Pardi, Bailey Zimmerman, Ashley McBryde, Nate Smith, Marty Stuart, Parker McCollum, Terri Clark, and Big Kenny, among others.
The podcast stands out as a must-listen for Country aficionados and music fans at large. Boasting an intimate format, exclusive content, and an elite lineup of all-star guests, there’s nothing quite like it.
Stay tuned for the premiere of season three soon!
|
|
|
