GEORGIA country star Megan Moroney stunned the crowd with her debut CMC Rocks performance at the weekend, and she capped off the celebrations with a shoey.
Showcasing her talent under the all-new Tailgate Stage big top tent, Moroney swung her guitar behind her back, grabbed a fan’s boot, and then proceeded to drink from it to rapturous applause.
On Sunday, Jackson Dean cemented himself as a festival favourite, while Lainey Wilson’s headline set featured songs from her Grammy Award-winning album Bellbottom Country.
Her debut will be followed by multiple, sold-out Sydney and Melbourne shows later this week.
Celebrating its 10th year at the Willowbank Raceway with 23,000 music lovers, CMC Rocks has grown into one of the top music festivals, attracting a line-up of homegrown heroes and international superstars.
Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) has now locked in the festival for another two years, with next year’s event to be staged from March 21-23.
It is understood there was fierce competition to move the festival down south, but TEQ trumped rival offers.
Queensland Tourism Minister Michael Healy said TEQ was focused on “supercharging the events calendar to $2 billion by 2032, and securing CMC Rocks for a further two years as a part of that pipeline of events”.
“Events like this are key to the growth of our visitor economy with those 23,000 fans from CMC Rocks dispersing throughout the state for a Queensland holiday,” he said.
Potts Entertainment Festival Director Jeremy Dylan said the festival had shot to another level since finding a home in Ipswich.
“The festival has grown so much in these 10 years since we first made Willowbank our home, and we are excited to return once again next year,” he said.
Ipswich City Council Chief Executive Office Sonia Cooper said CMC Rocks pumps more than $11 million into the local economy each year.
“This is the Southern Hemisphere’s largest international country music festival, and it generates more than 61,000 visitor nights in Ipswich, attracting about 19,000 visitors to this beautiful city,” she said.
“Like all country music fans, we can’t wait to hear who the headline acts will be for 2025 and we look forward to putting our planning for next year’s event into full swing.”
