Lady Antebellum, Willie Nelson to headline Roanoke Rapids music fest

Grammy-nominated Lady Antebellum and country music legend Willie Nelson will headline an outdoor musical festival in Roanoke Rapids next summer, event organizers announced Tuesday.

More than a dozen artists are scheduled to perform during the three-day outdoor country music festival Rapids Jam at Festival Park at Carolina Crossroads June 16-18.

Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. and are available at the Roanoke Rapids Theatre and at the Rapids Jams website.

Darius Rucker, lead singer of Hootie & the Blowfish, and country duo Sugarland are also among artists slated to perform. Additional performers are expected in the coming weeks.

About 60,000 people are expected for the three-day event, organizers have estimated.

The first of its kind in Roanoke Rapids, Rapids Jam will be modeled after other country music festivals across the country, said Liz Cunningham, a partner with Carolina Dirt LLC, which owns the outdoor venue in Roanoke Rapids’ entertainment development.

Event organizers say that improvements to the venue, such as a larger stage, infrastructure to accommodate camping and more on-site concessions, will make it more attractive for national promoters to bring in other genres of entertainment.