Opry Entertainment Group (OEG) has acquired a majority stake in Southern Entertainment, a North Carolina-based live events, hospitality and production company whose portfolio of owned or promoted live music events includes music festivals country Carolina Country Music Fest (Myrtle Beach, SC), Barefoot Country Music Fest (Wildwood, NJ), Lovin Life Music Fest (Charlotte, NC), Greenville Country Music Fest (Greenville, SC) and the upcoming Field & Stream Outdoor Music Fest, launching this year in Winnsboro, CS
Founded by Bob Durkin And Rob Pedlow In 2015, Southern Entertainment produced over 200 events across the United States.
“We have always seen the festival sector as a significant opportunity for us given our emphasis on live events and venues,” Patrick MooreCEO of Opry Entertainment Group, tells Billboard. “Rob and Bob have been in this industry for 10 years and they have created distinctive experiences for fans and artists in some truly exciting destination markets.”
Durkin says, “(OEG) had similar synergies in growth, in customer service, in hospitality, the things that we believe are the lifeblood of the business. »
For OEG, a subsidiary of Ryman Hospitality Properties, this new investment marks a further expansion of its live music footprint. OEG’s portfolio includes not only country music’s iconic mainstay the Grand Ole Opry (the Opry celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2025) and Ryman Auditorium, but also WSM Radio and more recent additions including the brand Ole Red inspired by Blake Shelton and the Luke. Combs Category 10 inspired venue, bar and restaurant. In 2022, Ryman Hospitality Properties completed a agreement which includes Austin, Texas’ iconic ACL Live venue at the Moody Theater. OEG is also a minority, non-controlling investor in the country lifestyle. brand Whiskey riff.
Moore declined to provide the precise percentage of OEG’s majority stake in Southern Entertainment, but notes that the combination “allows both companies to tap into markets, demographics and communities that we cannot tap individually.”
One of Southern Entertainment’s biggest priorities this year is the inaugural Field & Stream Music Fest, scheduled for October 3-5 with headliners including Eric Church and Miranda Lambert; the festival is co-produced by Field & Stream alongside key investors Church, Morgan Wallen and Southern Entertainment.
“Field & Stream is something we’re really excited about because it gives a unique vibe to a music festival,” says Durkin. “You’re celebrating music and community with your fellow human beings and this one’s going to take place in the middle of the woods and we get to enjoy everything that’s happening outside. There will be fishing, hiking, mountain biking aspects, so it’s really unique. What’s also exciting is that it is supported by artists. Eric Church, he’s from Carolina (North). And Field & Stream magazine and the brand are iconic. So I think we can only help each other.
This investment will align the two companies’ shared focus on artist development and highlighting emerging artists. “We have the same kind of strategy and general vision approach, and that goes for emerging artists and artist development,” Moore says. Following the agreement, Southern Entertainment will integrate OEG’s artist development programs into its flagship country music festivals, where many Opry members and Opry NextStage artists have performed in recent years. The Opry’s NextStage Class of 2024 features artists 49 Winchester, Anne Wilson, Charles Wesley Godwin, Chase Matthew, Ella Langley, Wyatt Flores, Flatland Cavalry, Josh Ross and Madeline Edwards. Flores, Flatland Cavalry and Ross are among current Opry NextStage artists who have performed at Southern Entertainment festivals.