CULLMAN, Ala. – This Friday, Rock the South (RTS) returns for its eighth annual installment. Gates will open at noon Friday and Saturday, with entertainment and activities running until midnight both days. More than 25,000 fans are expected to attend each day.
Event coordinators are confident that the change to a new venue, from Heritage Park to private property at 1872 County Road 469, Cullman, AL 35057, will mean good things for the event, and preparations at the site are moving quickly.
Nathan Baugh of 46 Productions told The Tribune, “We are making great progress and are on schedule! With any event, there are some things that cannot be done until the week of or even the day before.”
Lineup
“This is by far the most positive response we’ve ever had for any lineup that we’ve announced,” said RTS Founder Shane Quick. “We’ve seen a little more than double of the response, in regards to traffic to our website, social media, things like that, than last year, which was a record year.”
Continued Quick, “To be double in response and interest from people is pretty phenomenal. Literally all 50 states including Hawaii and Alaska, multiple countries, people literally from all over the world were watching this announcement.
“I really believe this is going to be a reunion year where, if you’ve ever been to Rock the South before, I believe of lot of those people are going to be coming back; they’re coming back to see how we’ve grown. They’re going to come back to see this new, very diverse lineup. I think it’s by far the most diverse lineup we’ve ever had, as well. So, kind of something for everybody. And, you know, a lot of new exciting features for Rock the South.”
Although the music will not start until 2 p.m. Friday and 3:15 Saturday, Baugh said, “We open gates at noon! Go ahead and come on. There are plenty of areas to cool off in and relax and enjoy the day!”
Friday
- noon – gates open
- 2 p.m. – Lainey Wilson
- 2:40 p.m.- Trea Landon
- 5 p.m. – Travis Denning
- 6:15 p.m.- Jimmie Allen
- 7:30 p.m. – Mitchell Tenpenny
- 9:15 p.m. – Brooks & Dunn
- 11 p.m. – Kid Rock
Saturday
- noon – gates open
- 3:15 p.m. – Tyler Braden
- 4:30 p.m. – Hardy
- 6:15 p.m.- Colt Ford
- 7:45 p.m. – Morgan Wallen
- 9:20 p.m.- Jake Owen
- 11 p.m. – Florida Georgia Line
Dee Jay Silver will be back to keep things going between sets.
Said Baugh, “We are so excited to have Kid Rock and Brooks & Dunn in Cullman. Those two specifically are two acts that have not played Alabama recently, that we are really excited about being in Cullman.”
Parking
Parking will be onsite and at two nearby locations with designated pedestrian walkways to the venue.
Baugh advised, “We highly recommend that people purchase their parking pass before they get on the road! We will email you specific directions into the property. We will have plenty of staff and law enforcement support throughout the day and night to help people get where they are going.”
Event safety and security
When the music cranks up Friday, May 31, around 190 law enforcement officers and at least 50 firefighters and emergency medical personnel will be at the new site, working out of a mobile unified command center to monitor traffic and weather, as well as the welfare and conduct of concertgoers. Special attention will be paid to traffic flow all the way from interstate exits to the venue, and law enforcement officers will be assigned to make sure that local residents feel as little impact as possible.
In addition to fire/EMS and law enforcement, several other agencies will bring their expertise to the event. Inspectors from the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) will make sure food vendors keep food safe, and staff from the National Weather Service Huntsville (NWS) office will be onsite with their computer systems to keep an eye on weather all around the venue and alert other agencies immediately if a threat is detected on the horizon.
Sheriff Matt Gentry announced that, since the event site is surrounded by unincorporated county property for the first time, the sheriff’s office will concentrate on security around the outside perimeter and along traffic routes. He assured residents around the site that his office will pay special attention to their needs, saying, “We’ll have deputies at intersections that will be working with the citizens of the community, who live on those roads, to get them home safely, to get them home in an expedient time, and also working with the individuals that’s coming to the festival, to Rock the South, to ensure that they get to the right place in the right location, where they’re parking, and those kind of things, because, for us, our main goal and focus is to ensure that all citizens and the citizens of our community are safe, and do that in a safe manner.”
Culpepper noted that the security team will include state troopers and personnel from several other north Alabama law enforcement agencies, coming through a regional mutual aid agreement. Taking all potential threats seriously, local authorities have also brought in the Alabama Fusion Center, a division of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency which performs multiple tasks related to critical infrastructure, AMBER Alerts, rural crime, cybercrime, terrorism, narcotics, gangs, missing children and human trafficking.
Culpepper told reporters at a recent press briefing, “We’re very familiar with what goes on inside the venue because, like the sheriff said, we’ve been doing this about seven years, so we’re familiar with that. The only difference this year is that where our footprint inside has grown from about 15 acres to about 190 acres. We’re going to have some extra stuff that we’re going to have to police and patrol, so it is going to be an all-hands-on-deck event.”
Special notes:
- Detention deputies will staff an onsite detention and booking center. People who misbehave to a criminal degree can be arrested and processed right there.
- Law enforcement will use ATVs to move quickly around the venue and to check on area residents. Medical personnel will also use ATVs to provide rapid response and emergency transport.
- Since the site is within the city–which is wet–but all surrounding property is in the still dry county, alcoholic beverages will be allowed only within the venue footprint. Anyone found with alcohol on surrounding roads or other outside areas will be arrested, according to the sheriff.
- Local residents will have passes to allow them unhindered access to their neighborhoods. Officers will only allow people with those passes into those areas.
- In order to maintain access for emergency vehicles, visitor parking will be in designated areas only. Cars parked along roads or on private property will be towed, according to Culpepper.
Cullman Fire Rescue Chief Brian Bradberry told The Tribune, “We coordinate with numerous agencies to do that. Of course, it’s our responsibility- the fire and EMS part, but we definitely coordinate with all the local ambulance services. We try to reach out to the state agencies: ADPH, North Alabama Healthcare Coalition- I know we talked to them- and then ADPH regional coordinator will be there onsite, too. So we try to bring in multiple agencies; we request help from all around the state, in fact.
“Like I said, it’s a joint effort on the fire and EMS side of it. But it just takes a lot of coordination, a lot of pre-planning. We certainly get with the hospital on a lot of this and, statewide, we try to alert all the hospitals and even the Division F Response Team (a north Alabama-based multi-agency organization made up of various types of emergency responders). They may want them to know what we’ve got going on, and that way, if we do need help, you know, we have some help we can get coming that way.”
The fire/medical response team includes CFR, the Bethsadia Volunteer Fire Department, and the Good Hope Fire Department, with support from numerous other agencies including Cullman EMS and other ambulance services, Air Evac Lifeteam, Cullman Regional, Wallace State’s EMT and nursing programs and many others. In all, the chief estimated that at least 50 fire/medical personnel will be onsite at any given time during the event, and he believed that the number represented a very conservative estimate. They will use ATVs to transport patients to the large medical tent that is equipped to function as a mobile emergency room, or to ambulance pick-up points. A landing zone for police and medical helicopters has also been designated at the site.
Cullman County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Director Phyllis Little has been in touch with NWS regularly. She reported the long-term forecast currently looks good: warm with a 10-20 percent chance of rain each day.
Said Little, “Just a typical summer day.”
Since Heritage Park had to be evacuated due to lightning two years ago, NWS pays special attention to the dangerous weather phenomenon and the kinds of storms that produce it. They will be in the multi-agency command center, monitoring current weather and weather systems headed toward the site, both in real time. If a bad storm is coming, or if a lightning strike hits close, they will be able to tell immediately the direction of the storm and make educated predictions about how the storm might affect the venue.
EMA is coordinating with agencies like NWS, the Fusion Center and others to prevent or respond to both natural and man-made disasters including, according to Little, “doing a safety plan for- God forbid- mass casualties.”
Watch the heat, watch the alcohol
Both Bradberry and Little talked to The Tribune about heat dangers at RTS, and all involved agency heads talked about issues related to alcohol consumption. EMA and NWS will monitor heat from the weather end and will keep responders aware of what is happening, and medical personnel are making special preparations to deal with large numbers of people suffering heat exhaustion and those facing more dangerous heatstroke.
Little reported that event coordinators, who have installed misters in the woods on the southwest side of Heritage Park during previous RTS events, will contend with less shade at the new venue by placing misters under canopies this time around.
Agency leaders appealed to visitors to be responsible about alcohol consumption: to stay hydrated with water, limit alcohol, make use of pre-appointed designated drivers and keep all alcoholic beverages within the venue.
Culpepper said, “The object is to come and have a good time, and not overdo it and have any kind of issues.”
Gentry added, “We want the community to be safe. We want the participants coming to Rock the South to have a good time. Enjoy the festival, but be safe while doing it. Be responsible. And that’s what we’re looking at. We’re there to assist them getting to and from the event, and also to protect the residents in those areas, because it is going to be different.”
Tips for visitors
Both event coordinators and local authorities have advised all RTS visitors to realize that the event is like most other large music events today: bags and containers will be subject to search, and metal detectors will be in use. Visitors are encouraged to come early, be patient and double check what they are carrying.
Before you approach the gates, make sure any weapons (including pocket knives) are secured in your vehicle. Have keys and other metal objects out of your pockets and ready to hand off to security personnel when passing through the metal detectors. And, of course, don’t try to bring anything into the park you wouldn’t want to be caught with.
Outside food and drink are not allowed in the venue.
Please remember that all areas surrounding the event site are part of a dry county. If you are found in possession of alcohol outside the venue, you will be subject to arrest.
For more information, visit www.rockthesouth.com.
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