The GoldenSky Country Music Festival is set to return to Sacramento in 2027, 2028, and 2029 after a two-year pause, organizers announced Wednesday during Visit Sacramento’s State of Tourism event. GoldenSky, which previously took place in Sacramento for three years, serves as a companion weekend to the popular Aftershock festival. Mike Testa, president and CEO of Visit Sacramento, highlighted the festival’s ability to attract visitors from across the globe. “It creates music festivals, multiple weekends in October. These festivals are destination festivals, so they’re bringing people from every state in the U.S., plus 30 different countries around the world,” Testa said. In previous years, GoldenSky featured major country music stars, including Tim McGraw, Sam Hunt, Luke Bryan, Thomas Rhett, Keith Urban, and Megan Moroney. In February 2025, organizers cited a reason for putting off that year’s festival as an oversaturation of country music festivals, creating a challenge in attracting larger country names.Promoters Danny Wimmer Presents then said in February they would take an additional year to ensure the festival “returns at the right time.” Chamie McCurry, general manager of Danny Wimmer Presents, emphasized the collaborative effort behind the festival’s return next year. “We worked really closely with the city and Visit Sacramento and the Parks Department to bring it back at the right time,” McCurry said. “We’re going to be reconvening at Discovery Park for two weekends in a row and bringing some amazing talent, something for the locals, but also for people to travel into Sacramento and really fall in love with the city in the way that we have as well.” GoldenSky will take place either the weekend before or after Aftershock, and Testa noted that the combined festivals, along with the Ironman competition, are expected to generate nearly $70 million in economic impact. The festival will also provide a significant boost to local businesses, including hotels, restaurants, and bars. “The great thing about GoldenSky and Aftershock is we don’t end those events at one in the morning. We end them fairly early in the evening. So people are going back downtown. They’re going to bars, they’re going to restaurants, and they’re creating that commerce in the central business district. So, you know, the economics of it are far more than just inside the festival,” Testa said. Building the festival village takes about a month, and the two weekend-long events create approximately 10,000 jobs. Testa also stressed the importance of committing to a multi-year return. “If you know it’s coming for multiple years and you have a great experience the first year, chances are you’ll buy tickets early for the next year and the year after that. So really it’s building consistency from an economic standpoint, but it’s also giving the promoter the ability to promote something that has some longevity to it,” Testa said. McCurry echoed the sentiment, saying, “We want it to be a staple in Sacramento that everyone looks forward to every year, and we just needed to make sure we got the timing right, that when we brought it back, we knew we were going to be able to bring it back for multiple years.” The lineup for GoldenSky will be announced in October, and tickets will go on sale at that time. McCurry shared that fans will have a chance to shape the festival’s return through surveys this summer. “This summer, we’re going to be sending out a series of survey questions where the fans can really help shape the return of GoldenSky. And we really look forward to getting their input on bringing this festival back and what they loved about the first three years and what they want to see when GoldenSky comes back,” McCurry said.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

The GoldenSky Country Music Festival is set to return to Sacramento in 2027, 2028, and 2029 after a two-year pause, organizers announced Wednesday during Visit Sacramento’s State of Tourism event.

GoldenSky, which previously took place in Sacramento for three years, serves as a companion weekend to the popular Aftershock festival.

Mike Testa, president and CEO of Visit Sacramento, highlighted the festival’s ability to attract visitors from across the globe.

“It creates music festivals, multiple weekends in October. These festivals are destination festivals, so they’re bringing people from every state in the U.S., plus 30 different countries around the world,” Testa said.

In previous years, GoldenSky featured major country music stars, including Tim McGraw, Sam Hunt, Luke Bryan, Thomas Rhett, Keith Urban, and Megan Moroney.

In February 2025, organizers cited a reason for putting off that year’s festival as an oversaturation of country music festivals, creating a challenge in attracting larger country names.

Promoters Danny Wimmer Presents then said in February they would take an additional year to ensure the festival “returns at the right time.”

Chamie McCurry, general manager of Danny Wimmer Presents, emphasized the collaborative effort behind the festival’s return next year.

“We worked really closely with the city and Visit Sacramento and the Parks Department to bring it back at the right time,” McCurry said. “We’re going to be reconvening at Discovery Park for two weekends in a row and bringing some amazing talent, something for the locals, but also for people to travel into Sacramento and really fall in love with the city in the way that we have as well.”

GoldenSky will take place either the weekend before or after Aftershock, and Testa noted that the combined festivals, along with the Ironman competition, are expected to generate nearly $70 million in economic impact.

The festival will also provide a significant boost to local businesses, including hotels, restaurants, and bars.

“The great thing about GoldenSky and Aftershock is we don’t end those events at one in the morning. We end them fairly early in the evening. So people are going back downtown. They’re going to bars, they’re going to restaurants, and they’re creating that commerce in the central business district. So, you know, the economics of it are far more than just inside the festival,” Testa said.

Building the festival village takes about a month, and the two weekend-long events create approximately 10,000 jobs. Testa also stressed the importance of committing to a multi-year return.

“If you know it’s coming for multiple years and you have a great experience the first year, chances are you’ll buy tickets early for the next year and the year after that. So really it’s building consistency from an economic standpoint, but it’s also giving the promoter the ability to promote something that has some longevity to it,” Testa said.

McCurry echoed the sentiment, saying, “We want it to be a staple in Sacramento that everyone looks forward to every year, and we just needed to make sure we got the timing right, that when we brought it back, we knew we were going to be able to bring it back for multiple years.”

The lineup for GoldenSky will be announced in October, and tickets will go on sale at that time. McCurry shared that fans will have a chance to shape the festival’s return through surveys this summer.

“This summer, we’re going to be sending out a series of survey questions where the fans can really help shape the return of GoldenSky. And we really look forward to getting their input on bringing this festival back and what they loved about the first three years and what they want to see when GoldenSky comes back,” McCurry said.