By Yuri Woodfall – Western Lead, Sound Check Entertainment
After two days of music had already filled the grounds in Camrose, Days 3 and 4 of Big Valley Jamboree 2026 had the job of bringing the festival home. Saturday and Sunday delivered two packed days of country music, enthusiastic crowds and the kind of festival atmosphere that has made Big Valley Jamboree one of Canada’s most recognizable country music events.
By Saturday, the festival was in full swing. Campgrounds were alive, cowboy hats were everywhere, and thousands of fans moved between the stages, vendors and festival attractions before eventually converging on the main stage.
Day 3 – Saturday
Saturday’s main-stage schedule offered plenty of variety, moving between newer country artists and established names throughout the afternoon and evening.
Logan Layman opened the day’s main-stage entertainment before Canadian singer-songwriter Robyn Ottolini took over, bringing a contemporary edge to the afternoon.
From there, Mark Chesnutt brought a hefty dose of traditional country to Saturday afternoon, delivering a set packed with the songs that have defined his career. He opened with “It’s a Little Too Late” before moving through “Bubba Shot the Jukebox,” “Blame It on Texas,” “Old Flames Have New Names,” “Brother Jukebox,” “Ol’ Country,” “Thank God for Believers,” “Your Love Is a Miracle,” “Almost Goodbye,” “Too Cold at Home” and “I’ll Think of Something.”
Chesnutt also drew from the traditional country music that has influenced his career, with “Clyde,” “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way” and “Good Hearted Woman” appearing during the set. It was a fitting addition to a performance that unapologetically leaned into traditional country while surrounded by a festival lineup representing several generations of the genre.
The Dead South brought one of Saturday’s biggest changes of pace. The Saskatchewan group doesn’t fit neatly into the polished modern-country mould, and that worked entirely in their favour. Their blend of bluegrass, folk, roots and country gave BVJ one of the weekend’s most distinctive performances.
Opening with “Snake Man Pt. 2,” the band worked through a lengthy set that included “20 Mile Jump,” “Son of Ambrose,” “Boots,” “Yours To Keep,” “Time for Crawlin’,” “The Recap,” “Father John” and “That Bastard Son.” The darker side of their sound came through particularly well with “Black Lung,” “A Little Devil” and “Broken Cowboy,” songs that felt worlds apart from much of the contemporary country heard elsewhere throughout the weekend.
The closing stretch was especially strong. After their self-titled “The Dead South,” the band launched into “In Hell I’ll Be in Good Company,” easily one of their most recognizable songs and a natural crowd favourite. “Honey You” followed before “Banjo Odyssey” brought the set to its conclusion.
The Dead South didn’t need to sound like anyone else on the BVJ lineup. In fact, that was precisely what made the performance work. Between the banjo, cello, harmonies and the band’s unmistakable prairie-gothic character, their set provided something completely different and proved there was plenty of room at Big Valley Jamboree for country music’s stranger, darker cousins.
Gavin Adcock kept Saturday moving with a set firmly rooted in the newer generation of country music. Opening with “Sweetheart,” Adcock quickly followed with “Past Actions” and “The Day I Hang It Up” before working his way through “Cheap Thrills,” “Never Call Again,” “Need To,” “Workin’ Man,” “Wannabe,” “Through With Me” and “On One.”
The latter half of the set included “A Cigarette,” “Old Farm Drive,” “Ain’t No Cure” and “Four Leaf Clover” before Adcock closed out with a particularly strong run of “Last One to Know,” “Run Your Mouth” and “Deep End.”
Coming immediately after The Dead South, Adcock represented another sharp stylistic turn for Saturday’s lineup. Where The Dead South had leaned into bluegrass and roots music, Adcock brought BVJ back into contemporary country, helping bridge the afternoon performances with the arrival of Saturday night’s headliner, Riley Green.
Green had the crowd and the setting to make the most of the opportunity. With thousands gathered in front of the main stage, Saturday night felt every bit like the centrepiece of a major country festival.
When the main-stage music wrapped up, BVJ wasn’t exactly ready to go to sleep. Across the grounds and campgrounds, the festivities continued – something that has become nearly as much a part of the Big Valley Jamboree experience as the concerts themselves.
Day 4 – Sunday
Sunday arrived with the inevitable realization that the weekend was almost over, but BVJ still had an entire day of music planned.
Travis Dolter, opening Sunday’s main stage was much more than another festival appearance – it was the realization of a childhood dream. Dolter grew up in Hay Lakes and has been coming to Big Valley Jamboree since he was 2 years old. Through all those years attending the festival, he dreamed of one day being the artist standing on its main stage.
Dolter had already been busy at BVJ the day before, performing on the Beer Gardens stage Saturday evening and returning for another set later that night. Less than a day later, he went from entertaining the Beer Gardens crowd to stepping onto the biggest stage at the festival.
On Sunday afternoon, that childhood dream finally came true.
And plenty of people were there to see it happen. Despite having the opening slot, Dolter drew what appeared to be the largest crowd of the day’s earlier performances. For an artist who had spent years coming to BVJ as a fan, finally stepping onto the main stage and seeing that many people waiting for him was about as full-circle as it gets.
There was something especially fitting about having a local Alberta artist who grew up attending BVJ become part of the festival himself. After years of watching other performers take that stage, Dolter was now looking out at the crowd from the other side – a genuine full-circle moment and one of the most heartfelt stories of the final day of BVJ 2026.
Josh Stumpf followed Dolter with his main-stage performance, but as Sunday progressed, the day’s plans began to change. Lauren Watkins and Noeline Hofmann had both been scheduled to perform on the main stage, but their planned appearances were affected as the festival schedule shifted. Some of Sunday’s entertainment moved away from the main stage as organizers adjusted to the changing conditions.
Sunday afternoon also featured the Songwriters Showcase, offering a different kind of experience from the larger main-stage performances. In a weekend dominated by massive stages, loud crowds and full-band productions, the showcase put the focus back on the people behind the songs and the stories that inspired them.
Unfortunately, not long after the Songwriters Showcase wrapped up, the Alberta weather decided it had other plans.
Conditions deteriorated and festival activity came to a halt. What had been shaping up to be one final evening of performances instead became a waiting game as the weather took over and everything stopped.
That meant Cameron Whitcomb never got the opportunity to perform his scheduled set.
More significantly, Sunday headliner Keith Urban never took the stage.
It was an abrupt and disappointing ending to a weekend that had otherwise delivered days of country music and festival experiences. Thousands had been anticipating Urban’s closing performance, while Whitcomb was supposed to be among the final performers of the weekend. Instead, the weather became the story.
There isn’t much a festival can do when severe weather becomes a safety concern. Outdoor festivals live at the mercy of the elements, and sometimes the safest decision also happens to be the most disappointing one.
It certainly wasn’t the ending anyone in Camrose had been hoping for.
More than the main stage
If anything, the unexpected conclusion reinforced what Big Valley Jamboree is really about.
The headliners may bring people through the gates, but the festival itself is built from everything happening around them.
It’s the crowds wandering the grounds hours before their favourite artist performs. It’s people discovering someone they’ve never heard before on an afternoon stage. It’s the campsites, cowboy boots, food vendors and strangers becoming friends somewhere between one performance and the next.
It’s also moments like Travis Dolter finally standing on the same BVJ main stage he had dreamed about playing since he was a kid.
Four days at BVJ makes one thing abundantly clear: this isn’t an event people simply attend for a couple of concerts and head home.
For many, Big Valley Jamboree is the destination.
People build their summer around it. They camp. They travel. They arrive with groups of friends and leave with stories that have very little to do with who happened to be standing on the main stage at the time.
Days 3 and 4 captured both sides of the festival experience.
Saturday showed BVJ operating at full throttle, while Sunday demonstrated just how quickly an outdoor festival can change. What began with a childhood dream coming true for Dolter ended with thousands of people watching the skies instead of Keith Urban.
It wasn’t the grand finale anyone expected, but after four days in Camrose, BVJ 2026 still offered plenty of moments worth remembering.
Sometimes Mother Nature just gets the final set.
