Campground owner who founded country concert in Ohio dies


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: Less than a minute

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

FORT LORAMIE, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio man who each summer turned his family campground into one of the largest outdoor concerts in the nation has died.

Mike Barhorst and his wife started the Country Concert in the Hills in 1981 and it has since grown into a three-day festival that draws the biggest names in country music.

Family members say Barhorst died Wednesday at his home in Fort Loramie (lohr-uh-MEE'). He was 77.

The annual concert grew out of a family get-together with a few hundred friends in the late 1970s.

Now more than 80,000 people come for one weekend each summer to see the likes of Brad Paisley, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill.

This year's concert in July is set to feature Blake Shelton and Florida Georgia Line.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Most recent Entertainment stories

The Associated Press

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast