Despite the Calgary Stampede’s rodeo-centred roots, the 10-day annual event has proven to be one of the most sought-after celebrations of music to grace Canada’s ground.
Just last year, the Stampede broke their 2012 record when welcoming more than 1.4 million guests to enjoy music, the Midway, and everything in between. However, alongside growing attendance numbers is the rise of locals fearing for the future of their festival favourites.
Included with the purchase of a roughly $20 general admission ticket, the Coca-Cola Stage has long offered an affordable way to watch live performances against a country-themed backdrop.
But when tents like Cowboys, Nashville North, and the Wildhorse Saloon appear to be racing toward who can book today’s biggest names in music, small venues like the Coca-Cola stage are forced to compete for the attention of fans.
In April, the Calgary Stampede announced that Khalid, Diplo, Simple Plan, Don Toliver, and Role Model will make up a portion of this year’s headliners.
Calgary Stampede director of safety and environment, Kerrie Blizard, said that they book artists based on the other performances happening in the city that night to prevent overlapping genres and splitting the crowd.
She feels confident about the Coca-Cola stage’s audience turnout this year.
“There are some really popular artists on there, and I would expect higher density on certain nights,” she said.
Since the names became public, Calgarians have responded to the success rate of some artists by taking to social media to voice their concerns about how crowd sizes could make for an unsavoury concert experience.
Concert critiques: What audience members are saying
The last time Grace Kirkland watched a performance at the Coca-Cola stage was six years ago. In 2019, the stage was located at the much smaller Sun Tree Park venue, and she recalled roaming freely in the audience with an abundance of room.
When she saw photos showing the size of one of the many 2024 shows, the difference shocked her.
“I couldn’t imagine being in the middle of that and then needing to go to the washroom or something,” said Kirkland.
“I didn’t have that kind of concern when I went.”
In 2021, the stage changed locations to provide ample room for the anticipated increase in attendees post-pandemic. Today, the stage remains at the southwest corner of Stampede Park along the Elbow River.
Minus the one held in 2020, which was cancelled due to pandemic restrictions, Payton Mitton said that she has been to nearly every Coca-Cola stage performance.
Mitton said that the areas in which she has seen the most change over the years are the number of people attending and the selection of artists that are performing.
“Last year was probably the busiest it’s ever been,” she said.
“I feel like it’s become the rising stars stage instead of people that no one really cares about.”
Despite admiring how the stage drew in more people last year, Mitton remembered something that happened during a performance that made her question the venue’s capacity to safely hold an overflow of viewers.
“A girl tried to go on her boyfriend’s shoulders and she fell and hit her head on the cement,” she said.
“Security had zero idea until all of a sudden a huge crowd of people started screaming for help.”
Worried about whether the Stampede has enough security to manage the crowd sizes that come with hosting major league artists, Mitton said she’s unsure if attending the concerts would be worth it if the volume doubled.
How is the Coca-Cola stage organized?
Blizard said that the number of security and medical personnel scheduled to focus on the Coca-Cola stage is dependent on the artist and if the crowd that their genre attracts shows trends of rowdiness or not.
“A pop artist and the crowd that they draw is very different than, say, a hip hop or rock crowd,” she said.
However, Blizard said that crowd volume can sometimes surge unexpectedly.
When they first contacted Benson Boone and asked him to perform at the Coca-Cola stage in early 2024, she said that he was considered an up-and-coming musician.
Months later, the American artist’s song “Beautiful Things” skyrocketed him to fame after gaining traction on TikTok. That spring, the song claimed the number one spot on the Adult Contemporary chart, according to Billboard.
“There’s risk with every artist, especially in today’s world with social media and how quickly somebody can become a big name overnight,” said Blizard.
“From the time that we booked him to the time that he hit the stage, that was a complete turnaround.”
Blizard said that after every Stampede, she and her team undergo a series of risk assessments to inform what changes need to be made for future events. She said that high density is not unusual at music festivals, but that they will be making improvements to mitigate this nonetheless.
For the 2025 concerts, Blizard said that decisions regarding the number of security and medical staff attached to the stage are still underway and provided no details on whether this is expected to increase.
With the Coca-Cola stage remaining at the same location, Blizard said that they will be making adjustments to ensure better crowd flow. She said that this means improving the placement of infrastructure.
Additionally, attendees will be able to view the performances from further back with the announcement of more video screens being installed on the grounds surrounding the stage.
“We’re committed to making sure Coke’s Coca-Cola stage is accessible to our guests,” said Blizard.
“It’s important to us that they have access to remarkable talent that we put on that stage, included with their admission.”
