Festival season is officially upon us, and country singer Julia Cole is giving viewers and inside look at what it’s really like attending some of the genre’s biggest events of the year.
The viral singer/songwriter teamed up with Circle Network — aka the official home of the Grand Ole Opry — for their new series Circle’s Ultimate Fan Fest, where she explores the events and talks to performers, ground crew, fans and more about what it’s like to prepare for a festival.
“It’s such a blessing and I know that everything’s happening in the right time and it’s all because of the community that’s around me,” Cole told Celeb Secrets reporter Juliet Schroder of the partnership. “The whole team and the partnership with Circle has been so incredible for a bunch of different reasons, but I would feel like the main reason is that a lot of our views align in terms of spotlighting and empowering the underdog. I don’t know of any other show that does that.”
Throughout the process, Cole found herself learning about some of the most exciting parts of a festival, including the food, fashion, music and most importantly, the people behind some of your favorite events.
“Obviously we show all of the cool hype, amazing moments of every festival — we have a ton of different huge celebrities and artists that are being interviewed or participating in some of the games and things that we’re doing in the show — but we also get to show all of the different locals who make these festivals possible,” she said. “My favorite interviews were getting to know these people who started these events from nothing and now there are hundreds of thousands of people showing up for three days. It’s so cool.”
With its premiere episode airing later tonight (April 13), the series shows highlights from the past year at events like CMA Fest, Darius Rucker’s Riverfront Revival, Country Thunder Arizona, and the State Fair of Texas. Cole also gets out of her comfort zone each week, as she finds herself IndyCar racing, skiing, eating low country boils and even golfing with Darius Rucker.
“There was this one specific festival that made me taste this one food that feels like a cuss word to say, so I can’t even say it, but let’s just say it was a part of the bull that you don’t want to eat,” she jokingly recalls.
“As a whole, there were a lot of highs and then there were a couple of, ‘I’m taking one for the team’ moments, but it was a delicacy at that festival. Everybody around me was eating it, so I was like, ‘okay, let me try it,’ she continued, before saying that golfing with Darius Rucker made up for it.
Julia is no stranger to Circle, as she’s performed at the famed Grand Ole Opry multiple times. Making her debut on the famed stage last July, the “Thank God We Broke Up” singer shined in a sparkling floor-length gown embellished with “upcycled” fabric from her late Grandfather’s western-style shirt and jewelry made from the shirt’s pearl-snaps. Julia’s friends and family gathered from Texas and Louisiana to join the audience, all of whom were misty-eyed as she sang “White Pearls,” a tribute to fearless mothers and their “daughters, turned to mothers, raising their own baby girls” which she wrote as a birthday gift for her grandmother.
“That night was the best night of my life,” she recalls. “It’s so funny because I wasn’t engaged yet at the time, but the next morning after my performance, I remember waking up and I was just like, ‘that felt like a wedding.’ I feel like I just married country music.”
In addition to hosting Circle’s Ultimate Fan Fest, fans can expect more music from the talented musician with a ton of tour dates at various venues and music festivals throughout the summer. You can keep up with her by visiting her website here and following her on TikTok at @juliacolemusic and Instagram at @juliacolemusic.
Let us know if you’re looking forward to watching Julia host Circle’s Ultimate Fan Fest by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sliding into our DMs on Instagram at @celebsecrets.
New episodes of Circle’s Ultimate Fan Fest every Thursday night at 10:30PM/9:30c on Circle Network.
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