The main stage for Rogue Music Fest was being built at the Jackson County Expo Tuesday, preparing for concerts in Central Point Friday and Saturday.

Rogue Music Fest — the first music festival created and run by The Expo — kicks off this weekend in Central Point.

The two-day country music event is a unique effort because government entities aren’t generally in the habit of providing festivals, said Helen Baker, director of The Expo. But for Jackson County, it’s a case of listening to the people, she said.

“The valley continues to ask for music festivals. There were no other providers, so we’re going to do something. We bring you the fair. We’re going to bring you something different now,” Baker said Tuesday.

Walking through the grounds Tuesday, she said the view at the moment was plastic, more plastic, a little color and some flags. But the entire space will be transformed by the weekend, when headliners Eric Church and Carrie Underwood take the stage Friday and Saturday nights, respectively.

Other acts over the weekend include Chris Janson, The Cadillac Three, Brothers Osborne, Sawyer Brown, Tenille Townes, Frank Ray and Dillon Carmichael.

“We’re using this facility differently than we’ve ever used it before. Everything is different for this event — it’s kind of like picking up your entire house and rearranging it. It’s fun,” Baker said.

The stage will be in the main parking lot. While she anticipates some complaints about asphalt, it will eliminate past problems with dust from where the stage was previously located, while satisfying the artists’ objection that the Bi-Mart Amphitheater is too small of a stage. 

While many vendors will offer drinks, food and various forms of entertainment or shopping, this event is about the music.

“We’ll have two stages with music alternately from each one. There’s going to be live music the entire time,” she said.

Facebook still bears witness to the various failings of the last country music festival to take place at The Expo — Country Crossings in 2017. Baker said the only connection between it and Rogue Music Fest is the common location. Through the event page for Country Crossings, numerous comments record problems with long lines to get beer or water, boredom between performances, problems with parking and drop-offs, and confusion in the parking area leading to physical altercations.

Baker estimated around 12,000 people will attend the festival, comfortably below The Expo’s capacity of 18,000. The number of vendors will ensure ample supply of drinks of various kinds, while parking at The Expo itself will be supplemented with additional spots at Crater High School and Scenic Middle School.

To keep lines short and the festival secure, The Expo has also made a change in how attendees will buy brews or merchandise — with their wrists.

“The event is cashless. Instead you have a BlastPass connected to your wristband. People will be loading money onto it through the website, or through the ticket booth or through kiosks. There’ll be multiple kiosks at the event,” she said.

Tapping is generally considered to be more secure than swiping for debit cards, she explained, so loading a specified amount of cash onto a wristband exclusively for the festival provides security, and in her own experience it’s easier.

“I just got back from a festival that used them. It makes everything so much faster. You don’t have to fish out a debit card. You don’t have to think about it. You just tap your wrist,” Baker said.

She emphasized that ticket holders maintain control and privacy through the new system.

“We cannot access your bank account. We cannot see it. All we can see is the amount of credits you have on your BlastPass. Any vendor can also check how many credits you have. After the festival, any leftover money you can get back through the website or at our ticket booth,” she said.

The layout for food and other vendors will feel familiar for those who have attended the Jackson County Fair, Baker said. Some of the vendors are offering activities at their booth, such as Seven Feathers with games and a mechanical bull. Alcohol manufacturers such as Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Pendleton Whiskey will have booths. But the focus is still the music.

Church was one of the performers at the ill-conceived Country Crossings. Performers joined attendees with complaints about that festival, she said, and The Expo has put effort into ensuring artists and ticket holders walk away happy from this event.

“His touring manager said, ‘I never thought we would be looking forward to coming back to Central Point, but we are,’” Baker said.

The artists did have a line in the sand, she said. They wouldn’t take a contract without some conditions. One of them was a clear-bag policy for the festival, and that means transparent bags only. Clear bags will be for sale at the event. 

“Unfortunately, many of the situations in recent mass gatherings have been events like this. Obviously we don’t want anything like that to happen here. Unfortunately that does take away some of our liberties,” she said.

The policy is not expected to become normal at The Expo. She deferred to the frequently asked questions section of the festival’s website for the full list of types of bags or items not allowed, except for the obvious, water bottles. Empty ones only, just like the airport.

Because The Expo is a public, county-run entity, it has been a long process of jumping through hoops to put on a music festival and satisfy regulations, Baker said.

She was proud to say that after a long struggle, with only a little over two days to go, The Expo worked it out with their regulatory agency, and people will be able to leave the festival and re-enter.

She was confident The Expo’s experience providing big events like the fair would lead to a successful and fun event. But she was also practical.

“Of course, we want it to be perfect. I know it’s not going to be perfect. We want this to be the best possible event ever,” she said.

Anyone looking to attend through a drop-off — Uber, Lyft or a friend — will be routed to a shuttle lane. Parking passes are still available. Baker urged people to pick up passes and wristbands before the event to bypass lines “so nothing’s holding you back from your beer or your seat,” she said.

Pass and wristband pick-up is available at The Expo’s satellite office across from the Pilot station on the corner of Pine Street and Peninger Road. The office will be open from noon to 6 p.m. until Thursday, when the office will stay open until 9 p.m. for festival attendees coming in late from out of town.

For more information, tickets or the FAQ page, visit https://roguemusicfest.com/