Hudson Fields brings headliners to Sussex

Considering history, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Dewey Beach-based Highway One Group will kick off the summer with a new music venue filled with national acts.

Over the past 15 years or so, the quality of acts coming to the Bottle & Cork have increased with spillover bands sometimes having to play The Rusty Rudder because the Cork was already booked.

Heck, in 2008 -- two years before earning a Grammy and Academy Award for the theme song to the film "Crazy Heart" --  you could have caught Americana act Ryan Bingham playing inside at the Rudder because the Cork already had music for the night.

After beefing up their offerings over the years, Highway One, which owns the Cork, Rudder and numerous other Dewey Beach properties, branched out in 2015, teaming with Live Nation for a three-day music and camping festival called the Delaware Junction Country Music Festival.

Everyone from Florida Georgia Line to Toby Keith -- acts too big for the Cork -- played the festival, which died after only one year when Live Nation pulled the plug.

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After licking their wounds from the festival failure, Highway One is back and taking another shot at another larger-scale musical offering: Hudson Fields.

The concert space, which will debut June 1 with a concert by country act Old Dominion, takes up about 18 acres of the 80-acre Hudson Fields, the original home of Punkin Chunkin off Del. 1 near Milton.

Just like the Cork, Hudson Fields is booked by Vikki Walls, the woman behind Highway One's bands.

Walls promises a mix of music at Hudson Fields with five shows already booked at the 4,000-person stage, which can hold more than three times the number of fans as the Cork.

"We're trying to mix it up," Walls says. "We'll take whatever is coming through that makes sense for us -- someone who needs a home."

Radio-friendly country music, which incorporates pop, rock and hip-hop, has found a home (and large crowds) over recent years at the Cork. And those bands will also surface at Hudson Fields. In addition to Old Dominion's kick-off show, country's Cole Swindell, who has performed at both the Cork and the Delaware Junction festival, is coming June 22.

A few days later on June 25, a double shot of reggae will take over with Dirty Heads teaming up with SOJA, the Grammy-winning eight-piece featuring Seaford native Trevor Young as lead guitarist.

Hudson Fields recently announced that two-time Firefly Music Festival act Fitz and the Tantrums will bring a taste of Firefly a little farther south than its Dover home on July 20.

The pop/soul act that has been kick-starting dance parties for a decade will see if they can do the same in Sussex County. Also announced: a Christian Music Festival featuring For King and Country and Matt Maher is slated for Sept. 15.

General admission tickets for outdoors Hudson Field shows range from $25-$45 with "party pit" standing-room only and seated VIP tickets costing more.

Even though the venue seems new, it technically isn't. In the late '90s, the Delaware River & Bay Authority hosted a string of benefit shows for Beebe Medical Center with the Beach Boys, Chicago and Hall & Oates all performing there.

These days, it's a spot not far from Dewey Beach that allows Highway One to grow with their bands.

Old Dominion, which started its relationship with Highway One in October 2014 when they headlined a free show at The Rusty Rudder, is now the reigning Academy of Country Music Awards' New Group of the Year and in demand.

While playing the 1,200 Cork would be a bit of a stretch these days, Hudson Fields allows for enough fans to keep the ticket prices reasonable.

"We were bringing in all these acts like The Avett Brothers, Miranda Lambert, Eric Church and Andy Grammer to the Cork and then we didn't have a place to put them because they don't do rooms that size," Walls says. "It was a shame. After having them for two or three years, we couldn't bring them back."

So they created a bigger outdoor "room." And the bands are now coming back, drawn not only to a paid gig, but the treatment they get at the hands of Walls, a former band manager who plies musicians with food, drinks, jet skis and more.

"We treat them with great respect," she says. "It's not all about business for me. It comes probably from struggling and managing bands that made, like, no money. Now I can actually treat bands the way I wish people would have treated mine."

Contact Ryan Cormier of The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier), Twitter (@ryancormier) and Instagram (@ryancormier).

IF YOU GO

What: Hudson Fields

Where: 30045 Eagle Crest Road, near Milton

Upcoming shows: Old Dominion (June 1, $25), Cole Swindell (June 22, $40-$95), Dirty Heads & SOJA (June 25, $35-$149), Fitz and the Tantrums (July 30, $45-$95) and Christian Music Festival (Sept. 15, $25-$85)

Information: hudsonfields.com