Exclusive new event highlights Eastern Iowa through country music, rural experiences, Tim McGraw concert

A small three-day festival is planning its inaugural event with a star-studded lineup celebrating the joys and challenges of rural America.

Heartland, a new annual event presented by Wildflower Entertainment Group, will launch Aug. 28 to 30 for a full lineup of activities spanning Dyersville to the Amana Colonies.

The exclusive experience, available for up to 100 VIP attendees, will support Iowa State University Foundation’s Iowa Concern, a suicide prevention and mental health hotline that has helped farmers and ranchers since 1985.

“I want to highlight farming in the community and these things that are important to being from Iowa,” said organizer Bobbii Jacobs, a Solon native. “In the ag world, (suicide) is very serious right now.”

The lineup includes performances at Bloomsbury Farms and The Ideal Theater & Bar in Cedar Rapids, farm-to-table dinners at Calyx Creek in Oxford and the Amana Festhalle Barn in Amana, and the chance to take a songwriting class with attending country artists.

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A Tim McGraw concert at the Field of Dreams site in Dyersville, a pinnacle event of Heartland, will end the three-day experience with a tribute to his father, Tug McGraw, on Aug. 30.

Events over the three days include intimate performances from up-and-coming country artists like Drew Baldridge, Annie Bosko, Garrett Bradford, Carter Faith, Erin Grand, Jenna Paulette, Kenya Reese, Cooper Riley, Adam Wainwright and XOLEX.

The new event, part of a boutique series called Backstage Access Presents, aims to reimagine how listeners connect with music by focusing on VIP experiences and live events that curate genre-spanning performances in ways that resonate emotionally.

The entire event is available by invitation for $2,350 per person without lodging, or $2,750 per person with lodging. The price includes everything except travel to Iowa.

Limited availability remains.

The farm-to-table dinner experience at Calyx Creek lavender farm in Oxford may be purchased a la carte for $350 per person. Attendance is limited to 200 people.

“It’s not really an event, it’s an experience,” Jacobs said. “Iowa feeds the world ... People don’t realize what comes out of it.”

For more info or to purchase tickets, visit wildflowerentertainmentgroup.com or email tickets@backstageaccesspresents.com.

Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.

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