Fans jam out at BamaJam

Within a three-day time span, a 600-acre field outside Enterprise saw more than 100,000 people and nearly 60 musical performances come in and out of the festival grounds.

The massive under-taking was all organized through a collaborative effort of several different agencies including law enforcement, parking, security, vendors, entertainers and more.

Executive producer Rendy Lovelady sat at the helm of the large-scale operation. He's been managing large tours and musicians for more than 25 years.

That experience was put to the test Thursday night when the majority of performances were washed out after the BamaJam grounds were hit by a severe weather.

The storm produced winds in excess of 60 miles per hour, torrential rain, hail and lightning.

Several vendors' displays were tossed about or collapsed and a hole was ripped into the stage ceiling causing water to pour all over the thousands of dollars worth of equipment below on stage.

The event hit another snag when lightning struck a transformer causing a power outage and the massive generators that powered the stages were not firing up.

It was more than four hours before the issues were fixed and the night could carry on, but carry on, it did. Though the performances of several of the bands were canceled, the night went on with Eric Church taking the stage at almost 9:45 p.m., followed by Tim McGraw at about 11 p.m.

The festival continued Friday and Saturday without any major issues. The crowd appeared to have a great time and officials said this year harbored fewer problems as far as arrests and incidents.

A new addition this year was the opening of the John Anderson Hillbilly Swingin' Swimmin' Hole. BamaJam Farms opened the first phase of its water park exclusively for BamaJam ticket holders. The park was complete with swings and zip lines, slides and white sand areas for enjoying the sun.

The venue also had its ATV trails, which got a lot of use after the Thursday rain, open for BamaJam ticket holders.

Tickets for 2013 were already on sale during the 2012 festival for the early-bird price of $89.

For more on BamaJam 2012, see Wednesday's editions of The Southeast Sun and The Daleville Sun-Courier.