{"id":2060082,"date":"2025-09-30T17:18:05","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T17:18:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2060082"},"modified":"2025-09-30T17:18:05","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T17:18:05","slug":"why-arizona-edm-powerhouse-is-launching-new-country-events","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/why-arizona-edm-powerhouse-is-launching-new-country-events\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Arizona EDM powerhouse is launching new country events"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<div id=\"videoWrap\" class=\"spacer-large videoWrap\" style=\"position:relative\"><media-video video-id=\"73322504007\" title=\"See the fans, food and festivities at Country Thunder Arizona 2024\" poster=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2024\/04\/15\/PPHX\/73323405007-ct-87.JPG?crop=4414,2483,x0,y0\" util-module-path=\"elements\/media\" placement=\"snow-video-story-priority\"><\/p>\n<div id=\"uwVideoPlaceholder\" slot=\"placeholder\" style=\"z-index:19;width:100%;padding-bottom:56.25%;position:relative\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"vidplaybtn\" style=\"display:-moz-box;display:-ms-flexbox;display:-webkit-flex;display:flex;background-color:rgba(0,0,0,.4);border:2px solid #fff;border-radius:80px;cursor:pointer;height:80px;width:80px;position:absolute;top:50%;left:50%;transform:translate(-50%,-50%);z-index:10\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"vidplayicon\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/appservices\/universal-web\/universal\/icons\/icon-play-alt-white.svg\" alt=\"play\" style=\"height:40px;margin:auto 18px auto 27px;width:40px\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div slot=\"videoDetails\" id=\"videoDetails\" class=\"videoDetails\" style=\"padding-top:8px;padding-bottom:8px\">\n<div id=\"videoDetailsContainer\" class=\"videoDetailsContainer\" hidden=\"\">\n<p>See the fans, food and festivities at Country Thunder Arizona 2024<\/p>\n<p>Arizona rocked out to country music&#8217;s finest at Country Thunder Arizona 2024. See the celebration here.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/media-video><\/div>\n<p><story-highlights class=\"spacer-small column ten-column no-gutter\" util-module-path=\"elements\/story\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Arizona EDM promoter Relentless Beats is launching a new country music production company called Moonlit Nites.<\/li>\n<li>The company&#8217;s first event is a two-day festival celebrating the 90th anniversary of Harold&#8217;s Cave Creek Corral.<\/li>\n<li>Founder Thomas Turner aims to apply his experience in producing large-scale EDM events to the country music scene.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/story-highlights><partner-banner util-module-path=\"elements\/partner\" class=\"spacer-large\" min-height=\"390\" fluid=\"\" outstream=\"\"\/>\n<p>Arizona\u2019s most successful independent EDM production company, Relentless Beats, is expanding its cultural footprint into unexpected territory \u2014 country music.<\/p>\n<partner-banner util-module-path=\"elements\/partner\" class=\"spacer-large\" min-height=\"600\" fluid=\"\" outstream=\"\" momentum=\"\"\/>\n<p>The group is launching Moonlit Nites, a production company whose first event is a two-day festival pegged to the 90<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary of Harold&#8217;s Cave Creek Corral the weekend of Oct. 3-4.<\/p>\n<p>But as <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.azcentral.com\/story\/entertainment\/music\/2016\/12\/23\/relentless-beats-edm-concert-promoter-phoenix-profile-thomas-turner\/95430514\/\">Thomas Turner, who launched Relentless Beats in 1996<\/a>, explains, it\u2019s been a long time coming.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI grew up country a music enthusiast,\u201d he says. \u201cMy father played country music for me religiously. Arizona has always been a big hub for country music enthusiasts and I still listen to a lot of country music.\u201d<\/p>\n<partner-banner util-module-path=\"elements\/partner\" fluid=\"\" bottom=\"\" lazy=\"\" class=\"spacer-large\" min-height=\"390\" outstream=\"\"\/>\n<p>As Relentless Beats has gotten better at producing EDM events, he started thinking, \u201cWhy am I not applying these same things to the country music space? Because there would only be a positive outcome from that sort of energy put. Certainly fiscally, but more that we would create communities of people enthusiastically attending events that were being well-produced and well-thought-out like we do for electronic dance.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"presto-h2 wp-block-heading\">The roots of Moonlite Nites go back to early raves at Rawhide<\/h2>\n<p><media-image image-set=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2023\/04\/16\/PPHX\/9455ef1b-4384-4ee0-81e1-763fe08d888a-Thunder_33.jpg bestCrop, https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2023\/04\/16\/PPHX\/9455ef1b-4384-4ee0-81e1-763fe08d888a-Thunder_33.jpg?crop=4859,3645,x0,y0 4:3, https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2023\/04\/16\/PPHX\/9455ef1b-4384-4ee0-81e1-763fe08d888a-Thunder_33.jpg?crop=2740,3654,x1715,y0 3:4, https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2023\/04\/16\/PPHX\/9455ef1b-4384-4ee0-81e1-763fe08d888a-Thunder_33.jpg?crop=4899,2756,x0,y0 16:9\" image-alt=\"People line dance at Country Thunder Music Festival in Florence on April 15, 2023.\" credit=\"Joe Rondone\/The Republic\" caption=\"People line dance at Country Thunder Music Festival in Florence on April 15, 2023.\" orientation=\"horizontal\" class=\"spacer-large\" util-module-path=\"elements\/media\"\/><\/p>\n<p>He&#8217;s had these thoughts for more than 10 years, Turner says.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;As a matter of fact, when we were at Rawhide, way back when, in the early days of throwing raves there,&#8221; Turner says, &#8220;I looked at the Western town and salivated over the idea of a country music festival in the Western town.&#8221;<\/p>\n<partner-inline util-module-path=\"elements\/partner\" class=\"spacer-large\" placement=\"native-article_link\" sizes=\"[[300, 250], [3, 3]]\" min-height=\"250\" fluid=\"\" outstream=\"\"\/><cta-atoms-container-inline util-module-path=\"elements\/cta\" class=\"spacer-large\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Relentless Beats did <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.azcentral.com\/story\/entertainment\/music\/2025\/06\/09\/goldrush-music-festival-2025-lineup\/84060471007\/\">Goldrush<\/a>, a Western-themed festival, for many years at Rawhide and returned there this year after several years in exile.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had our best reviews of the festival ever,\u201d Turner says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd I think a big part of that was because we were able to deliver an on-brand experience after all the years that have gone by since we were able to produce in that space plus the nostalgia of bringing it back and being really good, accomplished producers that really care about producing something everybody&#8217;s blown away by.\u201d<\/p>\n<partner-banner util-module-path=\"elements\/partner\" fluid=\"\" bottom=\"\" lazy=\"\" class=\"spacer-large\" min-height=\"600\" outstream=\"\" momentum=\"\"\/><partner-inline util-module-path=\"elements\/partner\" placement=\"native-article_link\" sizes=\"[[300, 250], [3, 3]]\" min-height=\"250\" fluid=\"\" outstream=\"\"\/>\n<p>\u00a0As rewarding as that was, he says, \u201cI still salivate over the idea of being able to do something like that for the country music space because we can create such an authentic Western experience.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"related-link\"><span class=\"exclude-from-newsgate\"><strong style=\"margin-right:3px\">A decade of Decadence: <\/strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.azcentral.com\/story\/entertainment\/music\/2024\/12\/15\/decadence-arizona-2024-decade-of-decadence\/76831701007\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Behind the scenes at Arizona&#8217;s top New Year&#8217;s Eve party<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"presto-h2 wp-block-heading\">Giving country fans &#8216;somewhere to party on the regular&#8217;<\/h2>\n<p>Turner hopes that Moonlit Nites could stage events in a variety of venues.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbsolutely at Rawhide, and I hope Westworld, and the center of the city,\u201d Turner says. \u201cI hope we apply all our special event expertise to producing events for Moonlit Nites across the city and give country music enthusiasts somewhere to sort of party on the regular.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Relentless Beats is still going strong on the EDM front. Turner is in New York City as he talks about his plans for Moonlit Nites, having just presented a two-day event called Experts Only Festival at Randall\u2019s Island with John Summit. That event drew 50,000.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was probably the coolest show I&#8217;ve ever done in my life, from an impact standpoint,\u201d Turner says. \u201cIt was bananas. I had my mind blown by it.\u201d<\/p>\n<partner-banner util-module-path=\"elements\/partner\" fluid=\"\" bottom=\"\" lazy=\"\" class=\"spacer-large\" min-height=\"390\" outstream=\"\"\/>\n<p>This year\u2019s Goldrush Festival at Rawhide was also a huge success.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut it&#8217;s really that ambitious, creative stuff that I like most, creating a brand and a community and then making an impact within that community and celebrating it with the artists that get to be involved in something special that really impacts the community more so than just a concert,\u201d he says. \u201cSome kind of a special event.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"presto-h2 wp-block-heading\">Big plans for Harold&#8217;s Cave Creek Corral 100th anniversary<\/h2>\n<p><media-image image-set=\"bestCrop, https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/f0c36f11122c3a37777188c8fb43557ec8197489\/c=147-0-2445-1728\/local\/-\/media\/2017\/09\/07\/Phoenix\/Phoenix\/636403980031245304-uscpcent02-6mc17xcatwl1ln3u52we-original.jpg 4:3, https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/f5dd3734acb5f5d323c2d56ab03a396f28959d6d\/c=648-0-1944-1728\/local\/-\/media\/2017\/09\/07\/Phoenix\/Phoenix\/636403980031245304-uscpcent02-6mc17xcatwl1ln3u52we-original.jpg 3:4, https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/a7e3413104f477098ea0094418db95f43015197e\/c=0-132-2592-1596\/local\/-\/media\/2017\/09\/07\/Phoenix\/Phoenix\/636403980031245304-uscpcent02-6mc17xcatwl1ln3u52we-original.jpg 16:9\" image-alt=\"Patrons enjoy food and beverage at Harold's Cave Creek Corral.\" credit=\"The Republic\" caption=\"Patrons enjoy food and beverage at Harold's Cave Creek Corral.\" orientation=\"horizontal\" class=\"spacer-large\" util-module-path=\"elements\/media\"\/><\/p>\n<p>He\u2019d been in talks with Harold\u2019s Cave Creek Corral for quite some time about working with them on events before booking this 90<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary event with Rodney Atkins, known for such hits as \u201cWatching You\u201d and \u201cCaught Up In Country,\u201d and Brian Kelley, the Florida half of Florida Georgia Line.<\/p>\n<partner-inline util-module-path=\"elements\/partner\" class=\"spacer-large\" placement=\"native-article_link\" sizes=\"[[300, 250], [3, 3]]\" min-height=\"250\" fluid=\"\" outstream=\"\"\/>\n<p>\u201cHarold\u2019s was like, &#8216;We&#8217;ve been talking to you for a while and it\u2019s our 90th anniversary. We\u2019d like to do something big,\u2019\u201d Turner said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd I looked at it like, \u2018You know what? I want to get involved now because I want the 100th anniversary to be something magnificently special.\u2019 In the next 10 years, we will have developed something where we could turn the key or pull the lever to make something historic happen for Harold\u2019s on its 100th anniversary. Because it&#8217;s such an authentic spot for country music and for country culture.<\/p>\n<partner-banner util-module-path=\"elements\/partner\" fluid=\"\" bottom=\"\" lazy=\"\" class=\"spacer-large\" min-height=\"390\" outstream=\"\"\/>\n<p>&#8220;And that&#8217;s one thing Arizona has is deep roots in authentic country culture.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Moonlit Nites will be its own production company under the Relentless Beats umbrella.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs Relentless Beats speaks to electronic music enthusiasts, Moonlit Nites will be where country culture is emanating from the expertise of Relentless Beats as a show producer at a high level,\u201d Turner says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI really think the next 10 years is going to be really special for Arizona. We can create a really distinguished space for country music enthusiasts. We\u2019re looking to figure out what the levers are to pull for a country enthusiast to go \u2018Oh my God, that&#8217;s the coolest country event I\u2019ve ever been to.\u2019 That&#8217;s the goal.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"presto-h2 wp-block-heading\">&#8216;Everybody&#8217;s looking to have the best weekend ever&#8217;<\/h2>\n<p>Country music has become one of the hottest genres on the planet and Turner says its earned that distinction by giving a new generation the ultimate party experience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf someone does a better job at pulling people together to have experiences that are their most remarkable experiences, then those spaces will grow,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<partner-banner util-module-path=\"elements\/partner\" fluid=\"\" bottom=\"\" lazy=\"\" class=\"spacer-large\" min-height=\"390\" outstream=\"\"\/><partner-inline util-module-path=\"elements\/partner\" class=\"spacer-large\" placement=\"native-article_link\" sizes=\"[[300, 250], [3, 3]]\" min-height=\"250\" fluid=\"\" outstream=\"\"\/>\n<p>\u201cYou&#8217;ve got things like Stagecoach or even Country Thunder that happen every single year and they start to be multi-generational appeal with \u2018My older cousin went\u2019 or \u2018My mom went to that and now I go to it\u2019 or \u2018My granddaughter goes to it now, and I used to go.\u2019 As time goes on, there&#8217;s a larger community that understands historic events that we all attend.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Asked if he sees a connection between EDM and country, Turner says, \u201cI mean, it&#8217;s the same fan base. Everybody&#8217;s looking to have the best weekend ever, the best time with their friends.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"presto-h2 wp-block-heading\">Harold&#8217;s Cave Creek Corral 90th Anniversary Celebration<\/h2>\n<p class=\"print_infobox\"><strong>When:<\/strong> 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 3-4.<\/p>\n<p class=\"print_infobox\"><strong>With:<\/strong> Rodney Atkins, Kianna Martinez and Josh Roy (Friday); Brian Kelley, Austin Burke and Laura Walsh (Saturday).<\/p>\n<p class=\"print_infobox\"><strong>Where: <\/strong>Harold&#8217;s Cave Creek Corral, 6895 E. Cave Creek Road, Cave Creek.<\/p>\n<p class=\"print_infobox\"><strong>Admission:<\/strong> $63 and up Friday; $47 and up Saturday; $108 two-day pass; $33 parking.<\/p>\n<p class=\"print_infobox\"><strong>Details: <\/strong>480-488-1906, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/moonlitnites.com\/\">moonlitnites.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<lit-timestamp class=\"column ten-column no-gutter spacer-small\" slot=\"timestamp\" publishdate=\"2025-09-30 13:30:45 +0000 UTC\" updatedate=\"2025-09-30 13:30:45 +0000 UTC\"\/><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.azcentral.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>See the fans, food and festivities at Country Thunder Arizona 2024 Arizona rocked out to country music&#8217;s finest at Country Thunder Arizona 2024. See the celebration here. Arizona EDM promoter Relentless Beats is launching a new country music production company called Moonlit Nites. The company&#8217;s first event is a two-day festival celebrating the 90th anniversary [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2060083,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[39915,30218,22385,22220,22005,239661,23849,22846,21937,349264,6297,32469,284334,21741,22783,51971,21739,298114,21800,239343,239347,23759,23152,284335,239344],"class_list":["post-2060082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","tag-affiliate","tag-ai","tag-arizona","tag-arts","tag-concerts","tag-concerts-u0026-music-festivals","tag-country","tag-country-music","tag-dance","tag-dance-u0026-electronic-music","tag-eamotion","tag-electronic","tag-enabled","tag-entertainment","tag-festivals","tag-highlights","tag-local","tag-local-affiliate-arts-u0026-entertainment","tag-music","tag-overall","tag-overall-positive","tag-positive","tag-story","tag-story-highlights-ai-enabled","tag-u0026"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Why-Arizona-EDM-powerhouse-is-launching-new-country-events-scaled.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2060082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2060082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2060082\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2060083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2060082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2060082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2060082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}