The 2019 Las Cruces Country Music Festival (LCCMF) will be the last in a seven-year series that humbly began in 2013. Due to rising entertainer fees and a trend of dwindling ticket sales the past couple years, Visit Las Cruces has decided to hang up its cowboy hat.
“When the festival first started, it was a unique music experience in the area,” said Rochelle Miller-Hernandez, Interim Visit Las Cruces Executive Director. “With the recent proliferation of similar country music festivals in the region and throughout the state, and after the evaluation of the 2019 LCCMF, we feel that we have reached the lifespan of this endeavor.”
The original motivation for the festival was to jump start programming in Las Cruces’ downtown area, and to encourage visitors from outside the region to spend multiple days in the city. The first five years of LCCMF occurred downtown. Since that time, there has been infrastructure improvements and business growth that have led to a vibrant downtown district.
Visit Las Cruces continues to evaluate other opportunities for events and festivals that highlight local and regional assets, and drive tourism.
“Las Cruces is more than a destination, it is an experience,” Rochelle Miller-Hernandez said. “We invite locals and visitors to explore and discover our rich culture and history, authentic cuisine, diverse entertainment and abundant outdoor adventure.”
For questions, call Visit Las Cruces at 575/541-2444.
About Las Cruces
Nestled in southern New Mexico’s Mesilla Valley, between the Rio Grande and Organ Mountains, Las Cruces offers convenient access to the newest National Park, White Sands National Park. Las Cruces has close connections to space tourism as the gateway to New Mexico and the United States’ first commercial spaceport, Spaceport America and an annual Space Festival. Las Cruces partners with several aerospace companies including Virgin Galactic, Boeing, and NASA.
The city boasts a rich history of western legends such as Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett and blends a unique variety of special events, attractions, culture and historical sites, as well as superb weather, with more than 320 days of sunshine per year.
Las Cruces was recently cited as one of the most scenic Southwest cities by Expedia users, and Money Magazine named Las Cruces No. 3 in its list of 20 Best Places to Visit in 2019. Las Cruces has also been chosen as the 2019 “Nicest Place in New Mexico” and a contender for “Nicest Place in America” by Reader’s Digest.
For information on all Las Cruces has to offer, go to www.visitlascruces.com or call Visit Las Cruces at 575/541-2444.