Frontier Days return music lineup includes Brooks, LeDoux

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - Country music artists including Garth Brooks will perform at the first Cheyenne Frontier Days since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon and Frontier Days officials announced this week the rodeo festival will take place over two weeks in late July like usual after being canceled last year.

Besides Brooks, the night show lineup announced Thursday includes Maren Morris, Eric Church, Thomas Rhett, Blake Shelton, Kane Brown, Ned LeDoux, Rhett Akins, Aaron Watson, Restless Road, Ashley McBryde and John King.

The 125th Frontier Days will be dedicated to Chris LeDoux, a Wyoming country music and rodeo star who died of cancer in 2005 at 56. A bronze statue of LeDoux, Ned LeDoux's father, will be dedicated at Frontier Park on July 23, the Casper Star-Tribune reported.

Frontier Days wasn't held last year for the first time in the event's history - a blow to Cheyenne's economy and social scene. Many locals take off work to volunteer at the event featuring daily rodeos, entertainment, a carnival and nightlife crowds.

No mask requirements or crowd size restrictions are planned this year.

Known COVID-19 infections in Wyoming have plateaued at a level somewhat higher than the rate last July but vaccine shots are now widely available in the state and cases are down sharply since December.