Country USA goes high tech

By Aldrich M. Tan • Of The Northwestern

June 28, 2008

Bobbi Pouzar, of Brooklyn, wanted to find a special way to thank her friend Melanie Pellitteri for her first trip to Country USA.

Pellitteri , of Oregon, won tickets to the country music mega-festival from Q106 in Madison and invited Pouzar to come with her.

On Thursday afternoon, Pellitteri and Pouzar were sitting on the grounds near the main stage waiting for Jack Ingram to perform. That's when Pellitteri noticed the two large screens that project the performers onstage were displaying text messages between acts from people's cell phones.

Ten minutes later, Pelliteri said she was surprised by the words "thanks mel" in bold black letters on the big screens.

"It was so exciting to see the message appear on the screen!" Pouzar said.

This is the second year that the U.S. Cellular is offering the program at Country USA, said Becky Kruse, sponsorship and events manager for U.S. Cellular.

"It's a fun and interactive way for people to not only enjoy the festival but also be a part of the entertainment," she said.

Attendees send a text message or a photo to phone numbers shown on the two screens, Kruse said. The messages then go through a filter system before they appear on the screen. Anything inappropriate is immediately deleted.

Marriage proposals have been among the most interesting text messages that people are sending, Kruse said.

"This is a moment of their life that they will remember forever and it is a great and unique way to propose," she said.

Kruse said there has been an increase in text messages, further spurred by a new contest. Every participant is entered into a contest to get meet-and-greet passes with the local headliner that night.

US Cellular transmits the messages to the screens through a new wireless system at Country USA. For the first time, the festival has wireless coverage, from the main stage to up to 90 percent of the campgrounds, through Techware based in Germantown.

Robert Guenther, Techware network engineer, said his company set up a wireless tower at a trailer located near the office and has repeaters scattered throughout the ground to spread the signal.

At least 150 people are connected to the wireless network, which costs $10 per day or $30 for all five days, Techware president Keefe John said. He estimates that ten percent of attendees will sign onto the program by the end of the weekend.

Many people are using the Internet to either get in touch with work or connect to their MySpace accounts, John said. Some students are using the Internet to do homework between performances. The performers' agents, who get free access to the services backstage, are also using the Internet to keep up on their schedules.

Other key users include Y100, which uses wireless to transmit its live broadcast back to their station and onto the grounds, and the Amateur Radio Emergency Services of Winnebago County, which uses the wireless to keep track of the weather.

Jack said wireless access will help bring more people to Country USA next year, especially people who need to continue working while being at the festival.

Country USA is Techware's first festival venture. John said Techware would pursue other festivals following Country USA.