Stormy, Successful Second Year for XRoads 41

OSHKOSH, Wis (WISS) – In only its second year, the 2025 XRoads 41 Music Festival in Oshkosh brought in a record-breaking crowd of 41,500 attendees.

The festival featured three days of performances, food, vendors, and a towering Ferris wheel. To put some perspective on the attendance, only 28000 attendees were a part of the inaugural festival in 2024. That’s an increase of nearly 50 percent.

“ We think the Oshkosh and Fox Valley communities are catching on to who we are, what we’re about, having just a safe, organized event that really is kind of a premier and modern experience for festival goers. And we’re trying to fulfill that promise, and we think people are coming out. They’re seeing it, and they’re getting it. Then they’re telling their friends. So that’s exactly what we want,” said Mindy Klein, the Marketing Director of Oshkosh Festivals, LLC, the parent company of XRoads 41,

While a brief weather delay on Saturday pushed back the start of performances, Klein said the festival team worked quickly to ensure the safety of festival goers.

 ”No one ever wants weather delays. No one ever wants weather at all during an outdoor event, and I am so proud of how our team reacted,” Klein said. “We had very, very little notice before a severe thunderstorm popped up in our area. We did what we had to do. We evacuated the grounds. We got everyone to safety.”

Klein said once the storm and all threat of lightning passed, it took the crew little time to get things rolling once more, ensuring that all performers were able to take the stage.

 We got all that cleaned up. We got made sure everything was safe: electricity and all those kinds of things were all safe, secure,” said Klein. “I think it was about 35 minutes, and we had the site reopened, people back inside, and a band performing on stage.”

Some of this year’s headliners were Cody Johnson, Kane Brown, Parker McCollum, Dustin Lynch, Flo Rida, and Nelly.

This year also brought new additions to the XRoads41 experience like a towering Ferris wheel offering sweeping views of the festival grounds and an expanded selection of food and merchandise vendors. Late-night fans packed into DJ Grant Fisher’s after party, keeping the vibe alive into the early hours every night.

Corey Bliss, General Manager for Oshkosh Festivals, said in a press release that he was blown away by the passion and energy of the fans.

“2025 was truly a milestone year for XRoads41. We’re grateful to our sponsors, artists, staff, crew, and especially our fans for making this an unforgettable weekend and looking forward to an even better 2026. You won’t be disappointed,” Bliss said.

XRoads41 Music Festival will return August 6-8, 2026.