How do you spell “country?” Well, here in San Diego, radio listeners spell it K-S-O-N!
Audacy Inc.’s channel 103.7, aka KSON, is a country music station based right here in San Diego. The station held its annual CountryFest concert at Gallagher Square at Petco Park on March 22, 2025. Over 8,000 fans crowded into the outdoor venue to watch some rising, as well as legendary, country artists take the stage. The lineup included the Morgan Leigh Band, Warren Zeiders, Nate Smith and Justin Moore.
Attendees were immersed in the country vibes as soon as they got into the venue. Local DJ 30 Rack was all set up playing classics like “Red Solo Cup,” as well as remixes to newer hits like “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma.” There were plenty of libations available for the over 21 crowd, as well as vendor booths for everyone to enjoy which included Down and Dirty Hat Co, Wallet Buckle and even the main sponsor of the event– San Diego Credit Union.
Everyone in attendance definitely understood the dress code for the evening: cowboy hats, boots, flannels and as much denim as possible. Friends, couples and families alike all found their place in the pit, on blankets on the grassy hills or up on the Tony Gwyn terrace, and got ready to have, as Alan Jackson says, a “Good Time.”
Once most people were settled in, the stage was graced by beloved morning show hosts John Flint and Tammy Lee. The duo has been a hosting team for 25 years now, and they just exuded joy and gratitude as they took in the crowd. Before bringing on the first act, Flint left everyone with some inspiring words to remember throughout the night.
“We all love each other, and we all love music,” which was Flint’s way of saying, “let’s all be kind to each other.” And this crowd most certainly followed through, as even total strangers talked and laughed together like old friends. It was like a little sprinkling of Southern hospitality here on the West Coast.
This hospitality was immediately extended to the first group as they entered the stage– The Morgan Leigh Band. The group is fronted by Morgan Leigh herself, and she is joined by Paul Coughlin, Gus Flaig, Renuel Zavala and Eric Cihonski. These San Diego natives hail from Valley Center and first debuted at the San Diego County Fair in 2012.
Leigh came twirling onto the stage in a flowing black skirt and custom Padres jersey, red solo cup in hand. Her glowing smile never left her face, with her voice as sweet as honey. She had so much twang and charm about her while singing, and the whole group clearly loved performing together as they played through original songs like “Young Dumb and Innocent“ and “What Are You Doing Tonight.”
The most special moment of their set came with the return of John Flint to the stage. Seven years ago, Flint was invited by Zavala to come perform with the band since he always wanted to be a musician himself. The instrument he chose: harmonica. The song he played both then and now: “Piano Man” by Billy Joel. It was a phenomenal performance that had everyone singing along.
After playing through a few more tracks, like one called “Small Town” which is based on life in Valley Center, The Morgan Leigh Band headed off stage and promised to come hang out with the crowd. It was now time to move on to a fairly fresh face in the country music industry– Warren Zeiders.
Zeiders hails from Pennsylvania, and was the youngest performer of the night at only 25 years old. Despite his young age, he’s been rising to fame quickly, recently headlining the Houston Rodeo which boasted over 60,000 attendants. He just released a new album titled “Relapse, Lies, & Betrayal” on March 14th.
Similar to Leigh, Zieders sported a custom Padres jersey with his name on it, along with sunglasses and a baseball cap, swagger oozing from the young star. Though it was tied up at the start of the set, Zeiders’ signature long, flowing hair is definitely a fan favorite look.
His persona and music can be described in a very similar way: the perfect balance of upbeat and heartfelt. Zeiders laughed and smiled through the whole set, while singing through his most upbeat hits like “Ride the Lightning” and “Relapse,” as well as ballads like “Weeping Willow.” He has the most soulful, raspy voice that could truly make anything sound good.
His voice wasn’t the only reason the crowd loved him though. Zeiders teased taking off his jersey throughout his time on stage, and when he finally did, the whole crowd went wild.
“I’ve been working on my summer body a little bit,” Zeiders claimed humbly as he revealed his impressive physique. The elated screams, from the women in the audience especially, were truly deafening.
Sadly after this moment, Zeiders’ set was close to over. He closed out with his most popular song “Pretty Little Poison.” His only request from the audience was that they promise to sing along, and fans happily obliged. And with this, fans bid farewell to the Fabio of country music, Warren Zeiders.
Between every set, 30Rack continued to keep the audience entertained with everything from country hits, to 2000s classics like “Boulevard of Broken Dreams.” John and Tammy also made appearances from time to time, even calling attendees the “best looking crowd of all time.” As the sun went down at Gallagher Square, spirits just went up since it was time for Nate Smith to take the stage.
Smith is from Paradise, California where he first got his start in a high school band playing rock and roll songs. This influence can still be seen in full force today, as he burst onto the stage in a leather jacket, with a killer electric guitar.
His rock roots were clear from the very start, as he lent his gravelly voice to angsty tunes like “I Wish I Never Felt” and “Nobody Likes Your Girlfriend.” He’s not a one-trick pony though, he played some slower, more heartfelt songs too like “Sleeve,”which he admitted was written while he was on cocaine.
Smith didn’t only sing his own songs, he treated fans to a boot-stomping cover of Jason Alddean’s “She’s Country,” which had the whole place clapping along. He must have gotten a bit jealous of how much fun everyone was having, because he decided to come down into the audience for his next song, “Bulletproof.”
A bit later, Smith shared that he spent every summer in Chula Vista growing up so he’s always been very connected to San Diego. He got very personal with the crowd and confided about his journey to get here. His hometown experienced devastating fires in 2018 and he lost his home. This devastation led to his return to music after a hiatus.
He had a friend send him a guitar, and Smith worked with him to write his first truly viral song. He admitted to the crowd that he never thought he was enough, but he encouraged everyone to remember that “you are enough.” Smith followed this motivational message with a performance of “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol, accompanied by a sea of flashlights from the audience.
“San Diego you set my world on fire,” Smith added to his closing number “World on Fire.” The country rock star departed the stage to thunderous applause, and it was time for the final act of the night.
Justin Moore has been in the country game since 2008. The Arkansas native has had thirteen No. 1 singles, and earned the “New Artist of the Year” award at the Academy of Country Music Awards in 2014. He was the most quintessentially “country” artist of the bunch, sporting a big belt buckle, and an even bigger white cowboy hat.
Moore opened his set with energetic numbers “Bait a Hook” and “You Look Like I Need a Drink.” He truly did put on a whole show, including videos on the back screen that matched the song being played. The crowd wasn’t just listening to his music– they were experiencing it.
Moore shared that he hasn’t gotten to come to San Diego as much as he’s wanted to during his 18 years on the road. Because of this fact, Moore promised to play as much old stuff as he possibly could, and he sure did follow through on that.
Fans were treated to some of his earliest hits like “Small Town USA,” “Somebody Else Will” and “The Ones That Didn’t Make It Back Home,” all the way up to his newest single “Time’s Ticking.” It truly was a great tribute to his almost 20 year career.
Moore even threw in some surprises in the set. No one ever would expect to hear a country rendition of Joe Cocker’s version of “With a Little Help From My Friends,” but it honestly worked really well. The claim that country music is boring was certainly being disproved that night.
The first part of the set was closed out with an energetic sing along to “Point at You,” and a final throwback to 2008 with “Backwoods.” After this final song, Moore and his band left the stage, and the lights went out. The crowd knew the night couldn’t be over yet though, immediately calling out for an encore.
Ask, and you shall receive. Moore returned to the stage once again for a performance of “Hank It,” which is a song based upon his experience touring with the great Hank Williams Jr. After this upbeat start to his return, he got much more personal with the audience, talking about how the land he was raised on has been in his family for generations.
Moore now owns the property himself and joked that he will come back and haunt his kids if they ever tried to sell it. His family is extremely important to him, especially his grandpa who he said had the best seat in the house that night up in Heaven. His song “This is my Dirt” was played in honor of his grandpa that night.
After that moving story and performance, it was now time to officially close out the night with one final song, “That’s Why We Drink.” Once he was done performing, Moore removed his hat and walked across the stage, earnestly thanking everyone for coming out.
And with that, CountryFest 2025 officially came to a close. Over 5 hours of pure unadulterated country later, it was time to tip our hats goodbye to all of our new friends, and “ride off into the sunset” on the MTS trolley.
