Record Crowds Visit 2017 Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam

The almost-full moon was high above the stage, when headliner and Entertainer of the Year Luke Bryan closed out his high-energy, crowd-pleasing set on the final night of the 2017 Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam late Sunday evening. Over the three days, 33 artists performed hours and hours of music for 64,000 adoring, rain soaked, mud covered and sunburned fans.

Over 23,000 fans packed Frank Brown Park in beautiful Panama City Beach Sunday night to see Luke Bryan, Brett Eldredge, Granger Smith, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Them Dirty Roses and Pepsi Southern Original winners South of Heaven.

"This was the biggest crowd we've ever had by far," said Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam Executive Producer Rendy Lovelady. "We can't thank Panama City Beach enough for helping us make this an incredible success. I have to give credit to Chief of Police Drew Whitman and his whole team, Mayor Mike Thomas, the TDC (Panama City Beach Tourist Development Council) all of our first responders and the countless numbers of people behind the scenes for helping make this a huge success."

CMT "Hot 20 Countdown" will air a special Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam episode, which will include Tyler Farr upgrading fans from General Admission to VIP, "Hot 20 Countdown" host Cody Alan upgrading a bus load of fans with VIP tickets and Cody and Granger Smith flying on a Vietnam-era Huey helicopter with Friends of Army Aviation-Ozark. The show will air this Saturday and Sunday morning at 9:00am Eastern/8:00am Central.

2017 Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam Fun Facts and Figures:
- Three days
- 33 artists
- Over 26 hours of music
- 64 busses
- 59 semi trucks
- 64,000 tickets sold
- 1300 workers
- 27 golf carts
- 240 walkie talkies
- Six inches of rain through the week
- Hundreds of yards of mulch, 45 tons of sand and hundreds
of bales of hay to cover the muddy and soggy ground
- 95,328 beers poured
- Over 3,000 military members hosted
- Over 5,000 crew meals served
- Over 200 port o potties
- Over 15 hours of drone flights for video and photos
- Over 550GB of video and still photos
- 3 Average hours of sleep for crew and production
- Fans arriving at the festival grounds early each day took
advantage of the Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam Happy Hour. All Pepsi and Anheuser-Busch products (for those of legal age) at festival vendors were buy one get one free between 1:30pm and 4:30pm.
- Hundreds of active and separated military service members
took advantage of the $109 three-day General Admission tickets, which also allowed entrance to the Jim Beam® Apple Military Appreciation Tent.
- 32 Televisions were placed throughout the festival grounds
for fan to watch their favorite college football teams compete.
- The Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam committed to donate $2.00 from
every ticket sold to support the lifesaving work of the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital®, which is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
- DSI Security Services managers representing their
branches in Northwest Arkansas, Jackson, Birmingham, Tampa, Albany GA, Savannah, Philadelphia and Dothan volunteer their time to help keep Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam artists, staff and patrons safe.
- A Florida Lottery Stage was added outside the main gate
this year, and the Pepsi Southern Originals finalists entertained a patient and appreciative crowd entering the festival grounds.
- 24 Lodging Partner were sold out, which included over
8,000 condos and hotel rooms.
- SOLD OUT all VIP Skyboxes, VIP Side Stage, and VIP
Golden Circle and VIP Pit Experience.

Fans are encouraged to follow the Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for exclusive announcements about next year's festival.

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