Residents of Deer Trace Subdivision gather in the Cullman City Hall auditorium Monday night prior to the council meeting.

While many Deer Trace subdivision residents are concerned about the impact of Rock the South near their neighborhood, the founder and promoter of the two-day event believes the change of venue will have a positive impact in that area.

Quick and Rock the South co-owner Nathan Baugh announced Monday morning their intent to move the music festival to a 140-acre site in the southwest of the city, near Deer Trace, which is reached by county roads. About 30 residents came to the Cullman City Council meeting Monday evening where Quick and Baugh fielded questions and addressed concerns over the new location.

Many of the complaints focused on the condition of the roads leading into the area, ranging from narrow to blind spots that could create safety issues. Some also expressed worries over safety in their neighborhood during the event and how they would be able to come and go during the festival.

“Every year we have to gain approval from the city to put on this event,” Quick said. “Our team has worked hard to do what we say we will do.”

In bringing Rock the South to the land along Country Road 469, Quick said he anticipates attention will be drawn to the area that can lead to road improvements that will provide longterm benefits to those who use them.

“Rock the South is only once a year for two days, but if this creates interest among the city, county and the state, our hope is that it will bring better roads, more street lights, things that are real improvements,” Quick said. “We are going to meet more with those who live in the area as we move forward. We want to be partners with them, like we have been all along with the city and county.”

The property was once owned by the City of Cullman for industrial development, but because of wetland issues and other factors was never used and was sold to a private owner.

Quick said a lease has been signed to use the land for several years as he and Baugh continue to expand what Rock the South offers fans. The space more than doubles was available at Heritage Park through the years, which will provide areas for camping and RVs as well as on-site parking.

“Keeping it in the city has been our goal all along, and we’ve said for several years the growth of Rock the South was so much that we needed to do this,” Quick said. “We’ve built valuable partnerships with law enforcement and the emergency management agency and medical personnel through the years and raised a lot of money for parks and the community, which was always one of purposes after the 2011 tornadoes.”

Rock the South generates thousands of dollars in tax revenue, from lodging at hotels to sales tax paid on food and other items from the 65,000 music fans who pour into Cullman from across the nation and several other countries. Quick also awards thousands of dollars to local charities during the concert.

“We always want to do what is right, and our goal is that Rock the South will positively impact the lives of people. We have a seven-year reputation with what we’ve done. We take the approach to leave things better than you found them, which we did with Heritage Park and we want to do that again for those in the area of the new location,” he said.

The music festival is scheduled May 31-June 1. The coming week is expected to bring a round of announcements of the stars who are booked to perform. Recent years have seen Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Hank Williams Jr., Florida-Georgia Line, Little Big Town, and many others. The crowds have tripled since the beginning in 2012. In the last year, Billboard magazine named Rock the South as one of the country’s best venues for large concerts, noting the organization and quality of entertainment.