Mike Barhorst, founded country concert in family campground

FORT LORAMIE, Ohio — An Ohio man who each summer turned his family campground into one of the largest outdoor concerts in the nation has died.

Mike Barhorst and his wife started the Country Concert in the Hills in 1981 and it has since grown into a three-day festival that draws the biggest names in country music.

Family members say Barhorst died Wednesday at his home in Fort Loramie. He was 77.

The annual concert grew out of a family get-together with a few hundred friends in the late 1970s.

Now more than 80,000 people come for one weekend each summer to see the likes of Brad Paisley, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill.

This year’s concert in July is set to feature Blake Shelton and Florida Georgia Line.