Wildwood is expecting tens of thousands of people over the course of four days, beginning Thursday, for the Barefoot Country Music Fest.

"You know country music, it's all about the beach, having some drinks, relaxing and escaping from your problems,” says promoter Bob Durkin.

It’s the first year for the Barefoot Country Music Fest, bringing in big names in country music such as Carrie Underwood and Zac Brown Band. The music fest was originally supposed to be last year but was postponed because of COVID-19.

Mayor Pete Byron says they're expecting about 30,000 people a day on the beach, and they're prepared to deal with the crowds and traffic congestion.

"We are geared up for this, even the police in conjunction with the county and the state police have had meetings with the promoters as well, so they have a game plan for especially at the end of the night when traffic is leaving,” says Mayor Byron.

The mayor says not only will the festival bring in money for the city, but the businesses on the boardwalk as well. Many of them are preparing for the influx of visitors.

“We'll prepare as much as we can,” says Marco Zervas, owner of The Hot Spot. “We're very short of help but will try to do our best."

Officials say they will be handing out masks to whoever would like to wear one, and they will not be checking vaccination status.

"It could get wet, it could get lost and not to mention how do you really know that the person holding that card is the person that's name is on that card,” says Byron. “So, if you're not comfortable coming, we put the responsibility back on the individuals as well."

Tickets remain on sale for the event, for the entire four days or single-day passes.