Troubadour Festival, the largest barbecue and music festival in Texas, is coming to Aggieland on Saturday, May 20, 2023. The festival has announced its lineup of music acts and participating barbecue restaurants coming to Texas A&M University’s brand new Aggie Park, which is hosting its first-ever festival.
Country music superstars Midland are set to headline the first Troubadour Festival in Aggieland. Other acts include Shane Smith & The Saints, Charlie Robison, Uncle Lucius, and Treaty Oak Revival on the main stage. Secondary stage artists include Braxton Keith, Graycie York, and Rachel LaRen.
The musical acts will be joined by 34 of the most renowned barbecue restaurants in Texas, many of which have received statewide, national, and international attention. Barbecue restaurants will be on hand to serve attendees samples of smoked meats and other pit master-created fare. A Troubadour VIP or Troubadour BBQ & Music ticket will allow the ticket-holder to sample food from as many of the participating restaurants as they like.
Participating Texas barbecue joints include: 1701 Barbecue (Beaumont), 1775 Texas Pit BBQ(College Station), Black’s Barbecue (Lockhart, Austin, New Braunfels, San Marcos), Blood Bros. BBQ(Houston), Brett’s Backyard Bar-B-Que (Rockdale), Brett’s BBQ Shop (Katy), Brick Vault Brewery& BBQ (Marathon), Brotherton’s Black Iron BBQ (Pflugerville), CM Smokehouse (Austin), Dayne’s Craft Barbecue (Fort Worth), Dozier’s BBQ (Fulshear), Eaker Barbecue (Fredericksburg), EvieMae’s Barbecue (Wolfforth), Feges BBQ (Houston), Guess Family BBQ (Waco), Hurtado Barbecue(Arlington and Fort Worth), Hutchins BBQ (McKinney and Frisco), InterStellar BBQ (Austin), Kreuz Market (Lockhart), LaVaca BBQ (Port Lavaca, Victoria), LeRoy & Lewis Barbecue (Austin), LJ’s BBQ(Brenham), Louie Mueller Barbecue (Taylor), Meat Church (Waxahachie), Mimsy’s Craft Barbecue(Crockett), Opie’s Barbecue (Spicewood), Roegels Barbecue Co. (Houston and Katy), Rollin’ Smoke BBQ (Austin), Rossler’s Blue Cord Barbecue (Harker Heights), Schmidt Family Barbecue (Lake Travis), Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew (Austin), Tejas Chocolate & Barbecue (Tomball), Truth BBQ(Brenham, Houston), and Vaqueros Texas Bar-B-Q (Grapevine).
Twenty of the 34 participating restaurants were named among Texas Monthly’s top 50 barbecue joints in Texas on its 2021 list, with another six on the magazine’s honorable mention list. Four of the magazine’s top 10 restaurants will be set up at Aggie Park.
“Bringing Troubadour Festival to what can only be described as the breathtaking Aggie Park has been in the works for quite some time, and we are incredibly excited to unleash this news to the market,” said Chase Colston, the festival’s promoter and co-owner of Double Tap Entertainment, LLC, which produces Troubadour Festival. “It takes a lot of moving parts to make something like this happen, and we are incredibly grateful to Destination Bryan for first reaching out to us to explore bringing Troubadour Festival to the area, and as well as to Texas A&M hosting us on campus. This entire process has been nothing short of incredible already.
Tickets for Troubadour Festival go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 3, at troubadourfestival.com, with a presale for festival email subscribers starting at 10 a.m. on Thursday. Those interested in joining the presale can sign up at the festival’s website. The event has three ticket options: Troubadour VIP($200-225), Troubadour BBQ & Music ($110-125), and Troubadour Music ($50-60). Presale pricing will be on sale first before prices increase soon for the public on-sale. VIP tickets include hour-earlier entry (noon) into the barbecue sampling, a festival t-shirt, two alcoholic beverages, an exclusive VIP grove with a private bar, seating, access to flushable toilets, and access to a standing-room only area in front of the stage. BBQ & Music tickets (1:00 PM entry) include both the access to the food sampling and the concert. Music tickets (4 p.m.entry) are good for the concert. Local food trucks will be open on-site after the barbecue sampling ends at 4:00 PM, and barbecue restaurants have the option to sell food after 4:00 PM if they wish.
Known for their raucous live shows and vintage style, Midland took the country music world by storm with their 2016 smash single, “Drinkin’ Problem,” which has been certified three-times Platinum. Their debut full-length album, On The Rocks, was certified gold and its follow-up record, Let It Roll, reached No. 1 on the U.S. Country Albums chart. Midland won the Academy of Country Music award for New Vocal Duo/Group of the Year in 2018 and has 12 other major award nominations.
Just like Midland, Shane Smith & The Saints are known for their high-energy live performances, as well as their vocally stunning four-part harmonies. The band has launched itself into the upper echelon among its Texas/Red Dirt peers, as well as continuing to gain national notoriety. Shane Smith & The Saints have often been featured in the smash-hit TV show “Yellowstone,” including the band performing on screen in the opening episode of the show’s fifth season.
A legend in the Texas Country scene, Charlie Robison has emerged from retirement to take a final lap and share his music live one last time. Robison retired from the studio and the stage in 2018 after he was unable to sing after complications arose from a vocal surgery. But he returned to the road in late 2022 as a three-piece band, and will bring his show to the Bryan-College Station market for the only time this year. He’s known for hits such as “My Hometown,” “New Year’s Day,” and “El Cerrito Place,” which Charlie originally recorded and later became a top 10 single for country superstar Kenny Chesney.
Uncle Lucius is another Texas-based stalwart that has returned to the stage after a long hiatus. Known for showcasing a blend of rock, soul, blues, and country in a stellar live performance, Uncle Lucius broke up as a band in 2018 but has rejoined forces to light up stages once again. The Austin-based group is known worldwide for their smash hit, “Keep the Wolves Away,” which has been certified Platinum, has nearly 120 million views on YouTube and nearly 100 million streams on Spotify. Troubadour Festival will be among the first shows back for Uncle Lucius, who will take the stage for the first time reunited on March 18 at historic Gruene Hall.
Treaty Oak Revival are a rowdy five-piece ensemble from West Texas who are quickly becoming one of the hottest acts in Texas Country music since they began playing together in 2019. Honing a strong mix of country, southern rock, and punk music sounds, Treaty Oak Revival has already made a name for itself in the Aggieland market. “No Vacancy,” the title track off their first full-length album, has nearly 6 million streams on Spotify and the band has more than 350,000 average monthly listeners on the platform this early in their career.
More information on tickets, the lineup, directions, FAQs, and other festival information can be found athttps://troubadourfestival.com. Sponsorships and retail vendor spaces are also available. Inquiries can be sent to sponsors@trouabdourfestival.com.
Courtesy of Troubador Festival
