Troubadour Festival, a Texas BBQ & Music Experience, is preparing for its second iteration at Texas A&M University’s Aggie Park on Saturday, May 18, 2024. This year’s festival is set to host 35 of the best barbecue restaurants from all over Texas, as well as eight country music acts on two stages.
Country music legend Travis Tritt headlines the Wood Stage sponsored by Optimum, and he’ll be joined by Texas Country icon Pat Green, William Clark Green, The Red Clay Strays, and Cameron Sacky Band. Other artists set to perform include The Lowdown Drifters, Joe Stamm Band, and Mikayla Lane on the YMCA of the Brazos Valley Stage.
Along with live country music on two stages, this year’s festival will feature nearly three dozen of the best and most celebrated barbecue restaurants from all over Texas. World-renowned pitmasters will showcase their skills and serve festival attendees samples of various smoked meat offerings, as well as other curated items. A Troubadour BBQ & Music ticket allows the ticket-holder to sample food from as many of the participating restaurants as they can handle.
Participating barbecue restaurants include:
1701 Barbecue (Beaumont)
1775 Texas Pit BBQ (College Station)
2M Smokehouse (San Antonio)
B4 Barbeque & Boba (Mabank)
Bar-A-BBQ (Montgomery)
Black’s Barbecue (Lockhart, Austin, New Braunfels, San Marcos)
Blood Bros. BBQ (Houston)
Brett’s Family BBQ (Rockdale)
Brett’s BBQ Shop (Katy)
Brick Vault Brewery & BBQ (Marathon)
Brotherton’s Barbecue (Pflugerville)
CM Smokehouse (Austin)
Dayne’s Craft Barbecue (Fort Worth)
Eaker Barbecue (Fredericksburg)
Feges BBQ (Houston)
Guess Family BBQ (Waco)
Hurtado Barbecue (Arlington, Fort Worth, Mansfield)
Hutchins BBQ (McKinney, Frisco)
InterStellar BBQ (Austin)
Kreuz Market (Lockhart)
LaVaca BBQ (Port Lavaca, Victoria)
LJ’s BBQ (Brenham)
Meat Church (Waxahachie)
Mimsy’s Craft Barbecue (Crockett)
Opie’s Barbecue (Spicewood)
Roegels Barbecue Co. (Houston, Katy)
Rollin’ Smoke BBQ (Austin)
Rossler’s Blue Cord Barbecue (Harker Heights)
Schmidt Family Barbecue (Lake Travis)
Smokey Joe’s BBQ (Dallas)
Snow’s BBQ (Lexington)
Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew (Austin)
Teddy’s Barbecue (Weslaco)
Tejas Chocolate & Barbecue (Tomball)
Vaqueros Texas Bar-B-Q (Allen).
Twenty of the 35 participating restaurants were named among Texas Monthly’s top 50 barbecue joints in Texas on its 2021 list, with five on the magazine’s honorable mention list, and three more (Rossler’s Blue Cord Barbecue, B4 Barbeque & Boba, Bar-A-BBQ) recently named in the Top 25 Best New & Improved BBQ Joints in Texas.
“It seems like yesterday that we announced this year’s lineup and went on sale, but time doesn’t wait for anyone, and we’re excited to be gearing up these last few weeks for this year’s show at Aggie Park,” said Chase Colston, the festival’s promoter and co-owner. “Our artists and restaurants are really excited to be part of this event, and we’re looking forward to another big crowd this year.”
Tickets for Troubadour Festival are on sale now at troubadourfestival.com. Tickets will be available online throughout the day of the event, but tickets will also be available at the gate. VIP tickets have sold out, but Troubadour BBQ & Music ($125), and Troubadour Music ($60) tickets still remain. A limited number of student tickets are on sale for $50. BBQ & Music tickets (1:00 PM entry) include both access to the food sampling and the concert. Music tickets (4:00 PM entry) are good for the concert only.
The festival will feature a dozen local food trucks, 25-plus market vendors, and multiple full bars featuring beer, seltzers, and liquor options. Local food trucks also will be on-site, and barbecue restaurants have the option to sell food after sampling ends at 4:00 PM if desired.
Destination Bryan is hosting the official Troubadour Festival Pre-Party again this year. The free, all-ages show starts at 7:30 PM Friday, May 17, at The Palace Theater in historic Downtown Bryan. This year’s concert features Cody Canada & the Departed, Huser Brother Band, and Joey McGee. More details can be found at DestinationBryan.com.
THE ARTISTS
Travis Tritt has long been a name synonymous with country music, and the legend’s resume speaks for itself. Tritt comes to Aggie Park with four CMA Awards and two Grammy Awards under his belt, as well as seven Platinum or multi-Platinum albums, 20 top 10 singles – five of which reached No. 1 – and more than 30 million albums sold. He is often dubbed one of country music’s “Class of ’89,” which includes fellow superstars Garth Brooks, Clint Black, and Alan Jackson. He almost has too many hits to name, but notable ones include “It’s A Great Day to Be Alive,” “Here’s a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares),” “T-R-O-U-B-L-E,” and “I’m Gonna Be Somebody,” among many others.
Speaking of legends, Pat Green has cemented himself into Texas Country history forever from a storied career that has now spanned nearly 30 years. Green, who has sold more than 2 million albums, has released 14 albums in his career with six top 10 hits on country radio and 12 No. 1 songs on Texas radio. His notable hits include “Three Days,” “Carry On,” “Take Me Out to a Dancehall,” and the smash hit “Wave on Wave.”
East Texas native William Clark Green is no stranger to Aggieland, having graduated from Consolidated High School in 2004 before attending college and launching his music career in Lubbock. He has been a fixture in the Texas scene for the better part of 15 years, known for his raucous live shows and dynamic, personal songwriting. Green’s crowd favorites include “She Likes the Beatles,” “Ringling Road,” “Creek Don’t Rise,” and “Still Think About You.” He has released six albums in his career, the latest being Baker Hotel in 2022.
The Red Clay Strays hail from Mobile, Ala., but are well on the way to making their name a household one in Texas and beyond. Arguably the hottest act in the realm of Country, Southern Rock and Americana, The Red Clay Strays bring a stage presence that can only be described as boisterous and energetic. In the past year the band has toured alongside names such as Eric Church and Dierks Bentley, among many others. Hits such as “Wondering Why,” “Good Godly Woman,” “Sunshine,” and others are sure to bring an energy unlike any other to Aggie Park.
Cameron Sacky Band has long been a favorite in Aggieland, and they’ll return with more songs in their repertoire and more miles under their tires. The band shaped its sound at Texas State University in San Marcos and has been blazing trails ever since. Cameron Sacky Band boasts more than 300,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and owns hit songs such as “Bittersweet Bane,” “Nothin’ On You,” and “Telephone.”
More information on tickets, the lineup, directions, FAQs and other festival information can be found at https://troubadourfestival.com. Sponsorships and retail vendor spaces are also available. Inquiries can be sent to sponsors@trouabdourfestival.com or interested parties can fill out the application on the festival’s website.
Courtesy of Troubadour Festival
