red dirt proud news & events

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2026 Events

May 10 – Mother’s Day
May 25 – Memorial Day
Jun 14 – Flag Day (US)
Jun 21 – Father’s Day

Jun 21 – First Day of Summer
July 4 – Independence Day (Sat)
Sep 7 – Labor Day
Sep 22 – First Day of Fall/Autumn
Oct 12 – Columbus Day
Oct 31 – Halloween (Sat)
Nov 1 – Time Change (Fall Back)
Nov 11 – Veteran’s Day
Nov 26 – Thanksgiving (Thu)
Dec 21 – First Day of Winter
Dec 25 – Christmas Day (Fri) 

EVENTS UPDATE - Events used to be at the bottom of this page. They now have their own page. See the menu at the top and click Events to see this.

Get Red Dirt Proud Radio Updates 2-3x per day on the Red Dirt Proud Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and JB's Tiktok @jbcloud 

Koe Wetzel barely made it a few songs at the Lonestar Smokeout before lightning chased him offstage and fans were evacuated from AT&T Stadium. Instead of calling it a night, Koe took the party to Texas Live! and dropped a surprise acoustic set — opening with none other than “February 28, 2016,” because of course he did.
 

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Dale Phillips. Bill Green from CDTex
posted that Dale had been fighting cancer for a long time and passed aways on April 28th. Dale brought us some traditional country singles a few years back, “She’s Still In Dallas” and “You’re In Love With The Wrong Man.” Dale had been in the business of playing music for many decades
 

Robert Earl Keen is keeping the fire burning with an extended leg of the Then and Now Tour, celebrating 25 years of Gravitational Forces and 15 years of Ready for Confetti. Sam Stoane, Coleman Jennings, and Race Ricketts open shows for him and Tickets are live at robertearlkeen.com.  
 

The Artemis II crew woke up to a little Texas flavor on flight day nine — their Wake‑Up playlist included Charley Crockett’s “Lonesome Drifter.” The track served as the morning call for the astronauts, putting a Texas Music artist on the soundtrack to the moon.
 

Brandon Rhyder is marking 25 years since his debut album, and he jumped on Facebook to look back at where it all started. He joked that “green is an understatement,” remembering those early songs — “Texas Country Made,” “Their Home,” “Walking on Quicksand,” and the first version of “Have I Waited Too Long” — as the stepping stones that launched everything. Twenty‑five years later, he’s grateful for the journey and ready for the next chapter. New music is coming soon from Brandon Rhyder.
 

Cody Johnson recently announced a collaboration with BoyzIIMen who joined him on stage at Stagecoach this past weekend. Apparently CoJo and the Boyz have already been in the studio and recorded a reimagined version of their song “On Bended Knee.”

The Red Clay Strays are rolling out the Grateful Tour, and it’s headed straight for a city near you. Fans can snag their pre‑sale codes in the Red Clay Strays App now to jump on tickets Tuesday. After lighting up Stagecoach this past weekend, the band is gearing up for a next‑level run and can’t wait to share it with everyone. Select shows feature Travis Tritt, Dylan Gossett, Muscadine Bloodline, Sierra Ferrell, Wyatt Flores, The Revivalists and Shane Smith & The Saints. The guys even have their own app.
 

Shane Smith & The Saints are hopping on the Grateful Tour, linking up with The Red Clay Strays in Fort Worth on 10/7 at Dickies Arena and again in Birmingham, AL. Pre-sale is live April 30th at 9 am local time with code: SAINTS26 Fans can full details in the Red Clay Strays App

Catie Offerman and her man Kolby are expecting a baby boy. The little man is expected to arrive in September. Catie hit the radio waves with Hayes Carll on “Ask Me To Dance” and opened up for Parker McCollum and George Strait at the record setting concert at Kyle Field.

Paul Cauthen and his wife Elizabeth welcomed baby Jim Paul Cauthen just before 8am on April 28th in Tyler, Texas.
 

Caleb Sutton is having a really good couple of years. He finished up his Senior Year of High School as Center for his football team that won a State Title then started college at Tarleton in Stephenville, Texas. He played a ton of shows, got married, started a full band, recorded an album, won the Outlaws & Legends Songwriter competition, was featured on the T3R Future Faces Show and just won a Battle of the Bands in Corsicana. Look up Caleb Sutton & The High Stakes and catch a show.
 

New Female Artist Chloee Rae is wrapping up her Senior Year in High School with a debut single on the chart, she was dressed to the nines for her prom and finished the month of April playing Regina George in her Schools musical performance of Mean Girls.
 

The 2026 iHeartCountry Festival — featuring performances by Luke Bryan, Kane Brown, Parker McCollum, Riley Green and more — will air live from the Moody Center in Austin May 2 on Disney+ and Hulu, as well as iHeartCountry stations.
 

Cody Jinks released Episode 4 of his Late August Sessions with Brent Cobb last week and more recently he released his performance of a song “New Memories” that you can see now. Jinks has been recording new music for a new album that will include one written b Deryl Dodd and possibly a song for Texas.
 

Severe weather forced the cancellation of Saturday’s concerts at Chilifest in Snook, TX. In response, the festival board is rolling out changes for 2027 to thank fans for their support. Tickets for the 2027 festival will be significantly reduced, and all 2026 ticketholders will receive a discount code for 2027 by email.
 

Bubba Westly was in the studio cutting some tracks with award winning producer Stormy Cooper but the session had to be stopped. Roger Creager came by to record some new tracks. Bubba was fine with waiting on a legend. The first Texas Red Dirt Concert he saw was Roger and Kevin Fowler at the Fort Bend County Fair
 

Kylie Frey is lending her voice to the Fifth Annual Horses for Mental Health Campaign, running May 1–31 and supporting 130 organizations offering equine‑assisted mental health services across the U.S. and beyond. Horses provide grounding, nonjudgmental connection that helps people heal from stress, trauma and disconnection.Since 2022, the campaign has raised over $2 million, all kept local.
 

Parker McCollum made a surprise appearance to thank the nurses at Memorial Hermann The Woodlands in Texas for their service as part of Create Amor's Healthcare Heroes Initiative.
 

Album/EP Releases 

Mar 6 Aaron Watson – A Horse Named Texas
Mar 6  William Clark Green – Watterson Hall
Mar 14  Bart Crow – Hey Pretty Thing
Mar 19  Mark Powell – Altitude
Mar 20 Parker McCollum – Parker McCollum Deluxe Edition
Mar 27 Flatland Cavalry – Work Of Heart
Mar 27 Will Carter Band – Will Carter Band
Mar 27  Ty Myers – Heavy On The Soul
Apr 3  Charley Crockett – Age Of The Ram
Apr 3 Paul Cauthen – Book Of Paul
May 15  Braxton Keith – Real Damn Deal
May 15 49 Winchester – Change Of Plans
May 15 Reckless Kelly – Alternate Routes
May 29 Willie Nelson – Dream Chaser
Aug 7 Silverada – Living Proof

RED DIRT PROUD NOMINATED: Red Dirt Proud with JB Cloud was nominated again for Syndicated Specialty Show again, an award that was given to us in 2025. The Texas Country Music Associaion 2026 Industry Awards Top 5 Finalists were announce. Presentations to be made at TCMA’s 2026 Texas Country Music Industry Awards
on July 23 at the Rhinestone Saloon in the Fort Worth Stockyards. Final round voting is going on between March 15, 2026, and April 30, 2026, and will be voted on by members of the Texas Country Music Association and other verifiable industry stakeholders.  
TCMA Members and verifiable stakeholder can place their votes at:  https://texascountrymusicassociation.org/2026industryvoting/

Parker McCollum and Dr Pepper are serving up a Flyaway Experience sweeter than a cherry soda—your shot at concert tickets and a VIP meet‑and‑greet. Must be 21+ to enter, and the fizz fades 7/31/26. Details https://drpeppermusic.com/parker-mccollum/

UPCOMING EVENTS 

The Events now has it's own page. Scroll to the top menu and click Events for all the upcoming events, festivals and details