red dirt proud news & events

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2026 Events

Jan 19 - Martin Luther King Jr Day 

Jan 27 - Mile Zero Fest Begins

Jan 31 - TRRMA Votings Ends
Feb 14 – Valentine’s Day (Sat)

Feb 16 – Washington’s Birthday
Feb 17 – Mardi Gras Fat Tuesday
Mar 17 – St. Patricks’s Day (Tue)
Mar 20 – First Day of Spring
Mar 20-21 - Outlaws & Legends

Mar 23 - TRRMA Awards (Mon)

Apr 3 – Good Friday
Apr 5 – Easter Sunday
Apr 10-12 – Cattle Country Fest
Apr 11 - Boys From Oklahoma in Stillwater

Apr 18-19 - Two Step Inn - Georgetown Tx

Apr 20-27 - Larry Joe Taylor Fest

May 10 – Mother’s Day
May 25 – Memorial Day
Jun 21 – Father’s Day

Jun 21 – First Day of Summer
July 4 – Independence Day (Sat)
Oct 31 – Halloween (Sat)
Nov 26 – Thanksgiving (Thu)
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.

Wesley Hanna won Round 1 of the Outlaws & Legends Singer Songwriter Competition  Jan 10th in Abilene, Texas. Round 2 will be held on Jan 17th and Round 3 on Jan 24th. The Winners of each of the Semi-Finals compete on Jan 31st for a spot at the Festival in March followed by a concert with Mark Powell. The competition takes place at the Big Country Beer Garden in Abilene, Texas. No ticket is required to attend the Semi-Final Events but the Finals will require a ticket from OuthouseTickets.com. Get signed up to enter the competition at OutlawsAndLegends.com 

Larry Joe Taylor & Tim Love team up again to bring the 4th annual FWMF Fort Worth Music Fest back to the Fort Worth Stockyards Feb 26 thru Mar 1. This year's event will include four of Tim Love's music venues including Tannahill's Music Hall, The Love Shack, White Elephant Saloon and the Tannahill's Lounge as well as several others including Billy Bob's. FWMF will host over 50 artists to perform over 4 days, all centrally located in the historical Fort Worth Stockyards. The FWMF Conference is back this year and begins Thursday, February 26th, 2026 and runs through Friday, March February 27th. The conference will cover a number of topics for artists, singer-songwriters, event promoters, venue operators, and festival promoters. Full Artist Lineup and Schedule coming soon Early bird Tickets End Monday February 19th at Midnight https://www.fortworthmusicfestival.com/

Larry Joe Taylor is celebrating Valentine’s Weekend with an an intimate songwriter show Fri Feb 13th and then a dinner and songwriter show on Sat, Feb 14th in the T-Birds Garage Pub Concert Hall at Melody Mountain Ranch. The shows will feature Richard Leigh, Race Ricketts, Presley Haile, Larry Joe Taylor and more Tickets and camping on sale at LarryJoeTaylor.com 

Josh Weathers marked the release of his new album Neon Never Fades with a sold‑out show at Hoots Hall in Burleson, TX. The Texas native is also celebrating a new deal with Sea Gayle Music and a major milestone—his hit single “Who’s Hanging the Moon” was the most‑played song of 2025, according to the Texas Regional Radio Report, the CDX Texas TRACtion Chart, and the Texas Country Music Chart.
 

Do you remember Deryl Perry and his song “90sville?” Deryl just shot a new video for a song that is already out on spotify. Check out “Runnin On Fumes” and keep an eye out for the video to come out soon.
 

The 2026 TCMA Songwriter Contest is now open for entries in Country and Christian Country. Winners in each category will perform on the main stage at the 2026 Texas Country Music Awards on November 8 at Billy Bob’s Texas, with all top 10 finalists recognized. Enter early—songs are reviewed as received. All submissions must be original works and will be judged on creativity, lyrics, melody, arrangement, originality, and overall technique. For more information visit TexasCountryMusicAssociation.org
 

Bubba Westly was writing with Pug Johnson on the Guadalupe and pug noticed someone tearing up the steel guitar across the river. Bubba thought it sounded very familiar. They went across the check it out and saw their friends car parked. Turned out to be Gruene Studios. They went inside and AJ Vallejo gave them a tour along with Kayla Jane who was there recording some tracks

Cross Canadian Ragweed and the Turnpike Troubadours sold out their Saturday Feb 28th show at the Akins Ford Arena in Athens, GA so they added a 2nd show for Friday, Feb 27th. The shows will also feature special guests Shelby Stone and The Castellows. Get all the scoop online at  http://www.theboysfromoklahoma.com
 

Congratulations if you had Cross Canadian Ragweed playing the Houston Rodeo on your 2026 Bingo Card. It is happening, Monday March 16th. This is the 2nd time to play Rodeo Houston, the first being back in 2006.  Rodeo Houston will also have The Red Clay Strays on St. Patricks Day, Koe Wetzel on March 18th, Parker McCollum March 20th and Cody Johnson closing out the rodeo on March 22nd.
 

Hudson Westbrook revealed the EP artwork for Exclusive that releases on 1/23/26 and features the hit songs "If He Wanted To" and "Pretty Privilege"
 

Tanner Usrey once again invited fans to pelt each other with frozen projectiles at his annual MusicFest snowball fight in Steamboat. The frosty free‑for‑all outside of The Grand Hotel was a blast. And make sure to get tickets for Tanner’s birthday bash concert at Billy Bob's Texas on March 14th.
 

Most of the news we expect to see involve concerts, festivals, albums, songs and maybe a wedding or a birth announcement. Every now and then we get an awesome curveball, like Wade Bowen posting that he got to write a song with Vince Gill on his Newest Project 50 Years From Home.
 

Evan Felker of The Turnpike Troubadours was featured with Dale Brisby on his Rodeo Time Podcast at the end of December then Dale and the boys drove to Oklahoma to help Evan and Wyatt Flores work calves. Now there is a new video out featuring Dale Brisby and Evan went duck hunting.
 

Chuck Wimer has new music coming out and this one is a duet with Brandi Behlen. Chuck wrote the new song with Mikey Goode and Mack Damon and it should hit radio in March.
 

In 2022 Robert Earl Keen announced he was stepping away from touring while still passionate about it. After more than 40 years on the road, it felt like the right time. But as it turns out, the road wasn’t done with him yet. Something was missing without performing, and sobriety brought a clarity that renewed his creative drive. Playing music is a part of who he is. Today he is still writing, playing and doing what he loves, just on his own terms. Robert Earl said he can’t wait to share what he has cookin’ up in 2026.

 Album/EP Releases  
Jan 2  Josh Weathers – Neon Never Fades
Jan 23 Hudson Westbrook - Exclusive
Mar 6 Aaron Watson – A Horse Named Texas
Mar 6  William Clark Green – Watterson Hall
Mar 19  Mark Powell - Altitude
Mar 27 Will Carter Band – Will Carter Band
Mar 27  Ty Myers – Heavy On The Soul 

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