The Troubadour Festival is an annual Texas barbecue and music experience, and it's back this year for its fifth anniversary.
Key players in this year's musical line-up are headliner Clay Walker, and other performances by Braxton Keith, Randall King, Cody Canada & The Departed, Silverada, Bottomland, Presley Haile and Chloe Kimes. See the full musical lineup here.
Barbeque lovers will be thrilled to know that Hutchins Barbeque, Vaqueros Texas Bar-B-Q, Panther City Barbeque and other heavy-hitters will have favorites alongside some others you may be newly acquainted with: Sunbird Barbecue from Longview, Dayne's Craft Barbecue from Aledo, Rossler's Blue Cord BBQ from Harker Heights and many others. See the full, smothered list here.
What to Expect
This year, the festival is introducing themed showcases that group all the restaurants into five categories: Meat Church & Friends Live Fire Experience, 44 Farms Beef, Pork, Tex + Mex BBQ and Asian-Style BBQ. Pitmasters in each showcase will bring their own approach to the theme, which will give us a good variety of flavors to play with."We're rolling out an entirely new concept to the barbecue sampling, which our restaurants are thrilled about. Combined with our new ticket opportunities, upgraded amenities and this year's lineup, we've got something truly special for Celina in 2025 as we celebrate our fifth year," said Chase Colston, who promotes festivals and co-owns Double Tap Entertainment.
Tickets
There are six different ticket tiers and pricing options, each catering to either the music or barbecue sides of the festival, so make sure you read all the descriptions.General admission tickets, which are on sale now, start at $59 and include a 3:15 p.m. gate time, access to all five artists on the main stage, and access to all GA areas, which include 30-plus market vendors and food trucks. There's a GA+ option starting at $99 for a few extra bells and whistles. Neither ticket gets you access to the barbecue samples.
Barbecue tickets start at $129 and include a 1 p.m. gate time and unlimited samples until 3:15 p.m., access to all GA areas and performances on both stages (except Chloe Kimes for some reason). Barbecue-plus tickets start at $169 and include more amenities like luxury, climate-controlled bathrooms.
VIP tickets start at $239 and get you access to everything in the festival and early entry at 12 p.m. for the samples. There are exclusive VIP areas, your first two drinks are free at the private bar, access to all live music performances and other perks. The VIP+ gives you all-inclusive bars and a catered dinner served by Hutchins Barbeque. VIP-plus tickets start at $899. All prices are inclusive of taxes and fees.
What It's For
This year, proceeds from the Troubadour Festival will benefit Hogs for the Sauce, the festival's official partner, which provides financial assistance for children undergoing brain cancer treatment. "We're incredibly proud to partner with Hogs for the Cause as the official charitable partner of Troubadour Festival," said Colston. "We have long admired their mission and look forward to seeing the impact Troubadour Festival and its fanbase can make on such a meaningful cause. Many of our participating pitmasters have also supported Hogs for the Cause over the years. We've always said Texas barbecue is a family, and this partnership is another example of that."
Get the full low-down of the whole event on the Troubadour Festival website.
By the way, troubadours were French medieval messengers/lyrical poets who traveled around the Provençal in the 11th to 13th centuries. Today, the modern definition is someone who writes, composes and sings their own music.
