Festival Weekend Headliners Include Zach Bryan, Darius Rucker, Luke Bryan, and Zac Brown Band
and Finger lickin' good barbecue from the world's best Pitmasters
Windy City Smokeout, the nation’s premier outdoor country music and BBQ festival, returns to Chicago’s iconic United Center (1901 W. Madison Street) on July 13-16, 2023. The 2022-winner of the Academy of Country Music Awards “Festival of the Year,” the Windy City Smokeout will celebrate its 10th anniversary with an impressive lineup featuring some of country music’s biggest names and up-and-coming talents, along with the best BBQ and craft beer from around the country.
THE PITMASTERS
3 Little Pigs (Thursday) Chicago, IL
Blues Hog Washington, MO
Bub City Chicago, IL
Green Street Smoked Meats Chicago, IL
Hogapalooza Wynne, AR
HooDoo Brown BBQ Ridgefield, CT
Horn Barbecue Oakland, CA
Hurtado Barbecue Arlington, TX
Joe's Kansas City BBQ Kansas City, KS
Laser Wolf (Friday) Philadelphia, PA
Leroy and Lewis BBQ Austin, TX
Lexington Betty Smokehouse Chicago, IL
Lillie's Q Chicago, IL
Little Miss BBQ Phoenix, AZ
Mama Fried Austin, TX
Meat Mitch Leawood, KS
Operation BBQ Relief Kansas City, MO
Panther City BBQ Fort Worth, TX
Pappy's Smokehouse St. Louis, MO
Pearl's Southern Comfort Chicago, IL
Peg Leg Porker (Saturday, Sunday) Nashville, TN
Salt Lick BBQ Driftwood, TX
Slab Barbecue Los Angeles, CA
Smoke Queen Barbecue Los Angeles, CA
Smoque BBQ Chicago, IL
Soul & Smoke Evanston, IL
Sugar Fire Smokehouse St. Louis, MO
Truth BBQ Houston, TX
Ubons BBQ Yazoo City, MS
Wright's Barbecue Fayetteville, AR
THE BANDS
ACM award-winning promoter and Windy City Smokeout co-founder, Ed Warm, handpicked the weekend’s lineup including GRAMMY award winner Zac Brown Band, much-decorated ACM and CMA award winner Luke Bryan, GRAMMY award winner Darius Rucker, and GRAMMY award nominee Zach Bryan, who will headline the opening night. Each headliner will take the stage at 8:30 p.m. on their respective nights.
The full list of country music acts by day include:
Thursday, July 13: Zach Bryan, Randy Rogers Band, Bailey Zimmerman, American Aquarium, J.R. Carroll
Friday, July 14: Darius Rucker, Chris Lane, Jo Dee Messina, Jackson Dean, Drew Green
Saturday, July 15: Luke Bryan, Dylan Scott, Kameron Marlowe, Megan Moroney, Tanner Adell
Sunday, July 16: Zac Brown Band, Eli Young Band, Larry Fleet, Luke Grimes, Caroline Jones, Lauren Watkins
THE BONUS EVENTS
Guests can round out the experience with a selection of curated events including the Biggest Happy Hour of the Summer and epic BBQ Brunch on Sunday. The ticketed events do not include admission to the festival; a single day or four-day pass is required for entry.
The Biggest Happy Hours of the Summer
Sponsored by Mamitas
Thursday, July 13: 2 – 4 p.m.
Friday, July 14: 2 – 4 p.m.
Kick off festival weekend with The Biggest Happy Hours of the Summer! Each event will feature $6 domestic and $7 craft beers with live music from up-and-coming artists. Access to each happy hour is included with a Thursday, Friday, or 4-day pass. Drinks are a la carte.
TICKETS + GENERAL INFORMATION
Festival passes are now on sale at www.windycitysmokeout.com.
The hours for Windy City Smokeout are Thursday, July 13: 2pm-10pm; Friday, July 14: 2pm-11pm; Saturday, July 15: 1pm-11pm; Sunday, July 16: 1pm-10pm.
For more information and to purchase festival passes, please visit www.windy city smokeout.com, and be sure to follow all the action on Instagram at @WindyCitySmokeout, Twitter at @WCSmokeout, TikTok at @windycitysmokeout and Facebook.com/windycitysmokeout.