Related Articles
Chicago’s annual Windy City Smokeout returns for its eighth installment in July, with Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, and Jon Pardi headlining the three-day country music and barbecue festival.
Set for July 10th through 12th, the event assembles 20 pitmasters from around the country — including low-and-slow hotbeds like Kansas City, Missouri, and Driftwood, Texas — and an array of country artists. Along with the headliners, the lineup includes Morgan Evans, Ryan Hurd, Riley Green, Cody Canada, Cody Johnson, Randy Rogers Band, and Hailey Whitters. Rising talent Lainey Wilson, Tyler Booth, Ross Ellis, Walker County, and Angie K are also on the bill.
The ACM Award-nominated festival is the brainchild of Ed Warm, who operates Chicago country bar Joe’s on Weed and the local barbecue outpost Bub City. “The music lineup paired with the incredible barbecue and finest craft beer from around the country will make this year’s festival the can’t-miss event of the summer,” Warm said in a statement.
Passes are currently on sale at the festival’s website, with three-day general admission passes starting at $125. VIP and single-day options are also available.
Opening-night headliner Rucker is coming off the successful reunion tour of Hootie & the Blowfish, while Bentley, who tops Saturday’s lineup, recently announced a new record deal for his Nineties country band the Hot Country Knights. Pardi, who released the traditional album Heartache Medication, wraps up the festival on Sunday.
