Events
Use for all event past or future
BLOOMIN’ BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL
Friday & Saturday October 20-21 2023
Farmers Branch Historical Park
2540 Farmers Branch Lane, Farmers Branch Texas 75234
artists scheduled to appear include:
Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder | Del McCoury Band | Suzy Bogguss
Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out (Friday) | Appalachian Road Show (Friday)
Lonesome River Band | Authentic Unlimited (Friday) | The Cleverlys
Carson Peters & Iron Mountain | Kristyn Harris & Hailey Sandoz
Texas & Tennessee featuring John R. Bowman and Steve Huber (both days)
Artists will appear on Saturday unless otherwise noted. The schedule is always subject to change.
The 2023 band schedule for smartphones will be available on festival weekend at BHFBands.com.
The DoubleTree Dallas near the Galleria (4099 Valley View Lane, Dallas Texas 75244) is one of our two host hotels with a discounted room rate of $124/night for our special bluegrass weekend. This discounted festival package includes shuttle service to the festival, free parking, free breakfast, and festival passes for each night booked! Book by Friday, Oct. 2 to get the discounted rate package that includes festival passes!The Renaissance Dallas North Hotel (formerly the Omni – located at 1590 LBJ Freeway, Farmers Branch Texas, 75244, hotel phone 972-869-4300) is our second host hotel with rooms available at a discounted rate of $124/night which includes shuttle service to the festival, free parking, free breakfast, and festival passes for each night booked. Book by Friday, Oct. 2 to get the discounted rate package that includes festival passes!
If you don’t plan to stay at DoubleTree Dallas or Renaissance Dallas North Hotel, you’ll want to get your weekend passes online in advance. Full-weekend passes are only $25 if purchased online in advance ($15 per day, online in advance). Day passes will be available at the gate, subject to availability.
Children 12 and under get in free with a paid adult.
Children 12 and under get in free with a paid adult.
Get tickets for the raffle on Saturday night at the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation tent!
Click to sign up for e-mail updates.
For more hotel and RV information, check the Official Website.
HAVE A GREAT TIME JAMMING!
The park has shady areas and great old buildings perfect for jamming. Enjoy log cabins, a gazebo, a beautiful old church, and a general store with a front porch! If you want to take a break from the show, join your old (and new) friends in a jam! The jamming is one of the best parts of our festival. Please join in!
FAMILY-FRIENDLY FUN WITH FREE PARKING!
Bring the kids! The Farmers Branch Historical Park has 27 acres of lush grass for burning off energy. And everyone can enjoy the great old buildings, historical exhibits, and free rose garden tours!
So that everyone can have a clear view of the stage, only blankets and grass seating will be permitted in the area directly in front of the stage. Standard lawn chairs may be used behind the rope line that will designate the blanket and grass-seating area. Lawn chairs can be rented on-site during the Bloomin’ Bluegrass Festival. The funds raised from chair rentals supports the Friends of the Farmers Branch Historical Park.
If you’re bringing your instruments and plan to jam, you can catch a golf cart ride from the ADA parking area at 12300 Ford Road to ease the load. The cart will take you right up to the Festival entrance. Park policy is that no items may be left in the park overnight.
Visit the Official Bloomin’ Bluegrass Festival Website for more details!
This event brought to you by the City of Farmers Branch, Texas
and the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation.
Bobby Giles & Texas Gales CD Release Party
Saturday August 19 2023 at 7:00p
University Park United Methodist Church
Fellowship Hall (across from Smith Park)
4024 Caruth Boulevard, Dallas, Texas 75225
Join us for a special night of family-friendly fun and bluegrass music to celebrate the release of the long-awaited new CD by Bobby Giles & Texas Gales entitled The Music of Life! Our friends at University Park United Methodist Church have graciously allowed us to use their Fellowship Hall on Saturday night, August 19 2023 at 7p for this show and celebration!
Please register in advance to help us plan for this event. A suggested donation of $20 per person gets admission to the party as well as an autographed copy of the new CD! A donation of $30 gets two people into the party and one autographed CD. Please note the names of the attendees on the donation comment box, and we’ll handle the rest! You may also donate at the door on the night of the show.
About Bobby Giles & Texas Gales
A gale is defined as “a very strong wind” and “a burst of sound.” When one thinks of the windswept Texas plains and the iconic culture of the region, it invokes a sense of timelessness and the strength and passion of a uniquely western nobility. These storied Texas winds carry the sounds, the songs, and the ghosts of yesterday across the land. But a gale is also something to be reckoned with. It is forceful and demands your attention – just like the music of Bobby Giles & Texas Gales.
Bobby’s father was a conductor on the Santa Fe Railroad. He loved the railroad, his family, football, quail hunting, fishing, and music. He taught Bobby the importance of being passionate about everything he does. Bobby and his brother Dan were proud sons of ‘ManyMilesGiles’ in his sharp conductor’s uniform. One day he brought Bobby a new Kay Sunburst guitar. Bobby taught himself to play by watching the Honest Jess and Ernest Tubb shows on Saturdays, listening to every gospel quartet show he could find, and by emulating the sounds that filled his bedroom from his transistor radio.
His grandpa’s name was Virgil but everyone called him “Pa.” Not long after Bobby got his first guitar, Pa took him to the fairgrounds where a bluegrass band was playing. Bobby was awestruck by the three-part harmonies and the chords that the guitarist played. He went home that night motivated to practice!
Like most young musicians, Bobby had aspirations of being the “next big thing”, but he was also a decent football player. Football took center stage until his University of Texas playing days were over. Fortunately, Bobby never quit practicing those chords he learned from that bluegrass guitar player at the fairgrounds.
Today Bobby pursues his love for bluegrass music through songwriting, performing, and recording. He recently had the honor of being produced by award-winning fiddle player and Appalachian Road Show member Jim VanCleve. Bobby Giles and Texas Gales have recently teamed up with Bell Buckle Records to release his latest upcoming album, “The Music of Life.”
BLUEGRASS ROUNDUP
at the Chisholm Trail Outdoor Museum
featuring live bluegrass music by
Riley Gilbreath & Lone Star Blue
Saturday June 10 2023
Join us for an afternoon of family fun, jamming, and live bluegrass music on stage by Bobby Giles & Texas Gales and Riley Gilbreath & Lone Star Blue! Bring your lawn chairs and your instruments – there are lots of nice places (inside and outside) to jam all day!
There is so much to do and enjoy – we’ll have kids crafts, horse rides, wild west gunfights, food trucks on site, and much more! Admission is $12/adult and $8/child at the gate (additional charge for horse rides).
The Chisholm Trail Outdoor Museum is located on the Chisholm Trail – a trail used in the late 19th century to drive cattle overland. The museum includes life-size cattle drive silhouettes, Johnson County’s original courthouse, a working blacksmith shop, a one-room school house, a stagecoach station, a general store, teepees, and more. The Big Bear Native American Museum features a collection of Native American artifacts donated by Leonard “Big Bear” Beal and additional artifacts to provide an overview of Native Americans in North America.
10:00a Gates Open
12:00p Wild West Gunfight
1:00p Riley Gilbreath & Lone Star Blue
2:00p Bobby Giles & Texas Gales
3:00p Wild West Gunfight
4:00p Riley Gilbreath & Lone Star Blue
5:00p Bobby Giles & Texas Gales
Chisholm Trail Outdoor Museum
101 Chisholm Trail, Cleburne Texas 76033
254-998-0261
Nu-Blu In Concert
Friday March 18, 2022 at 7:15p
University Park United Methodist Church
Fellowship Hall (across from Smith Park)
4024 Caruth Boulevard, Dallas, Texas 75225
A good crowd gathered for a special night of acoustic music with Nu-Blu in the Fellowship Hall of University Park United Methodist Church on Friday, March 18 2022.
North Carolina-based Nu-Blu established themselves as one of the top roots-music acts in the industry, delivering a set of songs that range from the melancholy to the exuberant. They are working to bring bluegrass music to the masses, serving as the permanent host of nationally-syndicated TV show “Bluegrass Ridge,” which airs in 160 million homes worldwide.
Hailing from Siler City North Carolina, Nu-Blu’s heart and soul is husband-and-wife duo Daniel and Carolyn Routh. Carolyn’s soprano is one of the band’s defining traits. Daniel is the group’s backbone, a multi-instrumentalist and backing vocalist who also handles band management. Austin Hefflefinger on banjo and Justin Harrison on mandolin round out the quartet’s warm, layered, Appalachian sound.
A Special Evening with David Grier
November 24, 2021 at 7:30p
University Park United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
4024 Caruth Boulevard, Dallas, Texas 75225
A nice crowd joined us for a special show with David Grier on Tuesday night, Nov. 24, 2021. David provided an entertaining evening of amazing guitar work, vocals, and stories from the road.
Grier began playing guitar at age six and is now regarded as one of the premier acoustic guitarists in the world, along with his early influences – Doc Watson, Tony Rice, and family friend Clarence White. He was ecognized by Acoustic Guitar Magazine in 2000 as one of the Artists of the Decade and has been named Guitar Player of the Year three times by the International Bluegrass Music Association.
Bluegrass Saturday Night – Nov. 13 2021
Featuring Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
McKinney Performing Arts Center
111 N. Tennessee Street, McKinney, Texas 75069
A sold-out crowd was on hand for our Bluegrass Saturday Night 2021 in historic downtown McKinney Texas, the final performance ever in Texas by GRAMMY-nominated Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame member Doyle Lawson is one of the most important architects of the bluegrass genre. Highly awarded and recognized over the course of his impressive 58-year career, Lawson is one of the most respected and revered performers in bluegrass music.
Many consider Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver as the “Ivy League” of bluegrass, with Lawson as the dean of students; no other band leader has mentored more musicians who have gone on to become major players in the bluegrass industry and beyond. His show included a varied array of many important tunes from his Quicksilver years.
Opening the show for Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver were the “At The Very Least” banjo brothers The Gerald Jones and Alan Tompkins, who provided a quick twin-banjo opening for the capacity crowd. Pictures from the show are in our Special Events Photo Gallery. This event was funded in part by a grant from the City of McKinney Arts Commission, with thanks from the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation. Photos courtesy of Julie Tucker, Alan Tompkins, and Kitty Antonsen.
Wylie Jubilee – Bluegrass on Ballard – June 26 2021
Wylie Olde City Park, 112 S. Ballard Ave., Wylie, Texas 75098
This year was our EIGHTH year for the Wylie Jubilee – Bluegrass on Ballard and it was a fine day of live bluegrass music on the big stage in Olde City Park in downtown Wylie Texas. After a missed year of fun and social activity in 2020, folks were more than ready to get out and enjoy the music and jamming. It was a great day of food, fun, live bluegrass music, a record-setting car show, and more – all free of charge thanks to our sponsors like Blue Star Plumbing, Aire Texas, and the Credit Union of Texas. Check our photo gallery for more event photos.
The musical lineup included the Becky Buller Band, the Farm Hands, Randy Collier & Grassland, Salt Creek, Bobby Giles & Texas Gales, and the Downtown String Band.
This event was made possible by Wylie Downtown Merchants Association, City of Wylie, North Texas Equestrian Center, the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation, and many other fine sponsors. Photos by Nathaniel Dalzell and Alan Tompkins.
Bluegrass Saturday Night – Nov. 14 2020
Featuring Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
McKinney Performing Arts Center
111 N. Tennessee Street, McKinney, Texas 75069
An enthusiastic (and socially-distanced COVID-compliant 25% capacity) crowd was on hand for our Bluegrass Saturday Night 2020 in historic downtown McKinney Texas, for an outstanding performance by 2020 GRAMMY winner Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper. According to the Boston Globe, “it’s obvious Michael was destined to become one of bluegrass music’s contemporary stars,” and the band certainly did not disappoint!
Country Music Hall of Famer Vince Gill says “Michael plays fearlessly, and it’s intoxicating to play with him because he makes you play fearlessly! He takes no prisoners, but he plays with restraint and a soul. He plays without abandon.” Michael Cleveland is IBMA’s most awarded Fiddle Player of the Year with 12 wins, has won Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year six times, and fronts the 6-time IBMA Instrumental Group of the Year. Michael’s Flamekeeper band included members Josh Richards (guitar), Nathan Livers (mandolin), Jasiah Shrode (banjo), and Chris Douglas (bass).
This event was funded in part by a generous grant from the City of McKinney Arts Commission, with thanks from the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation.
Bluegrass Saturday Night – Nov. 16 2019
Featuring Kenny & Amanda Smith Band and Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Bluegrass Band
with special guest Downtown String Band
McKinney Performing Arts Center
111 N. Tennessee Street, McKinney, Texas 75069
A great crowd was on hand for our Bluegrass Saturday Night in historic downtown McKinney Texas. The show featured the GRAMMY-nominated Kenny & Amanda Smith Band and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Bluegrass Band, along with special guest Downtown String Band. Pictures from the show are in our Special Events Photo Gallery. This event was funded in part by a grant from the City of McKinney Arts Commission, with thanks from the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation.
Winners of the IBMA Emerging Artist of the Year award, the Kenny & Amanda Smith Band combines gutsy, heartfelt vocals and brilliant instrumental talents to create one of the most compelling sounds in bluegrass music today. Kenny, a two-time IBMA Guitarist of the Year, is considered one of the most influential flatpicking-style guitarists of his generation. Amanda is a winner of the IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year award and delivers some of the most soulful vocals in bluegrass today.
Sgt. Peppers Lonely Bluegrass Band offered amazing musicianship and vocals on innovative bluegrass interpretations of Beatles songs like Eleanor Rigby, Come Together, Back in the USSR, Blackbird, and more. The Downtown String Band highlighted the bluegrass and traditional music of Gerald Jones, Mike Jump, Michael Morrison, and Alan Tompkins.
About McKinney Performing Arts Center
This was the third production by the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation at the McKinney Performing Arts Center (MPAC), the multi-purpose theater in the historic Collin County Courthouse. MPAC is the center of the McKinney, Texas historic district and is surrounded by a variety of restaurants and boutiques.
Bloomin’ Bluegrass Festival – October 18-19, 2019
Farmers Branch Historical Park
2540 Farmers Branch Lane, Farmers Branch Texas 75234
The tenth annual Bloomin’ Bluegrass Festival was held on Friday and Saturday, October 18-19, 2019 in the beautiful Farmers Branch Historical Park in Farmers Branch, Texas. The festival was presented by the City of Farmers Branch and Bluegrass Heritage Foundation. Incredible musical performances were provided by the Del McCoury Band, Sam Bush Band, Larry Sparks & The Lonesome Ramblers, the Travelin’ McCourys, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, the Kruger Brothers & Dallas Symphony Orchestra Quartet, Sierra Hull & Justin Moses, Chatham County Line, Texas & Tennessee featuring John R. Bowman and Steve Huber, and the Purple Hulls. Photos are available in our Photo gallery.
