The Red Dirt BBQ & Music Festival will take place Saturday on the Square in downtown Tyler with musical performances kicking off at 3:45 p.m. on the Optimum Stage.
Headlining this year’s concert is blues, country and Americana singer and guitarist Charley Crockett, who will take the stage at 10 p.m. Other artists in Saturday’s lineup include Kaitlin Butts, Mike & the Moonpies, Charlie Robison, William Clark Green and Shane Smith & the Saints.
Crockett has released several albums since 2015, including “A Stolen Jewel,” “In the Night,” “Lonesome as a Shadow,” “Lil G.L.’s Blue Bonanza,” “The Valley,” “10 for Slim: Charley Crockett Sings James Hand,” “Welcome to Hard Times,” “Music City USA,” “Lil G.L. Presents: Jukebox Charley” and “The Man from Waco.”
Born in San Benito and raised in Los Fresnos and Dallas, Crockett’s debut album, “A Stolen Jewel,” was released in May 2015. His second album, “In the Night,” was released in 2016 and included a cover of Freddy Fender’s “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights.”
In a January 2019 Facebook post, Crockett announced he had undergone open heart surgery.
According to the post, Crockett was born with a heart condition known as Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, where an extra electrical pathway in the heart causes a rapid heartbeat.
Crockett went to the hospital for a hernia repair but was sent to a heart specialist first. After having some tests done, Crockett said he found out he was missing a valve in his aorta, which caused blood to leak into his heart and could result in a heart attack.
Crockett said in his post, “This charging bull got himself a new transmission good for a million more miles. Thank you for blessing me with your positive energy. I’ve been turning my curse into a blessing since 1984 and y’all can always count on me to come over that next mountain top.”
Crockett’s album, “The Valley,” was released in September 2019 and featured the single “Borrowed Time.”
Crockett’s awards include an Americana Music Honors & Award for Emerging Artist of the Year in 2021 and Austin Music Awards for Musician of the Year and Best Country in 2022.
Crockett was recently a guest on “The Daily Show” where, among other things, he talked about his first time performing in New York.
“It was about 15 years back in Central Park,” Crockett said.
Crockett, who had hitchhiked to the city, said he was staying with some friends and one day started wandering around Manhattan and found himself in Central Park.
During the interview, Crockett said the venue where he opened for singer Willie Nelson in September was about 100 yards from the first bridge he ever played underneath in Central Park.
Crockett’s latest album, “The Man from Waco,” includes the singles “Name on a Billboard,” “Cowboy Candy,” “Odessa” and “I’m Just a Clown.”
