4th annual Bob Wills Fiddle Festival & Contest featuring Clay Walker, Johnny Bush, Bruce Ribison, and Kelly Willis set for October 13 - 15, in Greenville, Texas.
Mark your calendars now for the fourth annual Bob Wills Fiddle Festival & Contest, slated for Friday, Oct. 13 through Sunday, Oct. 15 in downtown Greenville, Texas. The event-packed weekend includes two ticketed shows at the beautifully renovated Greenville Municipal Auditorium: Oct. 13 at 8 p.m., the Kenneth Threadgill Concert Series presents co-headliners Johnny Bush, the Houston-born country singer and “Whiskey River” songwriter, and Austin’s Americana royal couple, Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis, appearing with esteemed multi-instrumentalist Warren Hood; Oct. 14 at 7:30 p.m., multi-platinum-selling country artist Clay Walker headlines a bill also featuring Grammy-winning former Asleep at the Wheel fiddler Jason Roberts and his band performing with 89-year-old Texas Playboys vocalist Leon Rausch and 94-year-old saxophonist Billy Briggs. (We’ll also be celebrating Rausch’s 90th birthday that night.) The GMA is located at 2821 Washington St., Greenville, Texas.
Tickets go on sale today (Monday, July 10); prices are $31 to $56 for the Oct. 13 show and $31 to $61 for the Oct. 14 show and will be available at showtimeatthegma.com, at the venue box office (8 a.m. to 5 p.m.) or by calling 903.457.3126.
This unique festival also includes the popular two-day, seven-division Bob Wills Fiddle Contest, with an all-ages category honoring its namesake that features winners from other contests containing officially sanctioned Bob Wills Divisions; the Friday pre-concert Big Ball in G-Town dinner-dance for sponsors and patrons, a ticketed event featuring the Jason Roberts Band, at 6 p.m.; free, open-to-the-public Friday and Saturday post-concert dances; and other free indoor and outdoor concerts, dances and family-friendly activities honoring legendary western-swing king Bob Wills and his famed Texas Playboys.
About the festival: The Bob Wills Fiddle Festival & Contest is Greenville, Texas’ annual citywide celebration of the state’s famed western-swing king and its music-loving culture. The October event features free day and night dances; an all-ages fiddle competition attracting world-class players that honors Wills’ legacy by promoting his craft; and ticketed concerts held at the city’s proudest jewel, the art-deco Greenville Municipal Auditorium, which unveiled a multimillion-dollar renovation in 2016. The festival attracts a range of country, Americana and western-swing acts such as Ray Benson & Asleep at the Wheel, the Hot Club of Cowtown, Dale Watson, Charley Pride, the Time Jumpers and Leon Rausch (the voice of Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys in the late 1950s and early ’60s).
Fiddle contest registration: bobwillsfiddlefest.com
Information: showtimeatthegma.com
Schedule
Oct 13: Kenneth Threadgill Concert Series with Johnny Bush and Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis
Oct. 14: Clay Walker with Jason Roberts Band