Country music and barbecue: They’re a smokin’ pair.
An upcoming not-for-profit barbecue and music festival called Syndicate Smokedown & Music Festival on April 18, 2026, will bring two-dozen pitmasters to Fort Worth for an evening headlined by country-rock band Whiskey Myers. The band’s songs have climbed the Billboard charts since 2018, when TV show Yellowstone featured Whiskey Myers in four episodes.
Also performing during the April 18 barbecue fest is Texas country group Randy Rogers Band and Grammy-winning Americana singer Amanda Shires.
Tickets are on sale now for the Smokedown, and net proceeds go to the Jim Bob Norman scholarship fund, which helps support Texas FFA and 4-H students.
Restaurant News
This week, the fest announced 24 barbecue joints selling food on April 18.
Participating Texas barbecue restaurants are:(Restaurants in or near North Texas are marked in bold.)
Olmos BBQ is a pop-up and event-based barbecue company that’s been making food in Dallas-Fort Worth since 2021.
Syndicate Smokedown
Bar-A-BBQ (Montgomery)Blackboard BBQ (Sisterdale) Bosque River Taphouse (Stephenville)Brantley Creek Barbecue (Odessa)Brick Vault Brewery & BBQ (Marathon)Dayne’s Craft Barbecue (Aledo), named Texas Monthly’s No. 7 best barbecue joint in the stateFort Worth BBQ (Fort Worth), formerly Bailey’s Bar-B-Que, established in 1931Hill City Chop House (Tolar)Lane’s Oak’d BBQ (Addison)LocalCraft BBQ (Newark, northwest of Fort Worth)Love’s BBQ and Oyster Bar (Fort Worth), the food from chef Tim Love’s music venue Tannahill’s Mimsy’s Craft Barbecue (Crockett) North Texas Smoke (Decatur) Olmos BBQ (Fort Worth)Panther City BBQ (Fort Worth), the only restaurant on this list that was Recommended by Michelin in 2024 and 2025 Patriotic Pig Smokehouse (North Richland Hills)River Ranch Stockyards (Fort Worth), the event venue in the StockyardsSchoepf’s BBQ (Belton)Smoke & Bone BBQ (Fort Worth) Terry Black’s BBQ (several Texas locations, though the Fort Worth team is cooking at this festival)The Original Roy Hutchins BBQ (Trophy Club and coming soon to Arlington)Tia’s Tex-Mex BBQ (Valley View, north of Denton)
The festival will also feature two barbecue joints from outside of Texas: Blueline Q from Starke, Fla., and 406 BBQ from Kalispell, Mont.
Cook teams can compete in a three-meat tournament sanctioned by the International Barbeque Cookers Association. Judges will name 10 finalists in each category: brisket, spare ribs and chicken.
The 2026 cookoff could be the biggest barbecue competition in the festival’s history, featuring more than 100 teams, according to the company.
Details
Syndicate Smokedown & Music Festival is April 18, 2026, in the Fort Worth Stockyards. Tickets cost $75.59 for music only; $134.09 for barbecue; or $245.39 for a VIP ticket. syndicatesmokedown.com.