SerpApi.Org
The small Hill Country town of Brownwood is going big for its Feels Like Home Festival, a barbecue and country music event scheduled for Saturday, October 3. A first wave of 10 participating pitmasters has been revealed, including a Texas Monthly Top 50 honoree and some honorable mentions.
Brownwood is located between Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Abilene, about a two-and-a-half to three-hour drive from the capital city. The timing means this could be an excuse to escape Austin as it gets busy for the first weekend of the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Texas Monthly recently detailed some unique ways to spend the weekend there, a place that's "still obsessed with trains."
The first wave of pitmasters at the Feels Like Home Festival are:
・Bosque River Taphouse (Stephenville, TX)
・Brantley Creek Barbecue (Odessa, TX) (TM 2025 honorable mention)
・Hill City Chop House (Tolar, TX) (TM 2025 honorable mention)
・Hurtado Barbecue (Arlington, TX) (TM 2025 honorable mention)
・Olmos BBQ (Fort Worth, TX)
・Pody's BBQ (Pecos, TX)
・Rossler's Blue Cord Barbecue (Harker Heights, TX) (TM Top 50 honoree)
・Schoepf's BBQ (Belton, TX) (TM 2025 honorable mention)
・The Original Roy Hutchins Barbecue (Trophy Club, TX)
・Victorian's Barbecue (Mart, TX) (pitmaster featured on Netflix's Barbecue Showdown)
“Barbecue has been part of the Feels Like Home experience since day one, and we have always believed it deserves the same level of care and attention that we put into the music lineup,” said festival director Steve Clayton in a press release. “This is about making Feels Like Home more than just another concert or music festival. We want people to come to Brownwood and spend the day discovering incredible country music, eating barbecue from pitmasters they may have driven hours across Texas to try, and enjoying the kind of authentic hometown hospitality that makes this community so special.”
This year, the third for the festival, organizers have updated the barbecue portion of the experience to allow more time for attendees to try everything.
The period between noon and 4 pm will be open for complimentary sampling on the Grass Lawn, which is adjacent to the main stage and more accessible than the previous location. Fans will be able to watch from the barbecue area, so it won't be a tough choice between getting barbecue and enjoying the show. They can also move back and forth between the stage and the barbecue area.
Past attendees haven't just made the drive for a meal. Other activities include mechanical bull riding and axe throwing, and other small interactive elements will offer variety throughout the day.
On the musical side, people can expect live performances from
・Gary Allan
・Scotty McCreery
・Mark Chesnutt
・Jack Ingram
・Caroline Hale
Feels Like Home will be held at the Brownwood Event Center. Tickets (starting at $82, before a $45 unlimited barbecue add-on) are available at feelslikehomefest.com.
