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London Calling Podcast Yana Bolder
A group of Lubbockites is hoping to launch a music festival next year in the Hub City to celebrate West Texas’ diverse and storied musical heritage, and bring some big names to town in the process.
Ahead of a city council budget workshop Tuesday, members of the newly formed Lubbock Music Festival 2025 Committee announced their plans to host a multiday, multivenue, multigenre music festival in Lubbock next summer. Local broadcaster Greg McAlister is chair of the committee, which boasts a roster full of big names in Lubbock’s arts scene.
“In Lubbock, Texas, when you strike a chord at 3,200 feet above sea level, when it soaks up into the breeze, there’s literally nothing — literally nothing — to stop it from flowing through the coast and around the world,” McAlister said. “That’s our West Texas music story. Its fame and its tradition impacts the entire world, and we want to help celebrate that with the Lubbock Music Festival.”
Gary Boren, a longtime Lubbock concert promoter and former city councilman who is on the festival committee, said he hopes the proposed event could draw a major headliner to Lubbock.
“Whether it be George Strait … or it could be Garth Brooks … or it could be maybe Billy Joel,” Boren said. “We’re looking at Brooks and Dunn, we’ve contacted The Eagles, … Santana. We’re looking at all of them.”
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“We need to compete with South by Southwest,” he added.
But, Boren said, the big names would be a draw to the event so Lubbock’s local acts can have a bigger platform.
“We’ll have some big bands, obviously, for draw-in. We’re going after some big names. But, let me tell you, it’s about putting our bands with them and getting our bands showcased,” Boren said. “If you’re a musician in Lubbock, Texas, and you’ve got God’s gifts of playing instruments or singing, we want you. We want to highlight your life and do everything we can to help you get that next step. That’s our goal.”
Boren said he expects the event to be a public-private partnership, with support coming from the City of Lubbock and Lubbock City Council. He said the festival will be a boon to the local economy and sales and hotel tax revenues.
Plus, the committee has enlisted the help of legendary Las Cruces-based music promoter Barbara “Mother” Hubbard, who was presented with a special recognition during Tuesday’s meeting.
“She’s not afraid of any challenge, and at 97 (years old), she’s still going hard and strong,” Boren said. “She’s got some of the world’s greatest entertainers on her cell phone. She calls them and says, ‘This is Barbara Hubbard. I need you to come to Lubbock, Texas.’ And they listen.”
Boren said the committee has not yet settled on dates, venues or acts, but the committee is working hard to bring the inaugural festival next summer.
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