Barbecue from 1701 Barbecue at the Troubadour Festival Saturday. This was the first year for the festival to come to Tyler. 

Tyler’s inaugural Troubadour Festival drew about 4,000 attendees Saturday to the downtown square for barbecue and live music.

“It was everything we could hope it would be — the weather was great, everybody seemed happy and there were not any major obstacles to overcome,” said Chase Colston, Troubadour Festival and Double Tap Entertainment co-founder and promoter.

The festival featured about 40 Texas barbecue restaurants and headliner Gary Allan along with performers Flatland Cavalry, Mike Ryan, The Steel Woods, Chris Colston, Joint Custody and Holly Beth.

Being from Tyler, Colston said it was great to be able to hold the Troubadour Festival in the heart of the city.

“It was great to be back home in downtown Tyler, and it was good to hear great feedback,” he said. “It just made us really happy to finally come back to our hometown and do it the way we wanted to do it.”

Colston previously worked for Townsquare Media Tyler/Longview where he came up for and was a part of putting on the Red Dirt BBQ and Music Festival, he said. While he is familiar with hosting events in downtown Tyler, he said the Troubadour Festival in many ways was different than anything he’s done before.

A big difference was placing the main stage at the intersection of Broadway and Erwin, Colston said. This allowed for more space for people to walk around and enjoy the festivities.

“I thought it turned out great,” he said. “it provided a lot more space than I think other events have experienced (on the square). I think it just made people happier that they weren’t feeling as crammed in there and things like that.”

Overall, Colston said he was pleased with the event.

“We were really happy with the first year and just the way it looked on Broadway,” Colston said. “Later on in the night just really showed how many people came out to (the festival), and that was really, really great to see.”

Colston said he and his partner, Cody Johnson, are putting focus on next festival set Oct. 15 in Celina. It’s their biggest show, and Colston said they anticipate more than 8,000 people in attendance.

Once that show is over, the pair will take the rest of the year to reevaluate and decide what they want to do in 2023.

The current plan is to bring the Troubadour Festival back to Tyler next year. The festival has three stops on its schedule this year — Tyler, Georgetown and Celina.

Through support from the city, county, downtown businesses, sponsors and other entities, it was possible for the Troubadour Festival to be a success in Tyler, Colston said. Everyone was patient and willing to work with them.

“Downtown Tyler is our favorite part of (Tyler), and we were grateful that everyone down there helped play a role in it. We just really appreciate it,” he said.