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As many dressed in their favorite pair of cowboy boots and best hat, Tylerites and out-of-towners converged on the downtown square Saturday for the 2023 Red Dirt BBQ & Music Festival.

Organizers said an estimated 6,500 people attended the ninth-annual festival.

The event held on the brick streets around the square had 20 barbecue joints from around the state on hand for attendees to sample. Attendees also enjoyed food from other vendors who sold funnel cakes, ribbon fries, corn dogs, snow cones and more. Beverages were also available for purchase.

After hours of mingling and sampling barbecue, the first musical act kicked off just before 4 p.m. The lineup featured Kaitlin Butts, Mike & the Moonpies, Charlie Robison, William Clark Green and Shane Smith & the Saints before headliner Charley Crockett took the stage at 10 p.m. to close out the show.

A change this year, the stage and the entrance were in a new location to accommodate more people and allow for a better view of the performances.

This festival has been held since 2014 on the brick streets of downtown Tyler as an opportunity for people to celebrate the best in Texas barbecue and live red dirt country music. It brings the best pitmasters in the state to one location and draws attendees from not just Tyler, but around the state and country as well.

“It is something special. Not every city or town gets an event like this,” Radio Texas, LIVE! host Buddy Logan previously said. “We’ve been fortunate to bring something unique, fun and something we’re proud of to downtown Tyler.”

Downtown businesses were open and buzzing with patrons throughout the day and night.

Although the threat of rain was in the forecast, it turned out to be a consistently sunny day with temperatures in the high-80s to low-90s.