Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, The Charlie Daniels Band, Asleep at the Wheel,
and David Allan Coe Recordings Turned Into AXS-TV Specials
FORT WORTH, Texas – In 1998, in partnership with Smith Music Group, led by Rick Smith, Sr., Billy Bob’s Texas began recording live performances from select artists taking the stage of the award-winning nightclub to be part of their Live at Billy Bob’s Texas series. The series launched with back to back recordings of Pat Green and Merle Haggard. Now, in 2018, the famed series is celebrating its 20th Anniversary.
“The Live at Billy Bob’s recordings give music fans who haven’t been to The World’s Largest Honky Tonk an opportunity to hear and feel the energy of a live show,” says Billy Bob’s VP of Marketing, Pam Minick. “For those who have experienced it in person, it’s another chance to relive it all over again. The series really captures the diversity of Billy Bob’s as we’ve recorded everything from Texas music newcomers to country music legends.”
Artists who have participated in the series range from national country music stars like Tanya Tucker, Roy Clark, T. Graham Brown, Exile, Johnny Lee, Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers, Collin Raye, Mark Wills, Lynn Anderson, Joe Diffie, Janie Fricke, Earl Thomas Conley, Eddy Raven, Michael Martin Murphey, Doug Stone, T.G. Sheppard and John Conlee to the biggest names on the Texas music scene including Cross Canadian Ragweed, Jack Ingram, Jason Boland & the Stragglers, Kevin Fowler, Wade Bowen, Randy Rogers Band, Stoney LaRue, Charlie Robison and more.
Billy Bob’s Texas is known for making cameo appearances in many music videos and several movies, but the Live at Billy Bob’s Texas series made its way to the television screen with Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, The Charlie Daniels Band, Asleep at the Wheel, and David Allan Coe’s concert recordings filmed and aired on AXS-TV, which continue to re-air.
“It was such an honor and thrill to record my CD, Live at Billy Bob’s, because I could take that story all across the country, raving about the biggest honky-tonk in America! – Janie Fricke
“I remember recording my Live at Billy Bob’s project. There was a huge crowd there that night and they were hootin’ & hollerin’. It continues to be one of our best selling CDs and people tell me all the time how much they like it! Thanks to Smith Music Group and Billy Bob’s! – T. Graham Brown