Graphic - Windy City Smokeout

Windy City Smokeout will return to the United Centre Parking Lot, Chicago on July 13th - 16th 2023.

Celebrating its 10th year, the festival will welcome 

as their headliners of the 4-day event in 2023.

The Thursday night line-up has now been confirmed, with Zach Bryan, Randy Rogers Band, 

, American Aquarium and J.R. Carroll all set to perform.

On Friday, Darius Rucker will take over the headlining duties from Zach, with Chris Lane, Jo Dee Messina, Jackson Dean and Drew Green joining him on the second day of the festival.

On Saturday roster of performers will include Luke Bryan, Dylan Scott, Kameron Marlowe and Tanner Adell. In addition, ‘Tennessee Orange’ hitmaker Megan Moroney will also be taking the stage. 

On Sunday - the final day of the festival - fans will be treated to live-wire sets from Zac Brown Band, Eli Young Band, Larry Fleet, Luke Grimes, Caroline Jones and Big Loud's country prodigy, Lauren Watkins.

Here, we'll have all the up-to-date news on line-up announcements, confirmation of weekend dates and all the latest ticket and festival pass details for 2023. 

Single-day tickets and 4-day passes are now on sale.

Bringing together all the best of country music, Windy City Smokeout is also home to one of the best celebrations of BBQ food and beer. As always, 2023's event will promise to host some of the finest pitmasters from across the country and even further throughout the world. 

For more information on tickets and for other country festivals set for 2023 and 2024 - head here.

For more coverage on Windy City Smokeout 2023, see below:

Luke Bryan Announced As Final Headliner of Windy City Smokeout 2023

Zac Brown Band Announced to Headline Windy City Smokeout 2023

Zach Bryan To Headline Windy City Smokeout 2023

Larry Fleet, Lauren Watkins and More Added to Windy City Smokeout 2023 Line-Up

Bailey Zimmerman, J.R. Carroll and More Added to Thursday Line-Up for Windy City Smokeout 2023

All the latest line-up announcements, date confirmations and ticket details for Windy City Smokeout 2023.

Windy City Smokeout

Windy City Smokeout 2023

At the time, the Georgia-based group were considered as country as country could be, with their debut studio album, 

, spawning a slew of platinum singles, including ‘Whatever It is’, ‘Free’ and the beautifully intricate ballad, ‘Highway 20 Ride’. In 2010, the band took home their first Grammy award for Best New Artist.

The tropically-tinged, island-inspired ‘Toes’, another platinum single from 

, paved the way for a collaboration with the king of island-inspired Gulf and Western himself, Jimmy Buffett. ‘Knee Deep’ was a playful ode to the necessary joy of escapism, and swiftly became another multi-platinum hit for Zac Brown Band.

‘Knee Deep’ featured on the group’s 2010 project, 

, which also produced a Grammy-winning collaboration with Alan Jackson, ‘As She’s Walking Away’. 

The song’s airtight harmonies and traditional arrangements epitomised everything that fans loved about Zac Brown Band. 

 would ultimately go on to become Zac Brown Band’s second platinum album, and their first No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

 in 2012, which won the group their third and final Grammy to date for Best Country Album.

Two years later, the band put out their fan-favourite compilation album, 

 It brought together all the nuggets of country gold that the band had created, including the likes of ‘Jump Right In’ and ‘Colder Weather’. 

Now, many fans view that album as an epitaph to the Zac Brown Band of old, with the group deciding to pursue a more genre-fluid, pop-leaning sound from that point on.

 was a commercial success, again reaching No. 1 and going platinum. It contained the first hints of experimentation, with ‘Beautiful Drug’ testing out a new, EDM-influenced sound. This was consolidated by the band’s surprise 2015 collaboration with the late DJ, Avicii, on ‘Broken Arrows’.

in 2022. This trio of projects all exhibit flashes of the classic country sound that Zac Brown Band first won over fans’ hearts with, while still exploring new territories and satisfying the group’s sonic wanderlust. 

Although these later albums are yet to go platinum, and despite their continued flirtation with other genres, Zac Brown Band remains one of the most loved bands in modern country music.

Home of all the latest news, information and coverage of Zac Brown Band on Holler

Zac Brown Band

The Zac Brown Band of 2022 is an entirely different proposition to the old-school Southern Rock band that burst onto the scene in 2008 with their irresistible American anthem, ‘Chicken Fried’.

Zac Brown Band: News, Songs & Reviews | Holler

Bryan has eschewed Music City’s preferred producers and writers, in favour of crafting a sparse, unpolished sound that elevates magical storytelling above all else.

In 2019, just like any other day after a shift, Bryan and his Navy buddies sat down for a jam session. Only this time, they decided to record Bryan playing ‘Heading South’ and upload it to his socials, thinking nothing of it.

The video quickly went viral, and paved the way for Bryan to sign a recording contract with Warner Records two years later in 2021. The candid, lo-fi video would go on to set the tone for Bryan’s rustic, bare-bones aesthetic.

Following the release of his first two albums, 

in 2019 and 2020 respectively, Bryan released his 34-track magnum opus, 

 in 2022. It debuted at No. 5 on the US Billboard 200, and set a new 2022 record for the most single-day streams for a country album on Apple Music and Spotify.

‘Something in the Orange’ was the fourth single from 

, and the hauntingly ominous track became one of the defining country songs of the year. It marked Bryan’s first entry onto the Billboard Hot 100, as well as propelling him to the pinnacle of the Billboard Top Songwriters chart later in 2022.

In the summer of 2022, Zach Bryan continued this momentum by putting out his pensive 

EP, a project that would again veer away from the well-worn path of typical summer country releases. 

He continues to build a reputation for his unrivalled rate of releases, which has been magnified by a string of singles towards the end of 2022, including, ‘Burn, Burn, Burn’, ‘Starved’, ‘Fifth of May’ and ‘The Greatest Day of My Life’. 

Following a blockbuster 2022 tour, which involved a captivating, snow-hampered show at Red Rocks Amphitheater, Colorado, Bryan has already been confirmed for a slew of 2023 festivals.

Home of all the latest news, information and coverage of Zach Bryan on Holler

Zach

Since being honourably discharged from the US Navy in 2021, Zach Bryan’s journey to country’s upper echelons has been as quick as it has been unconventional.

Zach Bryan: News, Songs & Reviews | Holler

 EP in June 2022, it became the biggest streaming country debut of all time. Zimmerman also became one of just three country artists to earn over a million streams on each track during street week alone. The other two artists? None other than Luke Combs and Zach Bryan.

It’s sometimes difficult to believe that Bailey Zimmerman is still in his early twenties, and that he’s only been releasing music since 2021. In the space of just over a year, Zimmerman has enjoyed an ascent that has felt so meteoric, that he seems to have already transcended the labels of ‘prodigy’ and ‘prospect’.

‘Fall in Love’, one of the highlights from his 2022 EP, became his first Country Radio No. 1 in December. The single serves as the perfect encapsulation of what makes Zimmerman such a threat. It has the signature rasp and heart-wrenching intensity that pervades much of the project, but - crucially - it is packaged up with a pop-leaning production style that makes it ideal for Country Radio.

The result is a sound that simultaneously straddles both the mainstream and the outer edges of the modern country landscape. Part of Zimmerman’s ability to infiltrate both markets can be traced back to his blue collar roots, having grown up working on a gas pipeline.

In 2023, Zimmerman is joining Morgan Wallen on his blockbuster 

world tour. Zimmerman has previously cited Wallen as a mentor, with the Sneedville native having even co-written ‘Trainwreck’ from the 

When he heads out on the road with Morgan Wallen, Zimmerman will receive a first-hand glimpse into what it takes to become one of the biggest country stars on the planet. Given how emphatic Zimmerman’s emergence has been so far, few would be surprised to see him unveil his own world tour this time next year.

Home of all the latest news, information and coverage of Bailey Zimmerman on Holler.

Bailey

Zimmerman has enjoyed an ascent that has felt so meteoric, that he seems to have already transcended the labels of ‘prodigy’ and ‘prospect’.

Bailey Zimmerman: News, Songs & Reviews | Holler

Country artist Darius Rucker's music career started off with a very different sound. As the lead singer for the popular '90s rock band Hootie and Blowfish, he released five best-selling albums. 

Post-Hootie, Rucker released an R&B album, 2002's

, before signing to Capitol Nashville six years later and releasing his debut country album 

The first single from the album, "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" went to number one on the Hot Country Songs chart, making Rucker the first black artist to achieve that accolade since Charley Pride in 1983. He also became the first black artist to win the New Artist Award at the CMAs.

Rucker released his second, third and fourth country albums in quick succession: 2010's 

. In between those, he released the Christmas album 

won the Grammy for Best Country Solo Performance.   

In 2012, Rucker was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. 

came out in 2017. In 2018, Rucker was honored with the Gary Haber Lifting Lives Award at the ACM Awards.  

Home of all the latest news, information and coverage of Darius Rucker on Holler

Darius

Rucker was the lead singer of the popular 90's rock band Hootie & The Blowfish but later found his calling in country music.

Darius Rucker: News, Songs & Reviews | Holler

Windy City Smokeout 2023: Line-Up, Dates & Tickets | Holler

Ciara joined Holler in October 2020, before the site officially launched that December, and has since worked alongside the Editor in leading the evolution of the brand.

Work highlights include travelling to Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky to cover a multitude of festivals, producing the Holler Weekly podcast and interviewing some of the genre's biggest names. 

Interview: Charley Crockett's Good Old Days Are Just Getting Started

Review / List: Holler's Albums of the Year 2023

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Ciara

Ciara with Charley Crockett

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A handy, chronological list guide to the country music festivals taking place across the world in 2024 and 2025.

A handy, chronological list guide to the country music 

 taking place across the world in 2024 and 2025.

Windy City Smokeout 2023

READ MORE:

Zach Bryan To Headline Windy City Smokeout 2023

Windy City Smokeout 2021: The Review

Luke Bryan Announced As Final Headliner For Windy City Smokeout 2023

Bailey Zimmerman, J.R. Carroll and More Added to Thursday Line-Up for Windy City Smokeout 2023