“This Ain't Your Grandpappy's Rodeo”: How Bulls, Bands & Barrels Is Rewriting entertainment for Rodeo in the Southeast and Beyond
For generations, rodeo in the Southeast and along the East Coast meant a county fairground, a dusty arena, and a crowd that already knew every rider's name. Bulls, Bands & Barrels (BBB) is betting that a much bigger audience is ready for the sport - if it's packaged differently. Under the leadership of founder and CEO Hunter Price, BBB has grown from a regional startup based in Opelika, Alabama - into one of the fastest-expanding western sports tours in the country, and it's using arenas typically reserved for concerts and college basketball to do it.
A New Formula: Rodeo Meets the Concert Stage
BBB's pitch is simple but has proven to be a powerful one: take the three most action-packed rodeo disciplines - bull riding, barrel racing, and freestyle bullfighting - and pair them with a live country music concert, all in a single ticketed night. Doors open, the competition runs first, and then the arena transforms into a full concert as headline country acts take the stage.
The company has leaned into a slogan that captures its whole approach: "This ain't your grandpappy's rodeo." Events are built to run about two hours of fast-paced competition, followed by a multi-artist concert, with the entire night wrapping in three and a half to four hours.
It's a model built for a broader, younger audience than traditional rodeo circuits typically draw, and it's found real traction. On its recent tours, BBB has booked some of country music's biggest rising and established names, including Jon Pardi, Braxton Keith, Riley Green, Ella Langley, Anne Wilson and BigXthaPlug, alongside elite competitors in bull riding, barrel racing, and bullfighting.
From Regional Events to Record-Breaking Sellouts
BBB has been operating since its inaugural year in 2013, but the last two years have marked a dramatic scale-up. In 2025, the tour expanded to eight weeks across multiple cities, including stops in Lexington, Kentucky; Jacksonville, Florida; and Bossier City, Louisiana. For 2026, that footprint has grown even further - 13 cities announced for just the first four months of the year, with new markets added in Duluth, Georgia; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Huntington, West Virginia; Gonzales, Louisiana; and beyond.
That growth has translated into headline-making nights. In August 2025, BBB sold out Louisiana's Laborde Earles Coliseum, setting an all-time revenue record for the venue - a building whose only two previous sellouts came when Elvis Presley performed there in the 1960s and when BBB itself brought a then-rising Zach Bryan to the venue in 2022.
"From day one, the vision was clear - bring the very best of Western sports and rising country music together in a way that's fresh, exciting, and built for the fans," Hunter Price said following the Laborde Earles sellout. "To see that vision come to life in packed arenas... is very humbling and exhilarating. This movement is about the fans, and we're just getting started."
The Man Behind the Movement
Hunter Price, BBB's founder, president, and CEO, brings a background that blends the western sports world with entertainment and business savvy. A graduate of Auburn University with a degree in agricultural economics, Price's career has included time in insurance and coaching before he turned his focus to building BBB into a national touring brand. He also founded Summit Entertainment in 2021, which now co-produces the BBB tour alongside Peachtree Entertainment, giving the company deeper production and festival-planning muscle as it scales.
Price has positioned BBB not just as an entertainment product but as a growth engine for western sports in regions where rodeo has historically had a smaller footprint, particularly the Southeast and East Coast, where BBB has increasingly targeted arenas in Georgia, the Carolinas, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Louisiana.
Pictured Left : Hunter Price / Photographer : Rebecca Beatty-Bell
Bringing Rodeo to New Ground
Traditional rodeo circuits have long been concentrated in the western and central United States. By building a touring model that fits inside NBA- and NHL-style arenas - venues like Savannah's Enmarket Arena and Reading, Pennsylvania's Santander Arena - BBB is bringing top-tier bull riding, barrel racing, and bullfighting to fans in cities that rarely, if ever, host professional western sports events.
The company has also broadened access points beyond the arena floor. Its "Behind the Chutes" VIP experience gives fans an up-close look at the athletes and the bucking chutes before the show, while its "B3 Live!" video series delivers behind-the-scenes interviews with riders, racers, and performing artists on YouTube and Spotify.
Photographer : Rowdy Roadrunner Co. / Pictured Top to Bottom - “Porkshop” Rodeo Entertainer, Bullrider, Wyatt Riddle
Backed by national sponsors including Bass Pro Shops, Boot Barn, Tito's Handmade Vodka, Busch Light, and COUNTRY Financial, BBB shows no signs of slowing its expansion. With its 2026 tour already stretching into new states and cities, and a growing lineup of country music headliners tied to each stop, Bulls, Bands & Barrels looks poised to keep introducing rodeo - its version of rodeo, anyway - to audiences who've never set foot at a fairground.
For tickets and tour dates, fans can visit BullsBandsAndBarrels.com. Bulls, Bands and Barrels is wrapping up their 2026 Tour with remaining shows in Reading, PA, Savannah, GA, Wichita, KS, Alexandria, LA, Hattiesburg, MS and their Finals in North Charleston, South Carolina. Remaining shows also including country music artists, Dylan Marlowe, The Jack Wharff Band, Avery Anna, Justin Moore, Tyler Nance, Jon Pardi, Stella Lefty - just to name a few.
Follow Bulls, Bands, and Barrels on social media for the latest news, event dates, and announcements.
Website: https://bullsbandsandbarrels.com/
Facebook: http://facebook.com/bullsbandsandbarrels
Instagram: http://instagram.com/bulls_bands_and_barrels
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bullsbandsandbarrels
Twitter: https://x.com/bullbandbarrels
Isabella Niemeyer
Founder & Editor, The Buckle Report
📧 howdyroadrunner@gmail.com
🌐 thebucklereport.com
Til next time,
