Billy Dean headlines Jimmy Dean Music and Arts Festival
Provided by Wayland Baptist University
PLAINVIEW – The Jimmy Dean Music and Arts Festival welcomes Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Billy Dean as the kickoff concert for the annual festival. Tickets are $35 in advance.
Billy Dean won both song of the year and new male vocalist in 1992 and had several hit songs in the early 1990s including “Only Here for a Little While,” “Somewhere in My Broken Heart,” “If There Hadn’t Been You,” and his nostalgic hit “Billy The Kid.” Dean is currently working on new music inspired by his love for his home state of Florida. That music is scheduled for release later this summer.
His performance at the festival is set for Friday night, September 16, with Floydada, Texas native Jason Nutt opening. The concert will take place inside the newly remodeled Harral Memorial Auditorium on the Wayland Baptist University Campus in Plainview, Texas – the hometown of Jimmy Dean.
The 2nd annual festival features arts and crafts vendors along with food trucks from around West Texas on Saturday, September 17, from 9am to 4pm. The festival will be inside the Laney Activities Center on the WBU campus.
“We’re trying to surpass the great event last year with our concert, vendors and food trucks,” said Gary Vaughn, marketing director for the festival. “People are really going to love this year’s variety. Plus, we heard lots of feedback about moving it indoors – so we moved the event to our indoor venues.”
The festival will be fun for families with arts and crafts vendors and bounce houses for the kids. Food trucks will be on hand selling their specialties to the crowds during the festival hours. Other local musicians are being recruited for the arts and crafts portion of the festival.
“We want this event to continue to grow and honor our favorite hometown entrepreneur Jimmy Dean, who was instrumental in helping many musicians get their start in the 50s and 60s,” Vaughn said. “This will help local artists and bring tourism to both Plainview and to Jimmy’s museum.”
The Jimmy Dean Museum was built on the Wayland Baptist University campus with a gift from Donna Dean out of her desire to keep her late husband’s legend alive. The museum opened in 2016 and is free to attend because “that’s what Jimmy wanted.” The mission of the festival is to share his rags-to-riches rise to fame and to champion his entrepreneurial spirit.
“Jimmy was more than a musician and sausage king,” Vaughn added. “He was an entertainer and he understood branding before it was cool. He was wise enough to diversify his career, which paid dividends for him and made him a household name. It’s all showcased in his incredible museum.”
Jimmy may be best known for his breakfast sausage, but his signature song is “Big Bad John.” As is tradition for the festival, Billy Dean, who is not related to Jimmy, will perform his version of the radio classic.
Details regarding concert tickets, food truck and vendor applications, and event times are available at the museum website.
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