By LINDA CHION KENNEY
Legacy and emerging country music talent is set for the first-ever Tampa Bay Rodeo’s Bull Bash and Country Music Festival at the Hillsborough County Fairgrounds this month.
Coming on the heels of the Hillsborough County Fair, and the Tampa Bay Festival of Light’s and Santa’s Village, the Bull Bash is set to become the fourth annual rodeo event at the increasingly active fairgrounds in Dover.
The two-day event kicks off Friday, Jan. 26, and features John Michael Montgomery on the first stop of his 2024-25 farewell tour. His decades-long career launched in 1992 with the release of “Life’s a Dance.” Montgomery, in a Jan. 4 blog post, asks country music lovers to “join me on my journey as I say goodbye to the road life,” for which he says he has been “fortunate and blessed.”
Priscilla Block is the second of the two Bull Bash entertainers, set to perform Saturday, Jan. 27. In 2020 Block went viral with her Tik Tok hit, “Just About Over You,” leading to her signing with Mercury Nashville.
“We wanted a variety of music,” said Fair Manager Suzanne Holcomb about the scheduled acts. “We’re starting with more of a country legend, and ending with a rising star starting to make her way.”
As for the rodeo, it’s set to feature championship bull-riding, unlike the fair’s three other annual rodeos, in April and July and at the Hillsborough County Fair in the fall. Those rodeos include champion hopefuls as well, but also bronco-riding, barrel-racing, steer-wrestling and calf-roping.
According to Holcomb, the move for a fourth rodeo was a no-brainer. “We sold out every rodeo we’ve had, so the demand is high,” she said. “And with this month’s rodeo, we wanted to add in country music.”
It’s another expansion for the Hillsborough County Fairgrounds, run by a non-paid, 23-member volunteer board, which rents out its facilities and continues to build its annual calendar. This year’s lineup includes the Kingdom Bully Camp Dog Show (Jan. 20), Mini-Madness Goat Show (March 9), Back Porch Jam (March 16-17), Tampa Bay Construction Career Day (March 21), Coastal State Rabbit Show (May 4) and United Bikerz Jamboree (May 23-26).
Livestock shows reportedly grew in both participation and market sales at the 2023 Hillsborough County Fair.
“Our venue is becoming more well-known as it is holding more and more events throughout the year,” Holcomb said. She reported record-breaking attendance for both the 2023 Hillsborough County Fair (“just shy of 25,000 attendees”) and the 2023 Tampa Bay Festival of Lights and Santa’s Village (about “125,000 attendees”).
The 30,000-square-foot covered extension to the fair, for livestock shows and covered wash racks, has contributed to the growth of the 12-day fair over the past two years, Holcomb said. The space is used as well for rentals, including trade shows, exhibitor shows and private parties. Last year’s fair, she added, presented more than 600 exhibitors.
As for the holiday event, which ran from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Eve, attendees in car and on foot rode through more than two miles of light displays and walked through Santa’s village, complete with Santa visits, food, vendors, entertainment and more. Last year was the first year Santa’s Village was extended past Christmas, and that will continue as well in years to come, Holcomb said.
Meanwhile, to celebrate the success of last year’s fair for youth livestock exhibitors, fair officials are set to hold their first-ever Buyers Ball, Jan. 18, in light of the record-breaking numbers of market animal sales, which Holcomb said amounted to some $700,000.
“We invited all the market animal buyers to have a nice dinner, with music and entertainment, to thank them for their support,” Holbomb said. “The money goes right back to the kids; we’re just a pass-through for that.”
For more about the fair, fairground events and rentals, visit www.HillsboroughCountyFair.com/. The 2024 fair is set for Oct. 31 through Nov. 10.
Linda Chion Kenney Photos
Inside the Hillsborough County Fairgrounds office, a promotion for the first-ever Tampa Bay Rodeo’s Bull Bash and Country Music Festival is displayed.