By LINDA CHION KENNEY
Tampa Bay Rodeo’s Bull Bash Country Music Festival is set to return to the Hillsborough County Fairgrounds this month, furthering the mission of the Tampa Bay venue’s family-friendly focus.
The two-day rodeo is set to run January 17 and 18, with food and entertainment filling the time in between rodeo rounds. Headliner entertainment features Chris Janson on Friday, followed by Clay Walker on Saturday. Set to perform both nights, prior to the rodeo’s start, is the Crossfire Creek Band, a five-piece, New Country/Top 40 group based out of Clearwater.
The country-themed festival comes less than three weeks after the almost five-week run of the Tampa Bay Festival of Lights and Santa’s Village, which ended Dec. 29. The seasonal event, featuring millions of drive-through and walk-through holiday lights, opened just 18 days after the 12-day run of the Hillsborough County Fair, which ended Nov. 11.
Promotional materials for the Jan. 17-18 Bull Bash rodeo and country music festival features headliner entertainment by country music performers Chris Janson and Clay Walker.
That’s just a sampling of the major events that draw residents of south and east Hillsborough County, along with Tampa Bay and beyond, to the fairgrounds in Dover at 215 Sydney Washer Road.
To wit, “Catch the Spirit & Celebrate America” debuted in July, and for 2025 received $22,646.86 in special event matching grant funds approved by the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners. The Fourth of July festival and drone show also features craft and food vendors.
According to long-time fair attendee, participant and executive board member Betty Jo Tompkins, fair officials are driven to book events that cater to families, deepen community ties and offer top-rate entertainment at affordable prices.
“In a lot of places, fairgrounds sit silent almost all year long except for the fair, but we didn’t want to be that kind of fairgrounds,” said Tompkins, who in 2022 was named Riverview Citizen of the Year by the Greater Riverview Chamber of Commerce, now known as the Central Hillsborough County Chamber of Commerce.
“The fair board’s philosophy is that we want to bring year-round family entertainment to the fairgrounds so that the people in east and south Hillsborough County and the entire Tampa Bay area and beyond can bring out their families to clean-cut events for a nice evening out,” Tompkins said. “We want them [to] get value for their dollar because that’s an important aspect of community engagement as well.”
That’s not to say that all aspects of the two-day January event will be easy to watch, Tompkins added, as the “rough-and-tumble rodeo action” is the featured draw of the two-day event. Likewise, “the best bull riders in the region” are drawn to the rodeo, competing for the title and cash prizes to boot.
“That excitement you feel, when you see someone get out there on top of a couple-thousand-pound bull, which is thrashing about as intent as possible to throw that person as far away as possible, it really does get your blood flowing,” Tompkins said. “It’s an edge-of-the-seat activity, because you know when you’re watching it, that those bull riders really are taking a risk. This is not for the faint of heart.”
Festival hours both weekend nights are 5 to 11 p.m., with an 8 p.m. Bull Bash rodeo kickoff. Live music starts at 5:45 p.m., featuring the Crossfire Creek Band, based out of Clearwater. Headliner entertainment takes the stage nightly at intermission, approximately 9 to 10:15 p.m., followed by the final rodeo rounds to crown the winner. Before any rodeo dust kicks up, fair officials say attendees can start purchasing food and cold beer and test their skills on a mechanical bull.
The first night’s headliner, Janson, a multi-platinum songwriter and artist, is hailed as “a proud member of the Grand Ole Opry” and by Rolling Stone magazine as “a live legacy in the making.” Janson’s sentimental hit, “All I Need Is You,” in 2024 became his fifth No. 1 single on the country music charts. Top hits include as well “Buy Me A Boat” and Academy of Country Music (ACM) award winner “Drunk Girl.”
Tampa Bay Rodeo’s Bull Bash & Country Music Festival runs Jan. 17-18 at the Hillsborough County Fairgrounds in Dover.
Walker, the second night’s headliner, is known “for finding the connection between country’s timeless themes and music-of-the-moment timeliness in his music.” Career highlights include 11 chart-topping hits and 40 singles on the charts, including “If I Could Make A Living” and “She Won’t Be Lonely Long.” Diagnosed in 1996 with multiple sclerosis (MS), Walker is a passionate advocate and fundraiser for MS research and awareness, through the nonprofit he founded in 2003, Band Against MS (BAMS).
Tampa Bay Rodeo’s Bull Bash and Country Music Festival is a rain-or-shine event, “or unless there is a specific danger to the public or to our cast in attendance.” Information about cancelled or postponed performances will be posted to the fair’s web site and social media pages.
For more about the event, including pricing and special seating for people with disabilities, visit www.hillsboroughcountyfair.com/. Visit also www.TampaRodeo.com/. Parking opens at 4 p.m. at the Hillsborough County Fairgrounds in Dover at 215 Sydney Washer Road.