The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo proved to be more successful than ever in its 80th year: The all-time record for paid attendance was broken with 1,283,419 paying to attend the three-week event, breaking a mark set in 2010. The total attendance of 2,257,970 visitors on the show's grounds ranks recond all time.

The World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest upped the ante early on with record attendance (260,033 over three days), but a daily carnival, a jam-packed rodeo schedule and an unforgettable lineup of musical performers ensured full crowds nightly for the remainder of RodeoHouston.

"The main things were improvements in terms of presentation," Skip Wagner, RodeoHouston president and CEO, told CultureMap. "We enhanced sound in the stadium, which we know makes a big difference."

Three shows — Jason Aldean's RodeoHouston performance on March 15, Duelo and La Original Banda El Limón on March 11 and The Band Perry on March 14 — drew more than 74,241 fans each, earning them all spots among the Top 10 Rodeo-attended concerts of all time.

Neither spring break travels nor St. Patrick's Day festivities could keep fans away from Reliant — the Saturday crowd set a single night total-attendance record of 153,159, with 73,757 attendees venturing inside of the stadium for the Brad Paisley concert.

With all of these records, how can RodeoHouston 2012 be topped?

"Next year, you can expect to see continued fine-tuning," Wagner said, specifically mentioning expansions to the horticulture program, horse shows and ranch and wildlife exhibits.