Ken's Rodeo wrap-up
Ken Hoffman knows the real reasons RodeoHouston had a record-breaking year
The Rodeo had a great year.
No argument here, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo had a rollicking, super-successful year:
The event drew 2,553,185 over 23 days. That’s the second-largest attendance ever, and the most since Covid knocked out the Rodeo in 2020 and 2021. The No. 1 all-time attendance was 2,611,176 in 2017, coincidentally the year the Astros won their first World Series.
The World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest, held the weekend before the Rodeo, attracted a record 234,456 brisket-loving people. The previous mark was 226,369 in that championship season 2017.
Concerts broke the Rodeo’s single-night attendance figure – twice. First Los Tigres Del Norte drew 75,595 fans on Go Tejano Day. Then the Jonas Brothers squeaked by that figure by packing 75,600 fans into NRG Stadium.
Woozey, the grand champion steer, sold for a beefy $1 million, tying the all-time record set by Vanilla Ice (a steer, not the rapper) in 2022.
Sorry, Mr. Boleman
But you didn’t need to crunch the numbers to know the Rodeo was setting all kinds of records this year. You could feel it by walking the crowded NRG Park grounds, by waiting in line an extra minute or two for your turkey leg, by hearing the squeals from daring teens on the new Joker 360 thrill ride on the Carnival midway, by the roar of the crowd when Blake Shelton introduced his wife Gwen Stefani to join him on “Nobody But You.”
But I do have an argument with Rodeo officials as for the reason why this year’s event was so popular. Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo president and CEO Chris Boleman first and foremost credited the lineup of concert performers.
He told KHOU-TV, “By offering an original entertainment lineup with 10 new musical acts … the 2024 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo drew more than 2.5 million visitors to take part in our community celebration of western heritage.”
Most people I know, and most comments I heard, thought the entertainment lineup was the weakest in years, dotted with relative newcomers and veterans who’ve maybe been at the Rodeo a couple too many times. The list of headliners included Carly Pearce, For King and Country, Major Lazer, Oliver Anthony, Whiskey Myers, Hardy, and Ivan Cornejo among better known artists at the top of their game like Blake Shelton, Bun B, Los Tigres del Norte, Jonas Brothers, Luke Bryan, 50 Cent, and Zac Brown Band. New artists generally don’t get to perform in football stadiums in front of 70,000-plus fans. Same for veterans on the other side of the mountain.
Not one entertainer at this year’s Rodeo finished on Billboard’s list of the 40 biggest-drawing concert performers in 2023. As one concert promoter told me, “many of these performers are my opening acts.”
Interesting to note, of the top five drawing acts at the Rodeo this year: Jonas Brothers (75,600), Los Tigres del Norte (75,595), Nickelback (75,036), Bun B’s All-American Takeover (75,005), and Lainey Wilson (74,940) – only Wilson falls into the category of traditional “western heritage.” This ain’t your grandpaw’s Rodeo no more.
Secrets of the Rodeo's success
So if not the concert lineup, how do I explain the wild success of this year’s Rodeo?
First, the weather was spectacular for the first 20 days of the Rodeo’s 23-day run. The final weekend was dreary and damp but by then the record-setting numbers were set in stone. The afternoon of March 15, whipping winds, lightning, and tsunami-like rain swept over the NRG Park grounds forcing the carnival to shut down for a short while. Resilient Rodeo fans were undaunted and kept pouring through the gates. That night the Jonas Brothers broke the all-time concert attendance record.
But the biggest reason for the Rodeo’s triumph this year – Houstonians are feeling good about themselves and their city. Houston’s economy is strong, our sports teams are exciting and winning like crazy. There’s a sense of pride and confidence that Houston is a pretty darn nice place to live. So pack up the kids, let’s head to the Rodeo! I heard that the Rodeo’s bottom line was up 5 percent over last year.
Credit either the White House or the State Capital for Houstonians’ good time feeling in 2024, but we were ripe for a party and the Rodeo delivered world class and still relatively affordable fun. Perhaps I was as Woozey as the million-dollar steer, but those turkey legs were particularly delicious this year.
