F’nAround’s First Look at Windy City Smokeout 2026
F’nAround’s First Look at Windy City Smokeout 2026
For the first time, F’nAround is heading into the country music festival scene.
We’ve covered music, cannabis, restaurants, food festivals, community events, technology expos, alcohol, sporting events, and just about everything else we’ve managed to stumble into. But this marks our first major dive into one of the Chicago’s biggest country music festivals, and we’re excited to see what all the hype is about.
Before we spend five days walking the grounds, eating entirely too much barbecue, listening to live music, and bringing you our full review, we wanted to give everyone a preview of what makes Windy City Smokeout one of Chicago’s signature summer events.
What is Windy City Smokeout?
Windy City Smokeout returns July 8-12, 2026, just outside the United Center at Lot C, 1901 W. Madison Street in Chicago. Since launching in 2013, the festival has grown from a relatively small barbecue gathering into one of the nation’s premier country music and barbecue festivals, attracting visitors from across the United States. The event moved to the United Center in 2019 as attendance continued to grow and now spans five days for the first time in festival history.
The festival is produced by Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants and co-founded by Ed Warm, whose booking work has helped turn Smokeout into one of the biggest stops on the country music calendar.
An Award-Winning Festival
Windy City Smokeout isn’t just popular, it has the hardware to prove it.
The festival has been named the Academy of Country Music Festival of the Year twice, winning in both 2022 and 2024. It has become nationally recognized for bringing together some of country music’s biggest artists alongside more than twenty celebrated pitmasters from around North America.
More Than Just Music
What separates Windy City Smokeout from most music festivals is that the food is just as much of the attraction as the artists.
Instead of typical festival food, some of the most respected barbecue restaurants in America travel to Chicago for one weekend, each serving signature dishes you often can’t find anywhere outside their home cities.
This year’s lineup features an incredible mix of Texas, Kansas City, Memphis, Chicago, Arkansas, Mississippi, Colorado, Connecticut, Arizona, Virginia and beyond.
Windy City Smokeout Food Vendors Lineup
ZZQ Texas Craft BBQ (Richmond, Virginia)
Pit Beef Sandwich
Smoked Pulled Lamb with Mint Salsa
Terry Black’s Barbecue (Austin, Texas)
Smoked Jumbo Beef Rib
Chopped Beef Sandwich
Blake’s at Southern Milling (Martin, Tennessee)
Maple Bourbon Smoked Pork Ribeye
Hot Honey Smoked Cream Cheese & Crackers
G-Que BBQ (Westminster, Colorado)
Dry Rub Chicken Wings
Peach Bourbon Pork Belly Burnt Ends
Wright’s Barbecue (Johnson, Arkansas)
Miso Hot Honey Bacon Burnt Ends
Smoked Prime Brisket
Dayne’s Craft Barbecue (Fort Worth, Texas)
Slow Smoked Brisket
Chocolate Lasagna
Hurtado Barbecue (Arlington, Texas)
Elite Chicken Wings
Al Pastor Pork Belly Fried Rice
Panther City BBQ (Fort Worth, Texas)
Smoked Texas Brisket
Smoked Brisket Elotes
Pappy’s Smokehouse (St. Louis, Missouri)
Ribs
Pulled Pork Frito Pie
Smoque BBQ (Chicago, Illinois)
Crispy Brisket Tacos
Texas Beef Dip Sandwich
Little Miss BBQ (Phoenix, Arizona)
Smoked Prime Brisket
Brisket & Pulled Pork Green Chili Burrito
Lexington Betty Smokehouse (Chicago, Illinois)
St. Louis Spare Rib
Brisket Queso Nachos
Sugarfire Smokehouse (St. Louis, Missouri)
Ribs
Beef Tacos
Meat Mitch Barbecue (Kansas City, Kansas)
Kansas City Brisket Burnt Ends
Jalapeño Cheddar Rope Sausage
Ubon’s BBQ (Yazoo City, Mississippi)
Pulled Pork Sandwich
Fried Dill Pickles with Comeback Sauce
Green Street Smoked Meats (Chicago, Illinois)
Sweet & Tangy Glazed Pork Belly
Brisket Philly Cheesesteak Nachos
Hoodoo Brown BBQ (Ridgefield, Connecticut)
Beef Cheek Poutine
Beef Birria Sausage Sandwich
Hogapalooza (Wynne, Arkansas)
Slow Smoked Pulled Pork Sandwich
Pulled Pork Nachos
Operation BBQ Relief (Peculiar, Missouri)
Pulled Pork Sliders
Smoked Sausage Sandwich
Chef Art Smith’s Reunion (Chicago, Illinois)
Sticky Biscuit Chicken Sandwich
Chicken Tenders with Hot Honey & Spicy Mayo
Soul & Smoke (Evanston, Illinois)
Smoked Rib Tips
Brown Butter Cornbread Muffin
Bub City (Chicago, Illinois)
Prime Chopped Brisket Sandwich
Heritage Pulled Pork Sandwich
Mac & Cheese
BBQ Mac & Cheese
2026 Windy City Smokeout Music Lineup
Wednesday • July 8
Sterling Elza 5:15 PM
Braxton Keith 6:25 PM
Treaty Oak Revival 8:00 PM
Thursday • July 9
Karley Scott Collins 3:30 PM
Noeline Hofmann 4:25 PM
Ghost Hounds 5:30 PM
Scotty McCreery 6:50 PM
Hootie & The Blowfish 8:25 PM
Friday • July 10
Chandler Walters 3:00 PM
Mackenzie Carpenter 4:00 PM
Vincent Mason 5:10 PM
Hudson Westbrook 6:50 PM
Lainey Wilson 8:30 PM
Saturday • July 11
Alexis Wilkins 2:30 PM
Blake Whiten 3:30 PM
Tyler Hubbard 4:45 PM
Russell Dickerson 6:30 PM
Jordan Davis 8:20 PM
Sunday • July 12
Tyler Nance 2:25 PM
Carter Faith 3:30 PM
George Birge 4:45 PM
Warren Zeiders 6:10 PM
Blake Shelton 8:00 PM
Festival Hours
Wednesday, July 8: 2:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Thursday, July 9: 2:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Friday, July 10: 2:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Saturday, July 11: 1:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Sunday, July 12: 1:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Stay tuned because this is only the beginning.
Over the next several days we’ll be walking the festival grounds, trying barbecue from across the country, checking out the artists, exploring the vendors, talking with fans, and seeing whether Windy City Smokeout truly lives up to its reputation as one of America’s premier country music and barbecue festivals.
We’ll let you know exactly what we think.
We’ve been to Windy City Smokeout before.
We’ve enjoyed the food, the music, the atmosphere, and the people. We’ve made great memories here.
But this year is different.
This isn’t just another weekend out for us, it’s our first time attending as credentialed media.
That means we’re showing up with fresh eyes. We’re not here simply reliving great memories or assuming everything is as good as we remember. We’re here to experience it like journalists: paying attention to what works, what could be better, and what makes Windy City Smokeout one of the country’s premier festivals.
If it’s amazing, we’ll tell you why.
If something misses the mark, we’ll tell you that too.
Either way, you’re getting our honest experience, not our nostalgia.
See you at Smokeout.
