The old saying goes that everything is bigger in Texas and Conroe festival organizers Trey Diller, Steve Said and their entire team stand behind this philosophy for the first year of their Big As Texas Music and Food Festival.

Big As Texas will take place on the Montgomery County Fairgrounds right outside of Houston from May 10-12. The weekend will feature a countless amount of non music related activities including a carnival, arts and crafts, custom hat making, a tattoo booth, live muralists, 40 musical performers, an extensive food array and on site glamping with RV’s available to rent.

“This is a festival in the truest sense of the word,” says Said. “There are so many activities and things to do and see that aren't music. We are in Texas so we tried to represent what Texas is all about.”

Said has been a music booker for over 17 years now booking bands for special events and Conroe’s Dosey Doe. He describes the massive bounce house that will be on site along with carnival games and a Ferris wheel, for people of all ages to enjoy with a contagious glee.

Said had met Diller through the thriving music scene in Conroe, designated as a “Music Friendly Community” by the Texas Music Office since 2018.

Where Said had experience with booking bands, he refers to Diller as “the festival guy” and both decided to partner for something bigger than just a regular concert and aimed for putting on “the biggest festival that's ever been done in the state of Texas,” says Said.

A huge part of their vision was also raise awareness and funds for suicide prevention.

“Something you probably don’t know about Montgomery County is with all the greatness there is to offer out here, Montgomery County sits at the top of the country in the suicide rate per capita unfortunately,” explains Diller, who lost his brother to the battle.

Though the community of Montgomery County is rich in its relationships and assistance programs for veterans, the dense concentration of people who need mental health assistance contributes to the shocking statistics as well as the sometimes limited access to jobs and growth in the area.

Diller, who is from there, describes growing up and not really being encouraged to discuss feelings or mental health and sees their festival as a way to further open up the discussions around mental health with people in the area.

“If we were going to go out big, we need a big mission behind it and we felt that that was our mission here in this county, to create something that the residents of this area look forward to year after year and want to stick around to be a part of,” says Diller.

In line with this mission, Big As Texas partnered with more than 40 nonprofits to be on site providing resources and information for visitors as well as the festival donating a portion of net profit proceeds to go towards suicide prevention efforts in their county, a vision not often seen at festivals of this size.

“I've been to major music festivals all around the country and none of them are doing it to the magnitude that we are doing it," says Diller of their cause. "The facts about Montgomery County are unfortunate, but we definitely think that this could be a staple event that people look forward to and want to be a part of and come and participate in,” says Diller.

“And that's how the idea got spurred, massaged and formed into reality,” adds Said. The reality is that Big As Texas is set to be a massive event with a very impressive lineup of artists from the country and Americana music scene to accompany all of the on site activities and attractions.

Diller and Said worked hard to create a three day lineup that not only has some heavy hitters and well known artists from the country music scene, but also a great selection of up and coming artists.
The weekend will be headlined by country music chart toppers Thomas Rhett and Clay Walker on Friday along with performances by The War Hippies, a band whose personal causes are very much in line with the festivals mission, along with Buffalo Nichols and Maddie & Tae and more kicking off the festivities.
Saturday brings some big names with performances by music legends Dwight Yoakum and Los Lobos. The day will also see bluegrass sweetheart Billy Strings take the stage and Americana badass Amanda Shires.

Then the weekend ends with performances by Dierks Bentley, Texas’ own Midland, 49 Winchester and breakout country star Morgan Wade.

Organizers have worked tirelessly not only to provide food, drinks, accommodations, entertainment and more to attendees, but have also set up a sort of bunker for their performers with all the hospitality and warmth of their small Texas town.

With a lineup of artists that are all rooted in the concept of three chords and the truth, the overall message and cause of the festival is sure to resonate from the big stages to people walking around and exploring the grounds.

Diller, Said and their whole team have curated what is sure to be a memorable weekend for attendees and hopefully an event that can be repeated in years to come as it could help Texas grow as a musical state.

“You gotta kind of dial everything in and bring out all the bells and whistles that you possibly can,” explains Diller. “We either can go kind of big and just be another festival, or we can go real big and create that staple and so we chose the latter of the two”

Big As Texas Festival will take place from May 10-12 at The Montgomery County Fairgrounds, 9333 Airport, tickets $139-249.