Page 36 - Abilene Living

As festival goers watched from tailgates and lawn chairs, the stage lights flled the mesquite trees and illuminated a sea of cowboy hats. Around 6,000 fans of Texas country music flled the Lytle Bend Ranch for the frst ever Outlaws and Legends Music Festival on March 5. The event was labeled as the largest one day, one stage music festival in the state with over ffteen acts.

“We sold 3,100 tickets, and that includes everything through the tailgate and RV packages,” said Kevin Darby, one of the organizers of the festival. “But we gave away a lot of free tickets as well for promotions. We had about 6,000 people that day…We couldn't be happier with that.”

The weather for the event wasn’t ideal with heavy wind and temperatures in the 40’s. But no amount of West Texas wind was going to blow away the faithful fans that continually flled the parking lot throughout the day. They were prepared with make-shift shelters in the tailgate areas and plenty of extra layers to add as the sun went down and the music played into the night.

“The whole purpose is to bring entertainment to Abilene that normally you don't see or have to go see in the Metroplex,” Darby said. “We're already lining up acts for next year. We'll still work with some of the same artists, but we're trying to bring in someone like a Merle Haggard or Kris Kristofferson…