2023 College Football Season To Get First-Ever Country Music Kickoff
on Jul 13, 2023 • Updated Jan 15, 2025
The first annual Sugar Bowl Country Kickoff is a brand new event intended to celebrate the beginning of the 2023 college football season with music and entertainment.
This event presented by the Louisiana Office of Tourism will be held at the Ceasars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on September 2, 2023.
There are several different festivities scheduled to take place for the Sugar Bowl Country Kickoff including a football-themed interactive experience called Tailgate Town that will showcase up-and-coming musicians. Tailgate Town will also present special college football and amateur sports spotlights, sponsor activations, and other activities leading up to the performance by the main act, Garth Brooks, and openers Lainey Wilson and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Lainey Wilson, a Louisiana native, has recently made a name for herself in the country music world.
Lainey posted on Instagram about the event sharing her excitement.
“Well, hot dang y’all…
I’m joining the one and only Garth Brooks in my home state of Louisiana at Caesars Superdome on Sep. 2 for the Sugar Bowl Country Kickoff!”
View this post on Instagram
“Tickets go on sale July 21 at 10am CT. Y’all get ready! ⚜️”
You can buy tickets HERE.
Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser said:
“We are excited to have not just Garth Brooks in the Superdome, but also our very own Louisiana Music Ambassador and Louisiana native Lainey Wilson. She rocked the world with us on our float in the Rose Parade and we know she will get the crowd rocking to welcome Garth to the stage in New Orleans. This lineup has all the makings of a great Louisiana Saturday night.”
Garth is honored to be headlining this new event. The “Friends In Low Places” singer said, “Being asked to be part of the first ever Sugar Bowl Country Kickoff is an honor. The fun will be in getting to perform with Legends Nitty Gritty and future legend Miss Wilson in front of arguably the greatest country music fans on the planet. Any trip to Louisiana is a guaranteed good time, so PLEASE count me in!”
This event is raising money to help numerous community programs including the New Orleans Teacher Collective, and the aid of existing scholarship programs and youth events the Sugar Bowl supports every year.
Richard Briede, the President of the Sugar Bowl, stated:
“The Sugar Bowl Committee is always looking at ways to bring first-rate entertainment that will drive tourism in Louisiana. While efforts have traditionally focused on sporting events, Russell Doussan and the Doussan Music Group have provided us the opportunity to add great music, another hallmark of the state, to the Sugar Bowl repertoire as we start a new football season. The Sugar Bowl is particularly pleased that proceeds from the event will help support the work our organization is doing in the community.”
