Severe weather forces evacuation of Windy City Smokeout
CHICAGO - Windy City Smokeout was jamming before severe weather spoiled the fun on Friday.
At some point in the night, festival officials announced over the speakers that guests had to leave immediately due to storms barreling down on the city.
But before the evacuation, Chicago was having a great time — and if you don't think there are country music fans here in the big city, you would be wrong.
Thousands packed the parking lot outside the United Center for the 10th Windy City Smokeout Friday night for headliner Darius Rucker.
"Back to see Darius Rucker, by way of Palatine, so excited to be here," said one attendee.
They came for the barbeque, the country music, and they came dressed the part!
"This is her shirt, my friend's cowboy boots, I ordered this [cowboy hat] on Amazon like two days ago. It's very last-minute, but I'm so glad I'm here. It's great!" said one attendee. "We're city girls trying to get our country on."
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It's the 10th edition of the Windy City Smokeout, dubbed the nation's premiere outdoor country music and barbeque festival, and once again it did not disappoint.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JULY 13: General atmosphere seen during the Windy City Smokeout at the United Center on July 13, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
"I've wanted to go every year for the last five years, this is my first year and I'm so excited that I came," said one Darius Rucker fan.
"Darius Rucker keeps me coming back. The barbeque's great. The drink's great. Being out in the city of Chicago with the people is great, too." said another fan.
"The cool thing about this event is you have people from all throughout the United States," said Scott Holmes, owner of Little Miss BBQ, Phoenix, AZ. "So you see all these different styles and people showing off different things from what they do."
Holmes was one of a couple dozen pitmasters from all around America serving their finest smoked meats just steps away from the concert stage.
Windy City Smokeout runs through Sunday. Luke Bryan headlines Saturday night and on Sunday, it's the Zac Brown Band.