Texas Music News — September 18, 2026
Leon Bridges just announced a 2027 Australian tour. It’s also timed to the final chapter of his Fort Worth-rooted album, Happiness Anytime. The run marks his seventh visit to Australia, and it opens February 26 at the Sydney Opera House Forecourt. From there, he plays Brisbane, Fremantle, the WOMADelaide Festival, and Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens. Tickets go on sale September 24, after a presale the day before.
Leon Bridges grew up in Fort Worth, where he waited tables before music ever paid the bills. Then his 2015 debut, Coming Home, introduced a vintage soul sound straight off a dusty 45. Now, a decade later, he’s still chasing that same warmth, just with a bigger passport stamp collection.
The new dates support Part Three of Happiness Anytime, due out September 25. Parts One and Two already leaned on Coming Home, but this closer also pulls in his Khruangbin collaborations. J Lloyd-Watson and Lydia Kitto of the British trio Jungle helped shape it. “For me, happiness is not a feeling that you chase,” Bridges said. “I want this album to be something that lingers with people and lingers in people’s bones.”
Leon Bridges Takes That Fort Worth Sound Global
That lingering quality is exactly what’s carried Bridges from waiting tables to opera houses. “I’m always excited to get back to Australia,” he said. “I’ve had some really special moments there over the years, and I’m looking forward to returning and sharing this party with everyone.” Fort Worth raised him, but the world keeps finding reasons to invite him back.
Details at Rolling Stone Australia
More Texas Music News
Turnpike Troubadours and Zach Bryan may finally be teaming up on a song. The Red Dirt mainstays tour Texas as hard as anywhere. This week, they also posted studio photos of frontman Evan Felker alongside Bryan. Their caption read only “ZB & TT.” But they set it to Bryan’s 2023 single “East Side of Sorrow,” a song that already name-checks Turnpike’s own reunion. There’s no release date yet, but the pairing has been years in the making. Details at Whiskey Riff
Cody Johnson turned 17,000 fan videos into one music video. The Sebastopol, Texas, native asked fans for their favorite memories two weeks ago. The best clips would then land in his “Take Me Back (Leave Me There)” video. The result mixes proposals, gender reveals, and rodeo runs from CoJo Nation into a single crowd-built clip. Details at Holler
Willie Nelson headlines Farm Aid’s first-ever stop in Virginia Beach on September 26. The Abbott, Texas, native and Farm Aid cofounder shares the bill with Neil Young and John Mellencamp. Turnpike Troubadours, familiar faces on the Texas scene, are joining too. “Family farmers grow our food and strengthen our communities,” Nelson said, “and when farmers struggle like they are now, communities feel it too.” Details at Billboard