Texxas Jam was the informal nickname of an annual summer rock concert called the Texxas World Music Festival (1978–1988). It was held in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

at the Cotton Bowl, and in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, at either the

Astrodome The NRG Astrodome, formerly and also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, was the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas, United States. It seated around 50,000 fans, with a record atte ...

or the Rice Stadium on the campus of

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

. The original Texxas Jam was a three-day festival held over the Fourth of July weekend in 1978 and encompassed rock and country. Texxas Jam was created by Louis Messina, promoter of Pace Concerts in Houston, and David Krebs, manager of the rock acts Ted Nugent and Aerosmith. Krebs wanted to duplicate the music festival California Jam II (held March 18, 1978 in

Ontario, California Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County, California, United States, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, it lies ...

) in Texas. Krebs was unfamiliar with the territory, so he contacted Messina in Houston. A book, ''Texxas Jam: 1978–1988,'' was published in March 2011 covering all 11 Texxas Jams.

Artists who performed at the Texxas Jam

(Headliners marked in bold.) ;1978 (July 1) – Texxas Music Festival, Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas (General Admission – $12.50) *Blackstone (Winner of the State-Wide "Battle of the Bands" for opening slot on the 1978 Texxas Jam) * Walter Egan *

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...

(second appearance in Texas) *

Eddie Money Edward Joseph Money ( Mahoney; March 21, 1949September 13, 2019) was an American singer and songwriter who, in the 1970s and 1980s, had eleven Top 40 songs, including " Baby Hold On", " Two Tickets to Paradise", " Think I'm in Love", " Shakin' ...

Atlanta Rhythm Section Atlanta Rhythm Section (or ARS) is an American Southern rock band formed in 1970 by Rodney Justo (singer), Barry Bailey (guitar), Paul Goddard (bass), Dean Daughtry (keyboards), Robert Nix (drummer), Robert Nix (drums) and J. R. Cobb (guitar). ...

Head East Head East is an American rock band from Illinois. The band was formed by singer John Schlitt, guitarist Danny Piper, keyboardist Roger Boyd, bassist Larry Boyd, and drummer Steve Huston. They met and formed the band while John, Roger, and La ...

* Journey *

Heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...

Ted Nugent Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He goes by several nicknames, including Uncle Ted, the Nuge, and Motor City Madman. Nugent initially gained fame as the le ...

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...

* Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush *

Cheech & Chong Cheech & Chong are a comedy duo founded in Vancouver and consisting of American Cheech Marin and Canadian Tommy Chong. The duo found commercial and cultural success in the 1970s and 1980s with their stand-up routines, studio recordings, and fea ...

Notes: Ted Nugent joined Aerosmith on stage for a rousing rendition of "Milk Cow Blues". For comic relief, Cheech & Chong entertained the crowd between a couple of acts. The temperature reached 104 degrees that day (over 120 degrees on the field). To protect the Cotton Bowl, they covered the surface with black tarps. Over 100,000 people were in attendance on the hottest day of the decade. The concert had hose sprinklers around the field edge to cool people off, and they hosed the crowd down with firehoses from the stage. First aid stations were busy. This was the first southern stadium rock show since

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in Houston, Texas, in 1969. For almost 56 years, it consisted of vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard (musician), Frank Beard, and bassist-vocalist Dusty Hill prior to his death in 2021. ZZ ...

played to 80,000 people at UT Austin on September 1, 1974 and tore up the field. In the aftermath of the ZZ Top UT show there was never supposed to be another stadium rock show in Texas again, an informal prohibition that lasted all of four years. ;1978 (July 23) – Cotton Bowl Jam 2, Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas * Bob Welch * Little River Band * Steve Miller *

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1967 by the singer and guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassis ...

;1979 (June 9) – Texxas Music Festival, Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas (General Admission – $15.00) * TKO *

Sammy Hagar Sam Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose before launching a ...

Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island, New York, in the hamlet of Stony Brook, in 1967. They have sold 25 million records worldwide, including 7 million in the United States. ...

Notes: TKO was managed by the same management as Heart at the time, which is the reason for their appearance on the bill. KTXQ-FM Q-102 simulcast much of this concert throughout the day, with TKO, Hagar, Nazareth, and portions of Heart's show aired live. Van Halen's set was not broadcast. KTXQ had to unplug Heart's sound equipment for Boston's set, which they did before the band took the stage. As a result, only a portion of Heart's set was aired, the sound being broadcast from microphones placed around the Cotton Bowl. ;1979 (Sunday, August 26) – Cotton Bowl in Dallas (General Admission – $15.00) "A Farewell To A Texas Summer" Officially called "The Last Concert of the Last Weekend of the Last Summer of the Seventies". * Rush (

Permanent Waves ''Permanent Waves'' is the seventh studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on January 14, 1980 through Anthem Records. After touring to support their previous album, '' Hemispheres'' (1978), the band began working on new material for ...

"warmup" tour) *

Foghat Foghat are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1971. The band is known for the use of electric slide guitar in its music. Their best known song is the 1975 hit "Slow Ride". The band has released 17 studio albums, including ei ...

Pat Travers Patrick Henry Travers (born April 12, 1954) is a Canadian rock guitarist, singer and songwriter who began his recording career in the mid-1970s. Early life Travers was born and raised in Toronto. Soon after picking up the guitar at age 12, h ...

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts Joan Jett and the Blackhearts is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1979 as a conjunction of lead musician, singer and songwriter Joan Jett and the backup band. It has undergone many lineup changes since its inception, w ...

Billy Thorpe William Richard Thorpe AM (29 March 1946 – 28 February 2007) was an English-born Australian singer-songwriter, and record producer. As lead singer of his band Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs, he had success in the 1960s with "Blue Day", "Poison Iv ...

* Little River Band * Point Blank Note: Rush performed pre-studio versions of "The Spirit of Radio" and "Freewill". ;1980 (June 21) – Cotton Bowl in Dallas (General Admission – $16.50) *

Eagles Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band formed in Rockford, Illinois in 1970 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. Their work bridged elements of '60s pop rock, guitar pop, '70s har ...

* Foreigner *

April Wine April Wine is a Canadian rock band formed in 1969 and based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia, led by singer-guitarist-songwriter Myles Goodwyn until his death in 2023. April Wine first experienced success with their second album, ' ...

Christopher Cross Christopher Cross (born Christopher Charles Geppert; May 3, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He won five Grammy Awards for his eponymous debut album released in 1979. The singles "Sailing" (1979), and " Arthur's Theme (Best ...

Notes: Savvy was bumped at the last minute by The Eagles' management. (Show lineup confirmed by Steve Jones of Savvy.) Christopher Cross, who already didn't fit on the hard-rocking Texxas Jam stage, was resoundingly booed at the outset of "Sailing", then later cut his set short after throwing up on stage due to heat exhaustion. The Eagles refused to play at first and were an hour late going on due to issues with the 'Hard Rock' line up. ;1981 (July 18) – Astrodome in Houston (General Admission – $17.00) *

REO Speedwagon REO Speedwagon (originally stylized as R.E.O. Speedwagon), or simply REO, was an American Rock music, rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Formed in 1967, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial suc ...

*The Rockets Notes: Savvy was originally scheduled to open, but was bumped by REO Speedwagon's management (same management as The Eagles in 1980). (Show lineup confirmed by Steve Jones of Savvy.) Notes: The '81 Jam was held in Houston that year because of the intense summer heat in Texas. The promoters decided to move it indoors to the

in Houston, marking the Jam's first Houston date. The festival would be split between Dallas and Houston through 1984. ;1982 (Dallas-June 12, Houston-June 13) * Journey *

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer * Sailboat designs by W. D. Schock Corp ** Santana 20 ** Santan ...

Joan Jett Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin; September 22, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actress. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music#J, Godmother of Punk", she is regarded as a Pop icon, rock icon and ...

* Point Blank Notes: It was a hot day that day. Sammy Hagar had a guitar stolen backstage at the Cotton Bowl show; it was returned later that day. However, Hagar vowed to never play it again after it had been handled by someone else, and lit it on fire on stage. Right before Santana's set, the house music mix played their hit "Winning", the lead singer and other band members came onstage and motioned to the sound mixers to try to get the song cut off; afterwards the band did not play "Winning" during their set. Correction: Sammy's guitar was stolen from a previous Dallas show. Was recovered and Sammy held it until the Texxas Jam. Where he explained the incident and destroyed the guitar. The guitar was never set on fire. Sammy smashed the guitar onstage and threw it into the crowd. ;1982 (August) (Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX) This show was referred to as "The Super Bowl of Rock N Roll". This show was late summer & was not truly considered a Texxas Jam. * Le Roux was the warm up (beginning) act. *''

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...

'' *

Loverboy Loverboy is a Canadian Rock music, rock band formed in Calgary, Alberta in 1979. Loverboy's hit singles, particularly "Turn Me Loose (Loverboy song), Turn Me Loose" and "Working for the Weekend", have become arena rock staples and are still hear ...

* Foreigner Notes: Ozzy had a shaved head and black makeup around his eyes – from a distance, it looked like a skull. ;1983 (Dallas – June 18, Houston – June 19) *

Styx In Greek mythology, Styx (; ; lit. "Shuddering"), also called the River Styx, is a goddess and one of the rivers of the Greek Underworld. Her parents were the Titans Oceanus and Tethys, and she was the wife of the Titan Pallas and the moth ...

(Kilroy Was Here tour) *

* Triumph *

* Uriah Heep Notes: Hagar came on just before Styx at the end. Ted Nugent and Rik Emmett joined Sammy Hagar on stage in Dallas for their version of

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

's "Rock 'n Roll." Tommy Shaw recalls these shows - particularly Dallas - as being some of the worst of his career. He claims to have feared for his life as his band was performing nothing but the rock opera "Kilroy Was Here" after some of the best hard rock bands of the day had performed, combined with other factors including triple-degree temperatures and rowdy concertgoers. (This was the tour that essentially ended Styx.) ;1984 (June 8) Houston Astrodome / (June 10) Cotton Bowl in Dallas * Rush (Grace Under Pressure tour) * .38 Special (Tour de Force tour) *

(Bark at the Moon tour) *

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born November 5, 1959) is a British and Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and photographer. He is estimated to have sold between 75 million and more than 100 million album, records and Single (music), si ...

(Reckless Tour) *

Gary Moore Robert William Gary Moore (4 April 19526 February 2011) was a Northern Irish musician. Over the course of his career, he played in various groups and performed a range of music including blues, blues rock, hard rock, Heavy metal music, heavy ...

(Victims of the Future tour) Notes: Bryan Adams' drummer for this show was Matt Frenette of Loverboy. ;1985 (August 24) – Cotton Bowl in Dallas *

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...

(Perfect Strangers tour) *

Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

Night Ranger Night Ranger is an American hard rock band from San Francisco, California. The band formed in 1982 and experienced a surge of popularity during the 1980s with the release of several successful albums and hit singles. Guitarist Brad Gillis and ...

*Ted Nugent *

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...

* Grim Reaper *

Victory The term victory (from ) originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes a strategic vi ...

;1986 (July 19) *

* Dio *

* Krokus *

Keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

Bachman–Turner Overdrive Bachman–Turner Overdrive, often abbreviated BTO, is a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba, founded by three brothers: Randy Bachman, Randy, Robbie Bachman, Robbie, and Tim Bachman; along with Fred Turner (musician), Fred Turner, in 19 ...

Notes: Leslie West joined BTO on stage to perform Mountain's "Mississippi Queen." ;1987 (June 20) – Cotton Bowl in Dallas (General Admission – $20.25) *

Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1978. The group were originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their ow ...

Poison A poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to living organisms. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figurati ...

* Tesla *Farrenheit Notes: The live concert footage for Poison's video "I Won't Forget You" was filmed at this performance. The crowd seemed wild about Poison while in actuality a drunk concertgoer was on top of a lighting tower (about 30' up) trampolining on the tarp roof in nothing but a pair of blue jeans. The crowd really enjoyed him and the Dallas PD's attempt to get him safely to the ground. Also, Poison was joined onstage by Paul Stanley for their performance of KISS' "Strutter". The temperature in Dallas that day reached 104 degrees Fahrenheit, prompting many in the very crowded ground area to pass out and be lifted overhead to the indoor areas of the stadium where there were water fountains. Water from hoses was also sprayed on the concertgoers in the field. ;1988 (a.k.a. "The Monsters of Rock", July 3) – Cotton Bowl in Dallas (General Admission – $25) *

(OU812 Tour) *

(Savage Amusement tour) *

Dokken Dokken is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. It split up in 1989 and reformed four years later. The band has had several hit singles which charted on the Billboard Hot 100, such as " Alone Again", " In My Dreams", and ...

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

(Between Master of Puppets Tour and ...And Justice for All Tour). * Kingdom Come Notes: Van Halen's Sammy Hagar lost his voice after only a couple of songs. He then promised to play a free show in Dallas. A few years later, Van Halen followed through on that promise.

References

External links

Blackstone
– Blackstone Archives Site {{Historic rock festival Music festivals established in 1978 World music festivals Rock festivals in the United States Heavy metal festivals in the United States Music festivals in Texas

Artists who performed at the Texxas Jam

See also

References

External links