Cotton Fest has become a can’t miss event for country music lovers and proud West Texans alike. Under neon lights at Cook’s Garage, thousands of people come together to listen to music, dance and enjoy summer nights in Lubbock, Texas.
Created by William Clark Green, a 2011 agricultural and applied economics graduate from Texas Tech University, the music festival is more than a big party. It stands for something bigger, helping give back to the farmers who keep this land thriving.
“I really wanted to create a festival that not only the town could be proud of, but also a communal event that isn’t just for college kids,” Green said.
Established in 2018 and held annually in Lubbock, Texas, Cotton Fest brings together a lineup of country artists, many of whom were discovered in West Texas. The event’s proceeds also help benefit the High Cotton Relief Fund, Green’s passion project, providing assistance to West Texas farmers facing hardships. Through Cotton Fest and the High Cotton Relief Fund, Green found a way to give back to the communities that helped impact his life.
The fund helps local farmers and their families with needs for things such as stripping, medical expenses, funeral expenses and other things that can impact them every day. Coty Isbell has seen both sides of the relief fund, being a board member, as well as a beneficiary of the relief fund.
Coty Isbell
Isbell grew up in O’Donnell, Texas, and has been involved in the agricultural industry since he was a kid. After graduating high school, Isbell went to South Plains College, but later transferred to the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at Texas Tech where he met Green.
Green and Isbell always stayed in touch after graduating from college and once he moved back to Lubbock from a previous job, Isbell helped him out with Cotton Fest and The High Cotton Relief Fund. The first major event he assisted with was the Eastland fires, helping gather supplies and sending truckloads of cubes, barbed wire and t-posts.
“[Green] asked if we would actually be on the committee or the board and be more a part of where some of this money goes and the people that it goes to help,” Isbell said.
Isbell helps the relief fund by keeping an eye out for when something happens in the agricultural industry, when tragedy strikes families and what families need to be helped. They work with the funeral directors, families of loved ones that have been lost and families of people going through cancer treatments. However, in March 2023, Isbell would receive some unfortunate news.
After hearing this news, Green knew he had to do something to help relieve any financial stresses him and his family would face. Through the fund, they were able to cover about eight months of Isbell’s mortgage payment so his only worry would be to get better. Friends and family also put on a large benefit for him at Cook’s Garage to raise money and Green played the event for free. This has been the case for a lot of people who have benefited from the relief fund.
“It’s also hard a lot of times to get [beneficiaries] to accept help,” Isbell said. “[They’re] very independent people, so a lot of times, we have to call and say, ‘hey, we’re doing this. I don’t care if you want it or not, it’s coming and we just have to do it because they’re such prideful people that don’t accept help a lot of times, but they’re always also extremely grateful people.’”
The High Cotton Relief Fund has had a major impact on not only Green and Isbell’s lives, but the lives of all the families they have helped. Their goal isn’t to seek glorification or praise for what they do, but to simply lend a helping hand to those who need it.
“We have to give back, because the fact that God left us here for a purpose and put us in this place for a reason, we need to make sure we do something with it,” Isbell said.
Texas Born and Raised
Although Green isn’t from West Texas, his impact in the community doesn’t go unnoticed. He was originally born in Tyler, Texas, and raised in Flint for the first 12 years of his life. From there, he moved to College Station for middle school and high school, where he learned how to play guitar by taking lessons at his church. Following his high school graduation, he moved to Amarillo and worked at a feedlot that summer with no aspirations of going to college. When that summertime job ended, he decided to pursue an education and enrolled at South Plains College in 2004. After a year at South Plains College, he decided to transfer to Texas Tech University, but he never stopped his love for playing guitar.
“It was pretty much a distraction from studying,” Green said. “I mean it was something that I always did, especially when I moved to College Station. I just wrote and played songs.”
Becoming an Artist
Green’s love for music grew more during his time at Texas Tech, where he focused on his songwriting skills and became a mainstay in the West Texas music scene. As a student, he balanced his academic studies with late night gigs at local venues. Green’s roommate, Travis Pace, had a residency at the Recovery Room, which was a bar at the Lubbock Inn. Pace played every Monday night and when he realized Green also played guitar, that led them to start playing gigs together for three years.
When Green turned 21, he started going to The Blue Light Live Songwriter Nights where he met Josh Abbott and Charlie Shafter. Soon after, he and Charlie took over Josh Abbott’s residency. Green continued to do this for a few years, as it slowly evolved into a career.
“It wasn’t really something that I thought was possible to do as a career,” Green said. “But the more I got involved in it and the harder I worked at it; I realized that maybe I could be one of the lucky ones to make it.”
Aside from being an aspiring artist living in West Texas, what brought Green to Lubbock in the first place was his academic goals. He was enrolled in the Davis College, pursuing a degree in agricultural economics because of his interests in farming, ranching and banking. Although he was working towards a degree, music was still his greater desire.
“I loved my time at Texas Tech, and I don’t think I’d have a career without it, but I was not the best student,” Green said. “I was not the one that showed up to class every day. I was doing grade replacements for my last year in college just to get my GPA up, and I was touring at the time as well.”
Green spent nearly as much time playing open mic nights and gigs as he did studying, recording his first album in 2008 while balancing school. However, Green did end up graduating from Texas Tech in 2011, but not in the way he expected. During a meeting with the Dean of the Davis College trying to work out his registration for classes, she told him there was a mistake in the office, he was actually set to graduate that week. Green called his mom and explained the good news, but since the announcement of graduation was so late, Green wouldn’t be able to walk the stage. He already had a gig booked at the Golden Light, so he just picked up his diploma from the university.
After graduating, Green focused on his passion and went headfirst into the Texas music scene, building a fanbase through touring and songwriting. His breakthrough album, Rose Queen (2013), put him on the map with hits such as “She Likes the Beatles” and “It’s About Time.” His other albums, including Ringling Road and Baker Hotel, helped create his legacy in Texas country music.
I loved my time at Texas Tech, and I don’t think I’d have a career without it.
William Clark Green
From Street Party to Music Festival
Despite his growing fame, Green never forgot about West Texas. He had the idea of creating a music festival in Lubbock after contributing to the re-establishment of The Blue Light Live Street Party, originally started by the Hogg Maulies on the back of a gooseneck trailer. The event would shut down the entire street in front of The Blue Light, bringing in a stage, a well-rounded lineup and a crowd of concert goers. Green and the owners of Blue Light decided to bring back the street festival and made it what it is today, inviting artists like Flatland Cavalry, Koe Wetzel, Kaitlin Butts and more.
However, after its return, Green realized it was becoming hard to manage, and more people were wanting to attend than the venue could hold. People were waiting in line for hours and Green knew he had to scale, so it was decided to look around Lubbock for property to buy and the idea of Cotton Fest was created.
Green came back to town scouting for properties and was at The Blue Light Live when he ran into his friend, Trevor Cook. He told him about his plan to find property to start up his music festival in Lubbock, where there would be more room and people could camp out, similar to Larry Joe Taylor Fest in Stephenville, Texas. That’s when Cook gave him an idea.
“Trevor told me I needed to come check out his uncle’s place, and I didn’t really think anything of it,” Green said. “He showed me around the next day, and I was like, ‘This place is perfect.’”
Cotton Fest and The High Cotton Relief Fund
Cotton Fest was the first ever show to take place in what is now known as Cook’s Garage. A stage was brought in for the event and camping was offered. In its first year, nearly 3,500 people came to the one-day festival. Because of the festival’s success, Cook’s Garage built a permanent stage, which made it the largest music venue in Lubbock.
“I really wanted to create a festival that not only the town could be proud of, but also a communal event that isn’t just for college kids,” Green said.
The year following the first festival, Green’s friend Jordan Dorset, a New Home cotton farmer, suggested the festival could be a way to support the region’s largest agricultural commodity. Dorset parked his cotton strippers next to the stage to create ambience at Cotton Fest. The third year, Green started the High Cotton Relief Fund. They raised money from the golf tournament on Tuesday and the VIP night on Thursday.
“We’ve helped out a lot of people, and it’s really been a passion project for me,” Green said. “We’ve raised quite a bit of money and helped out a lot of people and I’m proud to say that over 90% of the money donated goes back into the community to help out farmers and ranchers.”
The High Cotton Relief Fund consists of 10 members from local areas with connections and knowledge in the cotton and farming industries. West Texas accounts for the majority of cotton produced in the state, while Texas produces 40% of the U.S.’s cotton crop. The fund has raised more than $2.25 million since its establishment in 2018.
Cotton Fest’s Development
As Cotton Fest has grown, they have added mutton busting, goat roping, a mechanical bull, Lubbock local vendors, food trucks and more. The goal is to try and make sure younger kids, the college crowd, adults and older can all enjoy the events they offer. Another goal Green has is to make Cotton Fest similar to South by Southwest, hosted in Austin, Texas, where they can obtain more Lubbock local music venues and make it a weeklong music festival.
“Every year we try to add something that makes it better, and we try to invest back into the festival,” Green said. “From day one, the goal was to make it a communal event.”
Over the years, Cotton Fest has grown in reputation, and is now a three-day event, attracting thousands of attendees who come for the music, but stay for the fellowship. Each year, the festival lineup features several aspiring artists, rising stars and well-known country singers. Some of the past performers even attended Texas Tech including The Panhandlers, Josh Abbott Band, Slade Coulter, Hudson Westbrook and Randall King. There were also many performing artists who have seen both sides of Cotton Fest, transitioning from attendees to performers.
“We had Treaty Oak Revival last year which was awesome to have those guys,” Green said. “Two years before that, they were at Cotton Fest as fans, so to watch a band as fans in front of the stage cheering everybody on to being one of the biggest acts that’s ever played Cotton Fest, is such a cool thing.”
Plans for the Future
Cotton Fest 2024 continued the tradition with record breaking crowds of over 7,500 people a day in attendance. Bringing in headliners like Treaty Oak Revival, Red Clay Strays and Slade Coulter kept the festival energy going, while attendees were cheering from the crowd.
Looking ahead, Green promises Cotton Fest 2025 to be even bigger, with attendance up to 10,000 people each day and performers such as Muscadine Bloodline, Randy Rogers Band and Green himself. As the festival continues to grow, its mission remains the same, supporting farmers, gathering a community and creating an unforgettable weekend of music.
For fans of Texas country, Cotton Fest isn’t just a concert, it’s a gathering. As long as there’s country music and cotton in West Texas, William Clark Green’s Cotton Fest will continue to be a must attend event for years to come. Today, Green continues to push the boundaries of Texas country, blending tradition with innovation. Whether he’s playing sold out shows, writing songs about life’s highs and lows, or giving back to the community that shaped him, one thing is clear, his heart will always belong to Texas.
“You know, this is our deal, this is what we do,” Green said. “This is our festival, and that’s the goal, and those are the super proud moments for me.”
Additional reporting and photos by McKenna Marchant, Chloe Jones, and Jill Reding
