“We do anything we can to keep kids playing music and keep live music alive.”
We’re a perfect facility [for hosting benefits and the like] because we have different areas. It’s a large enough facility that we’ve got sections where you can be over here, but you can still see and hear everything when the band’s playing. If it’s a class reunion or something, there are enough sections where people can be out of the mix but still within the same facility.
I’ve been playing music forever and we’re all charitable guys and understand that needs come up, and they seem to come up daily now. [The Backyard is] just a good facility for that because of the room. We can allow an event to go on (on the stage) and still function. We’re large enough that we can still be open for business.
And my goodness. I’ve been playing with McLennan Community College (MCC) musicians forever. I’ve been [playing music] for 40 years now, and there always seems to be an infinite well of great musicians that I’ve been able to work with at MCC. Being friends with Josh [Barnard, local musician and music teacher] and all those guys wanting new kids to play, we do anything we can to keep kids playing music and keep live music alive. We have the built-in sound system, the built-in stage. We’ve got everything you need to make it easy. It’s just the perfect place for it. It’s the community aspect that we love.
[Why The Backyard has been voted best live music venue] is kind of complex. The way it’s laid out, for one, it’s a panoramic kind of aspect. Even if you’re in the back, you’re only about 40 or 50 feet from the stage. So, it’s a good viewpoint from everywhere. And we’re always putting money back into it, like the digital screen and the lighting. During Dallas Cowboy games, we’ve got dry spark machines, which shoot out sparks that aren’t flammable, and we’ve got the CO2 canisters [that produce cold fog]. Then there’s the diversity of the artists we bring in and try to keep it affordable. And you’re not going to have trouble parking.The biggest price tag we had prior to Snoop and Nelly was Eddie Money, and that a $30 ticket. We didn’t sell out. We had to think about it. We’re going to have to charge $85 or $90 for Nelly just to cover it, and that’s if it’s a sellout. We put that out there and thought, ‘Oh, we’re going to get some backlash,’ and we got a little bit. But simultaneously, while some people were complaining, other ones were buying them up and then the same guy that was saying it would never work was now like, ‘Wait. Are there are no tickets left? How can I get a ticket?’ We still try to keep it at a reasonable price. We don’t want to gouge anyone.
In the 2024 Best of Waco poll as chosen by readers of the WACOAN, Brian Brown was a two-time winner. The venue he owns, The Backyard Bar Stage & Grill, was voted the best live music venue in Waco. And Brown’s band, Sloppy Joe Band, was touted as the best local band. In the 2025 Best of Waco poll, The Backyard took home Best Live Music Venue once again.
Now, 2025 is a big year for both venue and the band. The Backyard will celebrate its 10th anniversary with two days of festivities on Nov. 21 and 22. That Mexican O.T. — who sold out his last appearance at The Backyard — will be performing on Nov. 21, and the lineup for Nov. 22 is being finalized. And Sloppy Joe Band marked its 30th year with a big concert back in the spring.
While The Backyard is known for hosting music of many genres — Snoop Dogg and Nelly each performed to sold-out crowds a few years ago — its calendar is also crowded with benefit concerts, performances by young musicians in local summer music camps and bands from MCC in end-of-the-semester showcases.
