Day One of 2026 Two Step Inn Ends in Rain, Brooks and Dunn Canceled
The worry was that weather would become a factor Saturday (4-18) for the first day of the massive Two Step Inn in Georgetown, TX, just north of Austin. It turned out to be a big one.
A brisk cold front blew in early Saturday morning. Then lightning appeared right as Kaitlin Butts and Shenandoah had taken the fest’s two side stages at 5:30. Then as folks were told to shelter, the sky opened up and a deluge came down. It probably didn’t help that temps were in the mid 50s with a stiff north wind, making conditions pretty miserable once patrons were drenched.
Kaitlin Butts had just started singing Shania Twain’s “Any Man of Mine” as part of her “Yee-Hoedown” set that was scheduled to feature lots of guests when the mics got cut, and big warning signs flashed on the screens side stage.
Over at the other stage featuring Shenandoah, the same thing happened, but Marty Raybon wasn’t having it. He convinced someone on the sound crew to cut on a mic, and then started singing “Two Dozen Roses” with the crowd joining in. It was one of those “you had to be there” moments before eventually everyone had to scamper for shelter.
Meanwhile backstage, Wyatt Flores, Evan Honer, and Kaitlin Butts started jamming in a green room trailer, with Butts broadcasting it on Instagram Live.
Two Step Inn later announced that the Kaitlin Butts, Shenandoah, Goo Goo Dolls, Wyatt Flores, and Tracy Lawrence sets were all cancelled, but they would try to have headliners Brooks & Dunn take the stage at 7:00 pm. As soon as they made that announcement, a new round of rain hit, and more lightning, and many of the last holdouts scampered for the exits, with Brooks and Dunn washed out as well.
Two Step Inn is unique in how there’s little to no on-site parking. Since most people shuttle or ride share, there were no vehicles to shelter in place in. That was always a challenge with this fest if a big rain event hit. Two Step Inn has some 60,000 patrons each year.
Before the rain delay, Elizabeth Nichols, Tyce Delk, Brent Cobb, Bayker Blankenship, The Band Perry, Muscadine Bloodline, Evan Honer, Wade Bowen, and BigXthaPlug were all able to perform full shows. Stay tuned for Saving Country Music’s coverage of these sets. But many fans took to social media to lobby for refunds as usually happens in these instances.
Wyatt Flores announced that he would be playing a pop up show at Sagebrush in Austin at 11:00 Saturday due to the cancellation.
Two Step Inn is not the only Texas festival this spring that has been snake bit by weather. Chilifest held in Snook, TX had to cancel the Saturday (4-11) portion of the event after heavy rain washed out the festival site, sidelining performances from Parker McCollum and Braxton Keith. Cattle Country Festival in Gonzales, TX also had to cancel Sunday, April 12th due to muddy conditions. This means most all of the country-themed Texas festivals in Central Texas for 2026 have been affected by weather.
Right now Two Step Inn is scheduled to resume on Sunday with headliners The Red Clays Strays and Chris Stapleton. Georgetown continued to experience heavy rain on Saturday, so hopefully the festival grounds hold up.
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