PBR Rediscovering its Roots With Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo

As with PBR’s love affair with fire and explosions, Kid Rock knows the show needs to open big.

At the inaugural Rock N Rodeo last May, he rolled into the home of the Dallas Cowboys inside a Tesla cyber truck done up like the General Lee from “Dukes of Hazzard.”  Jelly Roll, a megastar who also blends country, rap and rock, joined him on stage.

The floor of AT&T Stadium provided sprawling real estate for the “drag race” format Gleason refers to – two teams going head-to-head at the same time, barrel racers simultaneously zooming across the dirt and ropers gunning ahead side by side.

“There aren’t many first-time events that can sell 35,000 tickets in AT&T Stadium and walk out of there with every fan thinking they’d received all of the value they expected for their money, and that’s what we accomplished,” Gleason said. “And I think for me it was a lot of the old-timers coming up to me and joking and saying, ‘who would’ve thought you could have made timed events more interesting than roughstock events?’”

Kid Rock’s showmanship was again on display this past Wednesday in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards at a Fan Rally to promote the second iteration of his rodeo.

The self-taught musician from Michigan who has sold nearly 30 million albums mounted a horse to bring up the rear of the iconic daily Longhorn Drive as his song “Cowboy” cranked from speakers lining Exchange Avenue.

He dismounted to join Gleason, team coaches and the Mayors of Arlington and Fort Worth on a stage set up in the street across from Cowtown Coliseum, where PBR held its first event in 1993 and will stage the first two rounds of the 2025 World Finals on May 8-11 (Eliminations) and May 14-15 (Ride for Redemption) before heading to Arlington to crown a new world champion, preceded by one heck of a warm-up rodeo.

“(This rodeo) is about bringing Americana back in a big way,” Kid Rock said. “We need something that celebrates what’s truly American – the cowboy and cowgirl spirit.”

While he was mum on surprise guests, fans will watch six teams led by legendary rodeo coaches battling it out in a bracket-style competition.

Last year’s coaches – Trevor Brazile, Cody Ohl, Charmayne James, Bobby Mote, Fred Whitfield, and Sid Steiner (with Joe Beaver as co-head coach) – have all returned under the same team names, overseeing teams comprised of the world’s best barrel racers, team ropers, breakaway ropers, bareback riders, steer wrestlers, and saddle bronc riders.

Rasmussen, who got his start working amateur rodeos in Montana on a dare then quit his job as a schoolteacher when he was 25 to perform at professional rodeos full time, is looking forward to being a fan of this battle for bragging rights to the best rodeo team in the world.

Off the dirt sans makeup as PBR’s SVP of Fan Engagement, he’s seen the sport from multiple perspectives, and views this newfound commitment to rodeo as a logical progression of an organization that has always deeply respected that business and its competitors and fans.

“Rodeo is where the roots of all of this are, and where we all came from,” Rasmussen said.

“I think it is just trying to take the innovation that PBR has always had, and the boldness to step out and try something new, putting it into the rodeo business,” he said “Thus, ‘rodeo reimagined.’ I am a big fan of all the rodeo events, so I love watching it all.”

With the Kid Rock Rodeo, it appears you can go home again.

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