Lubbock Music NOW 2026 is here! Our 10th album, which is a double album this year, is now available for streaming on all your favorite streaming services. Physical copies of the CD will also be available for purchase at the Select-a-Seat Box Office located inside the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center (1501 Mac Davis Lane) and the Buddy Holly Center Gift Shop (18th and Crickets Ave)
The new season of the “Lubbock Music Now” TV Special will premier Saturday, February 7, 2026 on Fox34 News Now on the following channels: Channel 32.1 (over the air), Optimum Channel 9, Dish Channel 32. The TV Special will feature many of the artists from the 2026 Lubbock Music NOW album performing their original music. Six different 30-minute episodes will air every Saturday and Sunday through April of 2026.
The 2026 album includes twenty original songs written by local area songwriters and one memorial track featuring an original song by Orestes “West’ Garza who passed in February of 2016.
All songs on the album are professionally produced. Musicians and songwriters that live within a 100-mile radius of Lubbock and have played two paying gigs in Lubbock within the last year are eligible to submit one song for consideration. Each artist selected may opt-in for inclusion on the Lubbock Airport’s Live Music roster and/or perform on the Lubbock Music NOW” TV special. Each artist receives a $200 cash prize.
The final selections for the album are made by a panel of music experts across the country, including past and current members of the Texas Branch of the Recording Academy (Texas Grammy Board). Judges do not know the names of the songs or songwriters/performers.
The cover art for the 2026 Lubbock Music NOW CD was designed by Dirk Fowler, an associate professor in the School of Art at Texas Tech University. He is a world-renowned graphic designer and his letterpress concert posters are collector’s items.
Corporate and organizational sponsors for the Lubbock Music NOW 2026 project include Orlando’s, Caprock Café, Lubbock National Bank, H-E-B, South Plains College, School of Rock, South Plains Electric Cooperative, Lubbock Cultural Arts Foundation, Buddy Holly Center, Cactus Theater, Sonic, Mike Pritchard’s Friends Fest, and Tarpley Music.
Civic Lubbock, Inc. developed the Lubbock Music NOW project in 2016 to honor and recognize musicians living and working in the Lubbock area. Civic Lubbock, Inc. is a non-profit organization created in 1956 to foster and promote arts and entertainment in Lubbock.
