BLACKTOP RODEO

Blacktop Rodeo is an award-winning neotraditional country band out of Lexington, Kentucky, saddling up since 2018. Fronted by Mace Smith's commanding lead vocals, the group pairs classic honky-tonk instincts with a modern edge, earning them comparisons to genre stalwarts like George Strait and Brooks & Dunn — while critics have also drawn a line to Montgomery Gentry's road-tested, full-throttle live energy.

The current lineup features Cameron Bryant on bass and backing vocals, alongside Mace Smith (lead vocals), Ben Anderson (guitar), Steven Miller (keys/synth), and Scott Stewart (drums). Since forming, the band has released eight songs, anchored by their debut EP A Taste of Your Own Medicine, and picked up nominations for the Josie Music Awards, the Red Carpet Awards in Holland (Netherlands), the Appalachian Arts and Entertainment Awards, and the Lexington Music Awards.

Blacktop Rodeo has built a reputation as reliable road warriors, with a touring footprint that stretches well beyond Central Kentucky. They're a recurring headline act at Austin City Saloon — Lexington's home for live country music since 1981 — and have played the Bud Tent and Big Tent stages at the Kentucky State Fair, earning a spot in the fair's official Texas Roadhouse Concert Series lineup alongside a mix of national and regional country acts. Their road schedule has carried them out of state as well, with shows across Northern Indiana, North Dakota, North Carolina, and West Virginia, in addition to a steady circuit of regional venues like Equus Run Vineyards in Midway and 2 Fisted Willie's in Lexington — a schedule that reflects a band that's found its niche as one of Central Kentucky's go-to country acts while steadily expanding its reach across the region.