By: Jonny Verbeten, PhD
Arts Education Coordinator, LCAF
As the sun sets over Lubbock on July 4th, Mackenzie Park will come alive with the boom of fireworks, the sounds of live music, the scent of food trucks, and the unmistakable spirit of community. For 34 years, the 4th on Broadway celebration has been the heartbeat of Lubbock’s Independence Day celebrations. From its humble beginnings in 1991, the event has grown into Texas’s largest free Fourth of July celebration, drawing tens of thousands of Lubbock residents to Mackenzie Park each year to take part in the festivities. The eclectic event has welcomed both nostalgic and crowd-pleasing acts over the years—from Vanilla Ice in 2023 to this year’s headliner, Smash Mouth—and the ever-impressive Caldwell Collective has been a main stage staple.
You can’t tell the story of 4th on Broadway without reflecting on the legacy of Don Caldwell, the founder of Broadway Festivals Inc., whose passing in May 2024 marked the end of an era and the beginning of a new chapter in the festival’s history. In speaking with Katie Sandifer—Event Director for the festival and a longtime collaborator with Caldwell Entertainment—she reflected, “Don Caldwell’s legacy is woven into every part of Fourth on Broadway. He had a deep passion for Lubbock, its people, and its music, and that vision shaped this festival from the very beginning.” She added that Caldwell’s relentless dedication to making the arts and culture accessible to everyone continues to guide the festival: “As we move forward, the festival will honor his legacy by staying true to those roots—uplifting local talent, fostering community pride, and ensuring that everyone feels welcome.”
For 2025, the logistics for the festival changed with the passing of Don Caldwell, but the spirit he endowed the event with didn’t. Lubbock wanted to keep the tradition alive and Civic Lubbock, Inc. has overseen the transition and the 2025 event. I asked Vicki Key, the Project Coordinator at Civic Lubbock, to reflect on their new role:
“Civic Lubbock is serving as the fiscal agent for the event, handling the sponsorship funds that come in and paying the expenses from those funds. We hired Katie Sandifer to assist due to her valuable experience in working with Don Caldwell for several years. There are numerous people working on various components of the event. As they say, “it takes a village.””
Indeed, the event’s scope of partners has expanded significantly, including H-E-B, Los Hermanos Familia, the Military Order of the Purple Heart, Gorilla Law Firm, and many others. These partnerships are a testament to the community’s dedication to ensuring the festival’s longevity. She added, “It was exciting to see so many companies reach out wanting to provide a sponsorship, both past sponsors and new sponsors. Sponsors are and always have been critical in keeping this event going and we thank each of them for their generous support.” The festival also relies heavily on community engagement and volunteerism. While all volunteer opportunities for this year are filled, she encouraged volunteers to keep an eye out for next year’s sign up, “We are always looking for volunteer groups and individuals!”
Like any major festival, there have been successes and challenges over the years, but Sandifer particularly singled out 2021 as a joyous and memorable event: “After having to shift the event to a televised special in 2020 [due to the COVID-19 pandemic], the return to an in-person celebration carried an energy unlike anything we’d felt before. It reminded us that at its core, the spirit of 4th on Broadway is about connection. In 2021, that spirit was more alive than ever.” Her passion and commitment remind us that the festival is in capable hands: “We’ll continue to highlight the West Texas culture Don loved so dearly, and we’re committed to preserving the heart of what he built while also growing and evolving the event for future generations.”
When asked what it means to the city of Lubbock to host one of the biggest free Fourth of July festivals in the state, Lubbock Mayor Mark McBrayer stated, “The City of Lubbock is tremendously proud to host the 4th on Broadway celebration this year. I am grateful for everyone who helped carry this tradition forward to ensure the spirit of 4th on Broadway lives on. Our festival is more than just a celebration, it’s a reflection of who we are as a community: patriotic, generous, and deeply connected. I hope to see everyone out there to celebrate our great nation and our great city.”
Though the format may evolve, the spirit of 4th on Broadway remains rooted in the values Don Caldwell championed—community, creativity, celebration, and of course excellent music. And this year as the parade makes its way down Broadway and the fireworks light up the West Texas sky, they’ll do more than mark our nation’s independence, they’ll honor a legacy that brought a city together and continues to do so still.
For more information about this year’s festival, please visit Civic Lubbock. We hope to see you there!