Through The Years: Legendary Acts That Played Tyler’s Oil Palace

Aside from our annual Red Dirt BBQ & Music Festival, these days, East Texans have to drive to Dallas, TX, or Shreveport, LA, to catch a major concert. But there was a time when Tyler hosted some legendary acts at the now-for-sale Oil Palace (details on how to buy it here).

The Rose City has a rich history of bringing some legendary acts to perform. You might be surprised at some of the names that have pulled up and taken the Oil Palace Stage.

Legendary Acts That Played Tyler's Oil Palace

Looking back to the 1990s, then the '80s, and even as far back as 1955, it was shocking to see some of the bands and artists who once graced a stage in Tyler, TX. It's something that this town can certainly be proud of. Here are the biggest ones we could find:

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• The Beach Boys: Sept. 30, 1984. Setlist here.
• Kenny Rogers: Oct. 19, 1984
• The Judds & The Oak Ridge Boys: March 8, 1985
• Night Ranger: March 2, 1986 (Joe Lynn Turner opened)
• Ted Nugent: June 14, 1986
• George Strait: July 12, 1986
• Foghat: May 14, 1988
• L.A. Guns & Cheap Trick: Sept. 9, 1988
• Lynyrd Skynyrd: May 16, 1993
• Joe Walsh (Glenn Frey Band): July 3, 1993. Setlist here.
• Hank Williams Jr. & Lynyrd Skynyrd: March 1, 1996
• Merle Haggard: Feb. 7, 1988
• The Marshall Tucker Band & Grand Funk Railroad: Oct. 3, 1998
• Blue Oyster Cult: Nov. 21, 1998
• Slaughter, Quiet Riot, Ted Nugent & Night Ranger: July 24, 1999
• Willie Nelson: March 9, 2001, Feb. 18, 2006, Dec. 11, 2010
• George Jones: July 3, 2010
• Alan Jackson: Feb. 24, 2012

Those are just the acts with dates that we can confirm. Several more have played The Oil Palace, we just don't know when the show was, including: Garth Brooks, Faith Hill, Patty Loveless, Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, Waylon Jennings, Randy Travis, Chubby Checker, Wayne Newton, and Cyndi Lauper.

The '80s and '90s saw so many major acts take the stage at The Oil Palace. Did you go to any of these historical concerts? If you know the date for any of the shows we don't have dates for, let us know, and we'll add them to the list.