In his 2025 Billboard cover story, Koe Wetzel joked that maybe one day his mural might join Pittsburg, Texas’ other famous citizens, including Homer Jones, the New York Giants receiver who invented spiking the football after a touchdown. Little did he expect, less than a year later, his hometown in East Texas would commemorate such an occasion with their mayor and city manager presenting a key to the city and a proclamation naming February 28 “Koe Wetzel Day.”

A well-kept secret for months, which in a small town is a feat amongst itself, Wetzel’s hometown group text let it slide earlier this week that the city may be working on a mural downtown. Still, the “High Road” singer was stunned to arrive at a full-blown celebration, complete with a high school marching band and cheerleaders exciting the crowd full of family, friends and local dignitaries prior to the ceremony. Watch local coverage HERE.

See Video from Koe Wetzel Day Dedication

After reading the proclamation, Mayor Abernathy mused as he presented Wetzel with an oversized key, “I’d like to present Koe a key to the city of Pittsburg – it won’t get in all the banks.”

Wetzel shared a few words, “It’s good to be back in Pittsburg. Every time we come back here it’s like we never left, with my family and my friends… it all starts there. My family sitting here – my mom, my dad, my sisters, my grandparents – my girls here, they’ve always been my No. 1 fan and they’ve gotten me where I am by doing so, but also with the help from Pittsburg, Texas and all the great people here that have made everything happen. No matter where I go in this life, no matter what country, state or city I’m in, I always know Pittsburg, Texas is home for me. And whenever I come back, you all make sure to remind me of that and treat me like I never left, and I always appreciate that.”

To further mark 10 years of “February 28, 2016,” Wetzel surprised fans after his Ft. Worth Riot Room set by dropping a mixtape, These Are Going Nowhere: A Mixtape by Koe Wetzel, at midnight, sharing, “Thanks for the best decade of my life. Here’s some of my favorite Koe shit from the vault to hold you over until my new album comes out this summer.”

About Koe Wetzel
Koe Wetzel never met a genre wall he couldn’t tear down. The Texan singer-songwriter has earned a rabid audience for his songs that mix country, rock, hip-hop and Nineties grunge. With his defining fifth studio album, the Gold-certified 9 Lives released in 2024 via Columbia Records, Wetzel earned recognition on several major year-end best-of lists, including Rolling Stone, Billboard, the Tennessean and more, with the Los Angeles Times naming lead single “High Road” (feat. Jessie Murph) as the No. 8 best song of 2024 across all genres. The single not only marked Wetzel’s debut at Country radio, it also held the No. 1 spot for five weeks, was the most-played song of 2025 per Country Aircheck/Mediabase and the now-3x Platinum song became his fastest to reach the RIAA Platinum milestone to date. Previously, his 2016 album Noise Complaint endeared him to fans with its no-holds-barred lyrics about drunken nights, broken hearts and stints in jail, and included the Gold-certified hit “Love” (feat. Parker McCollum), Platinum “Something to Talk About” plus the infamous “February 28, 2016.” Wetzel’s 2020 major label debut, the Gold-certified Sellout, only furthered his legend with the Platinum-certified “Drunk Driving” and “Good Die Young” plus the Gold-certified “Kuntry & Wistern.” The 2022 follow-up, Hell Paso, hit No. 3 on Billboard’s Country Albums and spawned hits on both the country and rock charts, including the Gold-certified “Creeps” and “Cabo.” To date, Wetzel has amassed 4.2 billion total streams and has created a genuine experience with his live concerts, which he describes as “total chaos.” Wetzel performed for more than 250,000 fans across his headlining Damn Near Normal Tour in 2024, while joining HARDY’s Jim Bob World Tour in 2025 along with select stadium dates with Morgan Wallen; 2026 sees him return to the road with The Night Champion Tour launching in May.