Shaquille O’Neal Ditches Big Chicken From Massive Festival Despite Plans for Texas Takeover

Shaquille O'Neal is bringing back Bass All-Stars to the same venue bigger than ever. The Panther Island Pavilion in the Fort Worth area will be the venue for DJ Diesel's EDM festival for the second straight year. As usual, Shaq is backed by his friends at Authentic Brands Group and more sponsors. Even Shaq-a-Licious XL Gummies is one of the sponsors listed behind this festival. But prominently missing for some diehard chicken lovers is Big Chicken.

The second edition of Bass All-Stars on November 16 will feature a fantastic lineup of DJs, and fans also get to enjoy "local Texas flavors, interactive brand activations, and photo opportunities," as the majority of the promotions promise.

Bringing the 'Texan flavor' are local popular faves like Texas Mac Shack, Big Red Trailer, Eloisa's Kitchen, Hale on Wheels, and more. But apart from being a DJ, Shaq's a restauranteur too and he has a prominent presence in the Texan foodscape through Big Chicken. So why's his own brand missing from Bass All-Stars?

O'Neal grew up in Texas; his mom is a Dallas resident, and he plans to retire here. The Lone Star State is important to him, and the love is reciprocated. Every Big Chicken location here has received a rave response from locals.

Shaquille O'Neal and his partners at JRS Hospitality embarked on a plan to expand Big Chicken to 50 locations in Texas. After the initial locations in Houston, 2024 saw more Big Chicken restaurants in Austin, Lubbock, San Antonio, Fort Worth and additional units in Houston a month before Bass All-Stars.

Shaq's love for Texas and its food is a big part of the Big Chicken expansion roadmap. It's also why Texas is the recurring venue for his music festival. While he included most of his business partners, like Shaq-a-Licious, there could be some visible logistical reasons to exclude Big Chicken.

Big Chicken is still a developing concept Big Chicken is also often missing from Shaq-a-Claus or Shaq to School events. The bighearted giant often gives out Papa John's pizzas at these events. This could be partially because of his community outreach obligations with Papa John's philanthropic wing. But it could also be a convenience, as most of O'Neal's events take place in Atlanta, where he spends most of the year. There's no Big Chicken in Atlanta yet (which the group is sure to rectify), but O'Neal's got his other franchises here.

Even Big Chicken's menu could present a challenge for an offsite catering project like Bass All-Stars. In some interviews, the head chefs and creative team at Big Chicken have expressed that meeting O'Neal's ambition for a drive-thru concept is not possible yet. The current menu takes longer to prepare than a drive-thru can allow, and it may not be feasible to do so out of its main kitchens yet either. They did, however, experiment by introducing a drive-thru at one of the Las Vegas locations.

Regardless, they're closer to reinventing their menu through a collaboration with Bite Kiosk. Recently, they launched the 'O'Neal Family Secret Menu' and added wings and the Frosted Flakes shake.

It could also be a branding necessity as O'Neal wants Bass All-Stars to showcase local Texan culture. Technically, Big Chicken is a Las Vegas-based franchise chain.

There could be other factors, too. But trap heads at Bass All-Stars will still enjoy Texan food and music at Shaq's biggest event of the year.