Big Sid Takes Over City Events

Sidney Walker, who as a concert promoter known as "Big Sid" brought dozens of entertainers, including Grammy Award winners, to San Angelo, has been hired as the City’s Civic Events manager, effective Monday, Feb. 16.

Walker will be responsible for managing eight municipally owned facilities, including Foster Communications Coliseum, the McNease Convention Center and the RiverStage, and the employees who provide support services to the events the venues host. He will also assist Parks and Recreation Director Carl White on special projects, most notably the annual River Fest.

Walker was chosen from a field of 54 applicants. He replaces Angelica Pena, who relocated to East Texas earlier this year.

“I’ve never wanted a job as badly as I wanted this one,” Walker said. “This is a golden opportunity to use my experience, knowledge and contacts to bring to our venues a wide array of entertainment events, especially those things that will appeal to families.”

Since 2004, Walker served as the president of the WOR Group, a venture that brought to San Angelo high-profile entertainers, including San Antonio Spur and NBA world champion Danny Green, who has conducted youth basketball clinics here. He has also worked as the events manager for The Beauregard, a local rental venue. Walker served in the U.S. Air Force from 2002-12 at Goodfellow Air Force Base.

He is best known for his Big Sid persona in which he hosted and performed in annual birthday and summer bash hip-hop concerts at the RiverStage. Walker’s shows were headlined by stars such as the Ying Yang Twins, The Game, Chamillionaire, Kirko Bangz and Paula Deanda.

“Sidney’s energy and passion blew me away,” White said. “His vision – especially for what River Fest can become – is an exciting prospect not just for our department, but for the community. His experience and connections are assets we’ve never before had in this job. We’re eager to have him channel his zeal into action.”

Readers may remember Big Sid from the incident where a gun was fired after a fight broke out at a Big Sid event at Beauregard Place on W. Beauregard Ave. The weekend's festivities were leading up to celebrate Big Sid's Birthday Bash when the incident happened. An air of confusion filled the air about exacty what the event was, or if Big Sid had anything to do with what was later revealed to be a pre-party.  Friends claiming to be friends with or supporters of Big Sid threatened to harm San Angelo LIVE! employees. Big Sid threatened a law suit against San Angelo LIVE! for reporting the incident, but nothing ever came out of the ordeal.

Video of the 2012 Big Sid's Birthday Bash at the San Angelo River Stage: