Toy Factory Project

Toy Factory Project plays the Fox Theatre on Thursday, December 31, 2026. It's a New Year's Eve show, so it's one of those nights that takes over the whole evening. The band is a tribute to Toy Caldwell, co-founder of the Marshall Tucker Band, and they spend the set working through his songbook.

Drummer Paul T. Riddle put the ensemble together. He's a Grammy winner and a co-founder of the original Marshall Tucker Band, and Caldwell was his bandmate. Riddle describes the project as transforming personal loss into a celebration of Southern rock. The group first played live at the 2025 Telluride Bluegrass Festival, then played the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York. In May 2026, they did a run that included sold-out back-to-back nights at the Greenfield Lake Amphitheater in Wilmington, North Carolina, and an appearance at DelFest. Each musician is a Grammy-caliber virtuoso in their own right.

On stage, Riddle leads a lineup that pulls from across the Southern rock and jam scenes. Marcus King handles guitar, steel guitar, and vocals; Oteil Burbridge is on bass and vocals; Charlie Starr takes guitar and vocals; and Josh Shilling plays piano, organ, and vocals. Sam Bush joins in on fiddle and mandolin, and Jimmy Rector is on percussion. The Fox Theatre has hosted Widespread Panic's New Year's runs for several years, so this is a different act for the venue during the holiday season.

Tickets start at $59. Doors open at 7 PM, and the show starts at 8 PM. Concessions are cashless, but merchandise stands take cash only.