Bigger, meatier Hog Days of Summer ahead this weekend
Living high on the hog is something Montgomery is becoming more and more accustomed to, thanks to the annual Hog Days of Summer BBQ and Music Festival.
It's back for a fifth year on Saturday at the Union Station Train Shed, 300 Water St., with an afternoon and evening full of live music acts and several vendors with all sorts of barbecue for sale.
Hog Days of Summer is presented as always by the Druids Charity Club, a nonprofit group made up of lifelong friends born and raised in Montgomery. Their organization helps families affected by pediatric cancer. Charities they support include Hogs for the Cause, Magic Moments, New Beginnings Educational Center, Adullam International Ministries, The Samaritan Counseling Center, Hope Inspired Ministries, and Dream Court.
"All the money raised stays right here in the River Region," Druids member Stuart Franco said.
Franco said Hog Days has grown significantly. Last year's attendance was around 2,500. "This year, we really expect to be close to 3,000 if ticket sales stay on pace," he said.
General admission tickets are $45 and are available at hogdays.org.
Children 11 and under get in free, but they must have a ticket due to crowd limitations. As always, Hog Days will have a huge supervised kids zone with arts and crafts, games and inflatables.
"A family can come in, drop their kids off at the Pig's Pen, and they can go and enjoy the music," Franco said. "It's fun for all ages."
About the BBQ
Hog Days of Summer will have different tastes from barbecue restaurants from across the River Region (and some beyond). Clubs will also be there to show off their own skills. Guests can buy food from vendors, and there's plenty to pick from:
Ribs: Brenda's BBQ, Moe's Original Bar-B-Que, K&J Rib Shack, Dreamland, and Mojo Hand.
Pulled pork: Smokehouse Pit BBQ, Mojo Hand, Dreamland, and Jim 'N Nick's.
Texas brisket: The Druids
Sausage: Monroe Sausage
BBQ chicken: Brenda's BBQ, Jim 'N Nick's, and Chef Ryan Prewett from Peche.
"We have a James Beard Award winner (Prewitt) returning to do chicken in Alabama white sauce," Franco said. "The white sauce that he cooks up special for this event is just out of this world."
Of course, you need something to wash the barbecue down. Beer, wine and other spirits, plus non-alcoholic sodas, tea and water will be available.
So what does Franco look for in really good barbecue?
"For me, what sets it apart is the different styles," Franco said. "You can get different types of ribs. You can get sauces. You can really tell the distinct flavors in each one. I'm a rib guy, so eating some really good ribs is what I'm looking for."
Hog Days music artists
The music of Hog Days has taken a step forward. With two stages, Franco said they'll have nonstop music from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Artists slated to appear:
2 p.m. Ben Prestage (side stage): The great-grandson of a Vaudeville musician, Prestage perfected his drum kit as a street performer in Memphis. He's competed in the International Blues Challenge. He's a two-time recipient of the Lyon/Pitchford Award for "Best Diddley-Bow Player."
2:45 p.m. Ally Venable Band (main stage): Ally Marie Venable is an American blues rock guitar player, singer, and songwriter. The Kilgore, Texas, native is the 2014, 2015 ETX Music awards female guitar player of the year, and she and her band were the ETX Music Awards 2015, 2016 blues band of the year.
4 p.m. Ben Prestage (side stage)
4:30 p.m. Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears (main stage): Black Joe Lewis is an Arizona native blues, soul and rock 'n' roll. The band formed in Austin, Texas, in 2007.
6 p.m. Ben Prestage (side stage)
6:30 p.m. Anders Osborne (main stage): Born in Sweden, Osborne is an American singer/songwriter out of New Orleans. He's been called “the poet laureate of Louisiana’s fertile roots music scene.”
8 p.m. Aretta Woodruff (main stage): Raised in Wellington, Alabama, Woodruff has been singing since she was in church choir at five. She'd move on to sing R&B, blues and soul, and has been inducted into the Alabama Blues Hall of Fame.
8:45 p.m. Sam Bush (main stage): The Kentucky native has earned the Americana Music Association's Lifetime Achievement Award for Instrumentalist. He’s released seven albums and a live DVD over the past two decades.
Friday night pre-party
Before all the barbecue and the fun under the Train Shed, the Druids will have a free pre-party on Friday at Red Bluff Bar at the Silos, 335 Coosa St. (the former Sand Bar spot near Riverwalk Amphitheater). Enter the park through the tunnel on Commerce Street, and go to the right into the park and up the hill.
Montgomery's own The Talismen will be on stage there at 7:30 p.m.
Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Shannon Heupel at sheupel@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Hog Days of Summer returns to Montgomery with live music and BBQ
