Rosie Ledet

Unless you just arrived in town or have been hiding under a rock to keep cool you probably are aware that this is Blue Ridge BBQ Festival weekend (June 13-14). Community volunteers and master smokers and grillers will turn Harmon Field into a smooth running feast to welcome guests to a grand Southern cookout. But did you know that it&squo;s also a way to taste a smorgasbord of some of the best in Southern music? Friday and Saturday there will be two stages cooking up the jam to sweeten your barbeque experience whether you are working the festival or enjoying it as a patron.

It&squo;s never possible to see and hear everything, but with a little planning you can find exactly what you need when you need it. Often I&squo;ll plan my adventure to arrive for the first thing I want to hear, give myself some space to wander around and look at things, choose a point to sit down and enjoy the food with some good listening music, and find time to cool off by the river before dancing to the high energy bands of the evening.

When I first looked at this year&squo;s line up there were only a few names that even looked familiar and hadn&squo;t listened to any of them, so I took a bit of time to browse the &dquo;tasty licks&dquo; at www.blueridgebbqfestival.com and even managed to catch one of the bands live last weekend.

So for my quick picks, I&squo;d start off Friday at the Main Stage to sample local luminaries of bluegrass/gospel The Lone Derangers and stay for the King Pup taping to sample the three bands from the area hand picked by Phil & Gaye for the festival. Then I&squo;d slip over to the river to cool off with Laura Blackley&squo;s smoky vocals and enjoy the bohemian revelry of Jen & the Juice who had a whole room of people sweating and dancing in the heat during a private art party in Asheville last weekend. I know I&squo;d need a break after that and may seek out a place to cool off and then browse the festival listening to the mix of southern rock music in the background while smelling the smells to see what draws me. I know I&squo;ll need a hearty meal of barbeque before 9:30 to keep up with Rosie Ledet & The Zydeco Playboys as they tear up the stage with high energy spicy music and Rosie&squo;s sweet Creole vocals.

Saturday I would love to finally catch guitar guru Geoff Achison live on the river, but I&squo;ll have to split my time because I don&squo;t want to miss the delightful treat of the soulful and sweet Mieka Pauley. Later Mike Farris is a &dquo;must see&dquo; as he heats up the evening with his amazing gospel vocals over electric guitar and horns.

Friday Main Stage

12-1:15 The Lone Derangers

1:45-3:45 King Pup Radio Show live taping hosted by Phil & Gaye Johnson

featuring The Neighbors, Laurel Ridge, and High Windy

4:15-5:30Bucktown Kickback

6-7:15 Wink Keziah and Delux Motel

7:45-9 The Work

9:30-11 Rosie Ledet & The Zydeco Playboys

Friday Riverside Stage

1-1:50 Brian Ashley Jones

2-2:50 Bucktown Kickback

3-3:50 Jon Shain

4-4:50 Laura Blackley

5-5:50 Jen and the Juice

6-7:15 Kristin Markiton

Saturday Main Stage

11-12:15 Silver Travis

12:45-2 Bill Noonan Band

2:30-3:45 Geoff Achison & The Souldiggers

4:15-5:30 Sol Driven Train

6:00-7:15 Tater

7:45-9 Mike Farris

9:30-11 The Waybacks

Saturday Riverside Stage

11-11:50 Sol Driven Train

12-12:50 Joseph Hasty & Musica Nostra

1-1:50 Bob Sinclair

2-2:50 Juniper

3-3:50 Mieka Pauley

4-4:50 Blue Mother Tupelo

5-5:50 Mike Farris

6-7:15 The New Familiars

Need to do something different? Local businesses are offering the following live music this weekend. Catch the sweet country/rock sounds of Me & The Boys (Angela Heatherly, Terry Wetton, and Cas Haskell) tonight at the Purple Onion in Saluda. Down in Tryon I&squo;ll be at the Melrose Inn for their Artist&squo;s Porch hosting the variety of talent that arrives to share music, poetry, jokes and more.

Friday, The Green River Boys will kick up the bluegrass jam at Shaffer&squo;s Roadside Grill at 6 p.m. There will also be free jazz along with a classic black film at Nina Simone&squo;s birthplace, 30 East Livingston in Tryon, starting at 7 p.m. Contact Kipp McIntyre at 828-899-0042 for more information.

Saturday you can cool off at the Hare & the Hound in Landrum with some sweet jazz from the Fred Whiskin Trio from 3-5 p.m. in the afternoon. Saluda is alive Saturday night with rocking blues from Gigi Dover & Big Love at the Purple Onion or dance the night away to Common Ground at Saluda Mountain Jamboree.

Sunday afternoon at the Gallery Coffeehouse will be another Jazz Jam and next Wednesday at Persimmons Bistro you can catch the Dixie Rhythm Aces playing traditional jazz tunes from 6-9 p.m.