Fall Equinox Festival Will Feature BBQ, Blues, Americana, & Much More June 21, 2017 08:14

The Druids Charity Club is pleased to announce their 1^st annual Fall Equinox Festival, a charity event benefitting Hogs for the Cause and their quest to support families struggling with the effects of pediatric brain cancer. The 2017 Fall Equinox Festival will be held in Montgomery’s Union Station Train Shed on Saturday, September 23^rd, the day after the Autumnal Equinox. Noteworthy for being the time of year when the day and night are equal in length, this is a time for balance and reflection before the night slowly overtakes the day in the winter months. For ages, this has been a period of celebration of the harvest and giving thanks. To mark this special time, the Druids Charity Club BBQ team has joined forces with Moe’s Original BBQ to put on a festive experience in downtown Montgomery running from the early afternoon into the evening.

To honor the harvest, Druids and Moe’s will be smoking delicious BBQ for the event’s patrons, creating both Alabama and Central Texas BBQ styles. Additional local BBQ vendors will be added to the program shortly, please stay tuned for further announcements.

To punctuate the celebratory nature of the occasion, a music component consisting of three bands will be rocking the shed. This year will feature Blues & Americana style music. The headliner will be the nationally touring Band of Heathens, fresh off their 5^th studio album, Duende. Big A & the Allstars out of Clarksdale, MS will provide a foot stomping set of electric blues; while the Montgomery rooted Family Reunion Trio will round out the bill. Please read below for band bio information.

Druids strives to create an atmosphere which is appealing to the entire family. As such, a Kids Zone will be provided in addition to a college football viewing station.

Event Schedule:

Doors Open: 1:00 PM

Family Reunion Trio: 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM

Big A Sherrod & The Allstars: 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM

Band of Heathens: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Hogs for the Cause

Hogs for the Cause (“Hogs”) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization focused on helping families which have been affected by pediatric brain cancer. Many families in this situation find themselves facing overwhelming costs associated with their child’s medical treatment. In order to offset these hardships, Hogs provides monetary grants to families in need. Hogs is committed to maximizing the impact of every dollar to support these families. Currently, Hogs has distributed over $1.8 million via grants to families in need as well as donations to other related charities. Additionally, Hogs has committed another $1.6M towards Children’s Hospital of New Orleans to construct an on-campus housing facility so that regional families can remain with their sick children in a comfortable environment. This facility should open later this year. The Hogs fundraising cycle is capped by their annual BBQ and music festival held every spring in New Orleans. The Druids Charity Club has enjoyed a robust partnership with Hogs over the last three years, and we ask that you join our efforts now to lessen the burden on these families. While Hogs is based in New Orleans, every dollar raised at this event will benefit a local River Region family in need.

Collaboration in Service

Druids Charity Club is itself a 501(c)(3) (designation pending) non-profit organization consisting of a coalition of like-minded mid-30’s folks who were raised in Montgomery, along with their friends and loved ones. While a sense of duty regarding the need to better give back to the community we love had been simmering for some time, that sentiment was galvanized with a renewed sense of purpose when our good friend Wyatt Smith became sick with cancer. Wyatt isn’t with us in this world anymore, but his spirit lives on every time we enjoy some of the things that truly made him happiest: music, good eating, and doing right by others.

While we have had several private fundraising events in the past few years, we are especially excited to be putting on our first event in our hometown. It is with pleasure that we acknowledge the support we have received from Live and Listen in planning this event. We are equally excited over the upcoming collaboration between our BBQ team and the professionals at Moe’s Original BBQ, as well as the (pending) additional vendors. Can’t wait to see y’all in the shed!]

Click Here: Purchase Tickets Today!

-

Learn More About The Lineup

The Band of Heathens

-Headlining this one-day festival will be The Band of Heathens, whose five members operate around the evolving territory where blues, folk, country, and rock combine to create a distinct and soulful musical gumbo. The term “Americana” was practically invented to describe The Band of Heathens’ approach, which has mutated almost as much as the genre to which they’re identified. Duende, the title of The Band of Heathens’ fifth studio album (and eighth overall), marks their tenth anniversary as a group, and it certainly applies to its overall theme about the collective search for connection and communion in a technology-fueled world increasingly splintered, distracted and lonely. As band co-founder Ed Jurdi, who first learned of the term, explains, “It’s the essence of the artist,” or as partner Gordy Quist says, “It’s a word we don’t have an equivalent for in English, Artistically, that’s where we tried to set the bar, to do what this band does best.”

Watch Band of Heathens' music video for "Deep Is Love" here:

Big A & The Allstars

Hailing from the heart of the Mississippi Delta, many consider early 30-something Anthony “Big A” Sherrod to be the future of the “Clarksdale sound.” Big A picked up his first guitar at the age of 6 and hasn’t put it down since. Learning to play from local blues player, instructor, and mentor Johnnie Billington, Big A continues to act as an ambassador to the next generation of Delta blues musicians. Not unlike the confluence of the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers, his style incorporates many of the influences that collectively bubbled out of this great hotbed of American music. When Big A isn’t playing at the world renowned Red’s Lounge in Clarksdale, he can be found dazzling crowds at blues festivals throughout the country. Playing for you today as an electric blues trio, please welcome Big A & the Allstars.

Watch Big A performing at Briggs Farm in 2014 here:

Family Reunion Trio

Featuring William Barnes, Dave P. Moore, & John Mark Turner

Representing Montgomery’s own rich musical heritage we have William Barnes, Dave P. Moore, & John Mark Turner. These three have been family and colleagues since the early 90’s, but catching them all on the same stage at the same time is a rare and celebratory event these days. Barnes has been a staple on the southern music seen since 1992, leading his own groups like Far South Movement and collaborating with a diverse range of artists from Col Bruce Hampton to Snarky Puppy. Our audience will perhaps best know Moore and Turner from their collaborations together over the years within Blues Old Stand, a band which has achieved near mythical status dating back to its origins over 30 years ago. Together as a trio, these musicians will be serving up a set of gritty homestyle roots music spanning blues, country, Gospel, jazz and all points in between. If the sound of an honest tune being delivered by raw heartfelt vocals, crying guitars, and lonesome back-woods harmonica does it for ya, then you don’t want to miss this special hometown reunion show. These three “put it down where the goats can get it.”

For more information on Hogs for the Cause, please visit: www.hogsforthecause.org

For event sponsorship opportunities, please contact:

John Sullivan: 334-717-0107 (Cell)

Email: Click Here