CELEBRATE NATIONAL BBQ MONTH at Sevierville's Bloomin' BBQ Music & Food Festival 2023

Sawyer Brown, Yonder Mountain String Band & Championship BBQ

SEVIERVILLE, Tenn., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- May is national barbecue month and the beginning of warmer days that beckon food and music enthusiasts outside to enjoy the unofficial start of summer. There's no better place to enjoy national barbecue month (or to catch free headline concerts from major artists) than at Sevierville, Tennessee's nineteenth annual Bloomin' BBQ Music & Food Festival on May 19-20, 2023.

Located in the foothills of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Sevierville and the surrounding area are a popular family vacation destination with outdoor adventure, world-class theme parks such as Dollywood, and a delightfully cool historic downtown which is the central location for Bloomin' BBQ Music & Food Festival. Highlights of the annual event include a state championship BBQ competition, 50 artists and crafters, kids' activities, and more than 20 live shows – including headline performances from Yonder Mountain String Band and Sawyer Brown.

This family-friendly event welcomes 32 select cook teams from across the United States to compete for $17,500 in cash and prizes during the Bush's Best Tennessee State Championship Cook Off. Three of those championship teams will also vend their slow smoked specialties – meaning everyone can enjoy award-winning ribs, pulled pork, chicken and more. During the competition, the teams will collectively cook an estimated 1,888 pounds of meat including 20 pounds of pulled pork, 24 pounds of brisket, 5 pounds of chicken and 10 pounds of ribs each to be judged by Kansas City BBQ Society certified judges in a double-blind process. Winning teams will receive recognition in Chicken, Ribs, Pork, and Brisket as well as specialty categories like "Anything Swaggerty's Farm Sausage," "Anything Bush Beans," and Dessert.

Rounding out the event is toe-tapping music on three stages. Yonder Mountain String Band will headline the Swaggerty's Farm Main Stage at the festival on Friday, May 19, 2023, beginning at 8:30pm. A pioneering jam-grass act with more than twenty-five years of touring and making music, Yonder Mountain String Band has firmly established itself as a legendary music group. Their distinctive sound, live musical improvisations, and original music that spans multiple genres have drawn a whole new generation of fans to bluegrass.

Additional acts to perform on Friday include Kentucky Just Us (5pm), a traditional bluegrass group with tight family harmonies as well as crowd favorite Jimbo Whaley & Greenbrier (6pm) whose high-energy show is filled with original and traditional bluegrass songs plus a few '80s pop covers. Americana group The Barefoot Movement (7pm) will bring their bluesy, bluegrass and folk sound to the festival just before Yonder Mountain String Band takes the stage.

On Saturday, May 20, 2023, country legends Sawyer Brown take the stage at 8:30pm. With a forty-year career, numerous industry awards, and chart-topping hits including "Step That Step" (1985), "Some Girls Do" (1992), and "Thank God for You" (1993), Sawyer Brown delivers a high-energy live show filled with songs country fans know and love.

Leading up to that Saturday headline show, catch performances from GRAMMY Nominee® and six-time International Bluegrass Music Association Best Female Vocalist Dale Ann Bradley (Noon, 4pm), Billboard Bluegrass chart-topping band Breaking Grass (1pm, 5pm) and International Bluegrass Music Association Momentum Instrumentalist of the Year Tray Wellington (2pm, 6pm). GRAMMY Nominees® Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley (3pm, 7pm) round out the evening with their white-hot picking and soulful country vocals before Sawyer Brown's show.

"There is such great energy around this year's event," says Sevierville Chamber of Commerce director of marketing and communications Amanda Marr. "We always look forward to presenting the best country, bluegrass, and Americana artists in the heart of downtown Sevierville and offering up some of the very best BBQ in the nation. It's a fun weekend for the whole family and a great reason to visit the Smoky Mountains."

Two additional stages, The SkyLand Ranch Back Porch Stage and Bush's Best Community Stage, also feature live regional and local entertainment spanning genres from country to rock plus special activities such as an interactive square dance class, cooking demonstrations, clogging, and performances from local choirs.

Additional special happenings include Friday's Late Night Jam, led by 5-time world champion banjo picker Gary "Biscuit" Davis, from 10pm until midnight and four Historic Downtown Sevierville Walking Tours led by area historians and volunteers throughout the event.

Another highlight of Bloomin' BBQ Music & Food Festival is the 19^th Annual Mountain Soul Vocal Competition Finals held on May 20. Finalists from around the nation will sing their hearts out for a chance to win cash and prizes. This competition, the only one of its kind that festival organizers know of, honors the songwriting of Sevierville's hometown girl, Dolly Parton. Competitors must sing a song written by Dolly Parton (there are over 3,000) and do so in their own style (rock, rap, country, bluegrass, swing, soul, etc.).

Admission to Bloomin' BBQ Music & Food Festival and the concerts are free thanks to great sponsors, including the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce which encourages you to stay in Sevierville while visiting the event. For great lodging and more information about Bloomin' BBQ Music & Food Festival, call (888) 889-7415 or visit us online at www.BloominBBQ.com.

SOURCE SEVIERVILLE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE