Blues, Rock and a Whole Lot In Between
Bikers drive down Dickson Street Wednesday, September 26. Wednesday was the first day of the 2012 Bikes, Blues and BBQ bike rally. (Photo by Aneeka Majid)
The Bikes, Blues and BBQ motorcycle rally rolled into Fayetteville Sept. 26, bringing with it a whole host of blues, rock and country musicians guaranteed to get your mojo on.
The rally brings together a handful of bands to play free live music in the beer gardens on Dickson Street, some locally formed, some traveling quite a while to be here and all promising to rock your socks off.
The first day of the festival is roots/americana day. The official website claims this day should “be more fun than you can stand” and that the lineup “may very well be the most fun night we’ve ever had.”
The night will feature the work of road-house country group The Boston Mountain Playboys, redneck rock band Ruckus (who are set also to play at the AMP 7 p.m. Saturday), experimental bluegrass band Mountain Sprout and country blues group The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band.
With lyrics like “The devil don’t live down in Hell / The devil’s right here, doin’ very well / And it’s hard to tell, when the devils look like angels / And angels look like Hell,” it seems unlikely that Peyton would be a real reverend.
But despite this, and despite the fact that the band isn’t actually all that damn big in numbers (though a couple of them are pretty hefty), there’s enough buzz about these guys to make them a promising headliner band for the first evening.
Whether you’re familiar with their music or not, bikesbluesandbbq.org promises that these guys will “put some jump in your rump.”
The next night’s lineup features Left of Center, NighTTrain, The Odds, Big ‘Uns and The Nace Brothers in the headliner slot.
Bikes, Blues and BBQ points out that The Nace Brothers, hailing from Kansas City and a longtime mainstay of the rally, are personally sponsored this year by Fayetteville’s Pace Industries.
Performing those classic tunes “Sittin’ On A Bar Stool,” “Quitcher Bitchin’” and “Sometimes It Rains,” The Nace Brothers anchor the first day of the second part of the festival, when the musical focus moves out of americana and more into classic blues and good old fashioned rock and roll.
Friday’s lineup will feature local bands Earl and Them and Oreo Blue, with Oreo Blue actually taking the headliner slot for the night. But if one isn’t in the mood for blues music, Theory of a Deadman is playing Friday night with Black Stone Cherry in Fort Smith, and their concert promoters are running in cooperation with the Bikes, Blues and BBQ festival.
When buying tickets for the show, if the purchaser mentions that they heard about the concert through Bikes, Blues and BBQ, the promoters will donate $1 to the rally for their charity benefit program, which has benefited dozens of local charities on the past.
“So, enjoy a great show and help raise money for charity. It’s a win-win,” according to the website.
There’s a whole lot of blues, a whole lot of rock, a whole lot of country and a whole lot genre-benders in between this year.
Outside of Dickson Street at the AMP, Japton Social Club and Joe Giles & the Home Wreckers are playing Friday, and Ruckus and Another Fine Mess are playing Saturday. Another bevy of bands will be playing at the BBB Saloon at the Washington County Fairgrounds Campground Thursday onward as well as the Legacy Blues nightclub.
So, hop on your hog and head out to Dickson Street — chances are it will be too crowded for vehicles much larger than that, anyway.
