Roots 'N Blues 'N BBQ delivers sweet meat and beats

Despite charging admission, there was no drop in attendance.

By Andrea Kszystyniak and Kelly Gehringer

Published Sept. 29, 2009

It was the first night of the third annual Roots 'N Blues 'N BBQ Festival and the streets were chock full of people, moving and grooving to the sultry rhythms. Roots 'N Blues is more than just a concert; this is a musical experience.

The Roots

Although the festival is only 3 years old, it has already become one of the most renowned music festivals in Missouri.

Started in 2005 by Thumper Entertainment, the festival has hailed myriad Grammy award-winning artists to Columbia's streets for free performances.

Although tickets were necessary for admittance to certain areas of the festival this year, there was no serious drop in attendance. Audiences for groups, such as The Wilders, ran all the way up Locust Street.

What looked like chaos proved to be a relatively calm and enjoyable event. In fact, police found the festival far more manageable this year than in years past. On Saturday afternoon, Columbia Police Department officer Timothy Moriarity said the festival went extraordinarily smoothly, with only one warrant arrest Friday night.

The Blues

Friday night drew large crowds and even larger names, such as Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears and surf-rock band Southern Culture on the Skids.

Southern Culture on the Skids is a geeky country band, with an Americana feel bound to keep toes tapping. The quirky band kept crowds interested with an encore that involved calling 25 women onto the stage and asking them to throw pounds of fried chicken into the audience.

Father and son pair, David and Dustin Dunstedter said they were incredibly excited about this encore.

"We were sitting here, making sexist comments about the girl who was sitting next to the lead guitarist," David said. "Her hair was blowing and it looked like the poster for next year. It looked like somebody stumbled off a Doublemint gum commercial."

Black Joe Lewis and his five-piece band, the Honeybears, rocked the house, fresh off the stage at The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, playing tracks such as "Big Booty." The band flexed its blues muscles and impressed audience members with sheer musical tenacity.

The blues were about as impossible to escape as the rain Saturday. James Hand, Music Maker Revue and The Itals were just a few of the bands playing the festival.

When the Jamaican reggae group, The Itals showed up, the crowd embraced their inner Rastafarian and got down and dirty, dancing in the mud to the sultry reggae tunes of this classic group.

Senior Scott Chida praised the festival.

"This place is a phenomenal opportunity for the people of Columbia to enjoy each other's company and good music at the same time," Chida said.

Dressed in a western wardrobe head to toe, complete with cowboy hat and boots, James Hand sang his heart out on Seventh and Locust streets. Reminiscent of Hank Williams, the Texas native played the acoustic guitar, accompanied by an electric guitarist and drummer. Between his sporadic words of wisdom, Hand swayed his hips to his heart-filled songs.

Meanwhile, atop the Isle of Capri stage, Music Maker Revue played for more than just the fans. The band is part of the Music Maker Relief Foundation, a charity that supports true pioneers and forgotten heroes of Southern music. Their main mission is to preserve the genuine roots of blues music by helping unrecognized artists meet their day-to-day needs. Artists must be 55 years or older and have an annual income less than $18,000. The tax-exempt charity enabled the Music Maker Revue to share their music with Columbia.

"People die, but music doesn't die," President Tim Duffy said. "We have to preserve the spirit."

Serbian performer with an astounding sense of American country music, Ana Popovic and blues superstar, Booker T. also gave awe-inspiring performances.

St. Louis resident, Robert "Beatle Bob" Matonis compared Booker T. to "Memphis-cooked soul stew" with a "little barbecue flavor on top."

"I grew up listening to Booker T. in the 60s. I think it's a perfect act for this festival," Matonis said.

The Barbecue

More than 50 teams came out to compete in this year's Third Annual Kansas City Barbecue Society Sanctioned Roots 'N Blues 'N BBQ Festival Competition.

"This is getting to be one of the premier barbeque contests because of the caliber of the contestants and the prize money," said Wally Pfeffer, Kansas City Barbecue Society certified judge.

Contestants are judged in four different categories: pork butt, chicken, ribs and dessert.

Barbecue chefs come from miles away to compete. Pfeffer said whoever wins this competition gets an automatic invitation to the Royal, one of the biggest barbeque contests in Missouri.

The strategy of competing team, Lucky's Barbecue, headed by chef Brook Harlan, was to roast a variety of types of pork butt and see what they liked best before sending the meat in for judging. The faithful team spent the night in a tent downtown Friday, sleeping no more than two hours. This will be their third year competing at Roots 'N Blues 'N BBQ.

Lucky's team member Sam Bennett said he loves to barbecue, especially butts.

"I cook butts by the box," Bennett said. "I probably cook 4,000 pounds of butt a year."

Merely a block away, Lucky's competitors, Grillers in the Mist, discussed strategy and drank some beers. This team of nine local guys from Sacred Heart Church decided to form a barbecue team for the first time this year.

Pat Gerke, the wife of a team member, said the weekend was a great opportunity for everybody to have fun.

"Guys like to cook meat and drink beer," Gerke said. "That's just how guys are. It's just fun."

In the judges' tent Saturday afternoon, the judges' eyes grew wide with anticipation as the tables filled with dozens of desserts.

"If I were a dessert chef in this town, I would have sat through watching that category and come up with ideas for desserts in my restaurant," Pfeffer said.

Overall, Mark Hyman and his team, Great Grills O' Fire, were declared the winners of the contest.

Roots 'N Blues ended Saturday night with performances from the Blind Boys of Alabama and the John Cowan Band. Overstuffed and near deaf, blues fanatics and novices came together and sang along with the master