Holy Smokes! Tickets Are Going Fast

A new barbecue festival is coming to the Lowcountry this fall, and tickets are going fast.

Holy Smokes! A Lowcountry Barbecue Festival will be held November 13th at The Bend, an outdoor events venue along the Ashley River in North Charleston.

The event is the brainchild of the owner/pitmasters Anthony DiBernardo of Swig & Swine and Aaron Siegel and Taylor Garrigan of Home Team BBQ, and it will bring together a lineup of barbecue talent from around the country. The organizers include the Southeastern Dispatch’s founder and resident barbecue historian, Robert F. Moss, and they say their goal is to celebrate the rich culture, history, and traditions of American barbecue while also offering guests a unique taste of the South Carolina Lowcountry.

It’s all for a good cause, too: raising funds for Hogs for the Cause, an organization that supports families affected by pediatric brain cancer. All proceeds from the event will remain in the Lowcountry to support patients and their families at MUSC Children’s Hospital.

It’s a pretty impressive list of barbecue talent. Seven local pitmasters will be joined by a delegation of visiting cooks from barbecue joints around the country, with some coming from as far away as Texas, California, and even Connecticut. (Yes, they apparently cook barbecue in Connecticut these days.)

Chris Lilly of Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur, Alabama, is one of two dozen acclaimed pitmasters coming to the Lowcountry for Holy Smokes (Holy Smokes Festival)

Here’s the full line-up:

• Michael Bessinger (Bessinger’s BBQ, Charleston, South Carolina)
• Chris Lilly (Big Bob Gibson BBQ, Decatur, Alabama)
• Ronnie Evans & Philip Moseley (Blue Oak BBQ, New Orleans, Louisiana)
• Elliott Moss & Meherwan Irani (Buxton Hall, Asheville, North Carolina)
• Patrick Feges & Erin Smith (Feges BBQ, Houston, Texas)
• Jonathan & Justin Fox (Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q, Atlanta, Georgia)
• Tank Jackson, Holy City Hogs (Charleston, South Carolina)
• Aaron Siegel & Taylor Garrigan (Home Team BBQ, Charleston, South Carolina)
• Billy Durney, Hometown BBQ (New York, New York)
• Cody Sperry, (HooDoo Brown, Ridgefield, Connecticut)
• Evan Leroy (Leroy and Lewis BBQ, Austin, Texas)
• John Lewis (Lewis BBQ, Charleston, South Carolina)
• Madison Ruckel (Mama Jean’s, Roanoke, Virginia)
• Pat Martin (Martin’s Bar-B-Que, Nashville, Tennessee)
• Carey Bringle (Peg Leg Porker, Nashville, Tennessee)
• Rodney Scott, Rodney Scott’s BBQ, Charleston, South Carolina)
• Sam Jones, Sam Jones BBQ, Winterville, North Carolina)
• Harrison Sapp, Southern Soul, St. Simons, Georgia)
• Anthony DiBernardo, Swig & Swine, Charleston, South Carolina)
• Leo Botello, Truth BBQ, Houston, Texas)

That's two dozen pitmasters from ten different states, all converging on the banks of the Ashley River.

Elliott Moss is among the lineup of notable pitmasters coming to the Lowcounty for Holy Smokes (Tim Robinson)

A general admission ticket will buy guests all-you-can-eat access to three "barbecue villages". In the first, pitmasters like Sam Jones and Rodney Scott will be preparing different versions of traditional wood-cooked whole hog barbecue. In the next, cooks like Leo Botello of Truth BBQ, and John Lewis of Lewis BBQ will be smoking up an array of beef ribs, brisket, and other Texas-style specialties. The third village will feature new school barbecue, with cooks like Southern Soul's Harrison Sapp and Jonathan and Justin Fox of Fox Bros. getting creative as they incorporate slow-smoked meats into all sorts of innovative dishes.

Live bands will be playing throughout the day, and beer and wine will be available for purchase. The music lineup kicks off with Mac Leaphart, a Nashville-based singer-songwriter, followed by Americana rock band the Cordovas. Headliner Elizabeth Cook, another Nashville-based artist, will round things out with her sharp, supercharged country sound.

Nashville singer-songwriter Elizabeth Cook is headlining the musical performances at Holy Smokes (Holy Smokes Festival)

A limited number of VIP tickets include specialty drinks as well as access to an exclusive VIP area with a private bar and snacks from noted Southern chefs . . . but those sold out within the first hour of the ticket launch.

As of this writing, the festival team reports that fewer than 400 general admission tickets remain, so you better move fast if you’re hungry for a parade of fine barbecue in November. Tickets and more details are available at the Holy Smokes festival website.