Suncoast BBQ & Bluegrass Bash celebrates its 10th year

Over the past 10 years, Suncoast BBQ & Bluegrass Bash has grown into one of Southwest Florida’s most popular community events with nearly 20,000 attending last year. 

Organizers are expecting record crowds, since the bash has moved several weeks earlier on the crowded festival calendar. This Friday and Saturday, numerous seasonal visitors will be able to enjoy the festival for the first time at the Venice Airport Festival Grounds.

The barbecue competition sanctioned by the Florida BBQ Association takes center stage at the Venice Airport, but the free event also offers world-class bluegrass concerts, a chili cook-off for local chefs, a corn toss tournament and a classic car and truck show. 

The Old Town Saloon at the fairgrounds offers craft beers and select spirits. Spectators can check out multiple exhibits, including public safety, vintage race cars and classic cars, trucks and tractors. A Kids Corral will offer activities for the youngsters and teams will compete in the annual corn toss tournament.

While the bash itself — which is free, parking and all — takes place Saturday, events to celebrate the 10th anniversary kick off Thursday night. 

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Bash founder and organizer Don Fisher started the event as a community-style picnic and hoedown. Over the years, the bash has raised over $500,000 for the Suncoast Foundation for Handicapped Children. The organization provides rent-free building space to agencies that serve to 8,000 special-needs clients in Sarasota, Venice and North Port. 

“Everything is free thanks to the generosity of our sponsors,” Fisher said. “Come on out to have a good time for a good cause.”

Schedule and roundup of events 

Thursday

Kickoff celebration for sponsors, volunteers and media at Fox Lea Farm, 800 N. Auburn Road, Venice

5 p.m.: Equestrian activities; Entertainment by Gator Creek band, with face-painting and a wagon with Clydesdales.

5:30 p.m.: Battle of the Burgers. Pitmasters are paired with youngsters and adults representing agencies supported by the Suncoast Foundation for Handicapped Children; Taste of Venice by Made in Italy. Tickets are $20 each

6:30: Awards and celebrity roast

Friday

9 a.m.: Sporting clays shoot, Sarasota Gun Club, 3445 Rustic Road, Nokomis

5-9 p.m.: TGIF Party, with free entertainment by popular Venice bluegrass band Swinging Bridge and Friends. Old Town Saloon and Kids’ Corral open.

5 p.m.: Cruise-in by classic cars and trucks; Meet and greet contestants in the barbecue contest

6 p.m.: British Open Pub’s popular annual Fish Fry dinner ($15).

Saturday

10 a.m.: Gates open. No dogs. Bring a comfortable chair. Umbrellas, coolers and tents are not permitted.

10 a.m.-5 p.m.: Classic car and truck show.

11 a.m.: Florida BBQ Association State Championship. Buy tickets to sample world-class barbecue as 20 teams compete for a $20,000 purse. The contest is sanctioned by the Florida BBQ Association and is a qualifier for the Jack Daniels World Championship, the American Royale World Series of Barbecue and Sonny’s Smokin’ Showdown. 

11 a.m.: Chili cook-off. Participants compete for a $1,000 cash purse and an invitation to the World Food Championship. Spectators can purchase $5 tickets to sample chili and vote on their favorites.

11 a.m.: Registration starts for corn toss tournament 

Noon: Judging of chili cook-off; Corn toss tournament

On the stage

11 a.m: Swinging Bridge

12:15 p.m.: Flatt Lonesome

1:30 p.m.: The Grascals

2:45 p.m.: Lonesome River Band

4 p.m.: I Heart Banjos featuring Sammy Shelor and Kristin Scott Benson

4:15 p.m.: Appalachian Jam featuring members of all three national bands

4:45 p.m.: Tribute to Our Friends

5 p.m.: Award announcements. Battle of the Burgers winners announced first, with chili cook-off results at 5:15 and barbecue contest results at 5:30.

Three top national bluegrass bands return to the bash

Suncoast BBQ & Bluegrass Bash founder and organizer Don Fisher invited three of the top bluegrass bands that have graced the stage back to the celebrate the event’s 10th annual anniversary. 

All are multiple International Bluegrass Music Association winners over the years — Flatt Lonesome, The Grascals and Lonesome River Band.

“We’re excited to be back,” said Danny Roberts, the Grascals’ mandolin player. “We’re going to have a good time, so you might as well join in.”

The two-time IBMA Entertainers of the Year are coming off a string of No. 1 hits featuring lead singer John Bryan, including “Heartbreak Hall of Fame” off the band’s soon-to-be released album. 

Banjo player Kristin Scott Benson notched another nationwide award by becoming the 2018 recipient of the Steve Martin Award for Excellence in Bluegrass and Banjo. The four-time IBMA Banjo Player of the Year will collaborate with the Lonesome River Band’s Sammy Shelor, who won the Steve Martin award in 2011. 

“She is an amazing person all the way around. She’s a great musician, she’s a great mandolin player, great guitar player,” Roberts said of Benson. “She’s such a huge asset to The Grascals in so many more ways than just playing the banjo.” 

The Grascals, who started out as a band backing Dolly Parton on a bluegrass tour about 15 years ago, are happy to be back on the bluegrass festival circuit.

“Bluegrass, it’s like a big family," Roberts said. "There’s definitely something special about this world we’re in.”

The bands

Swinging Bridge: 11 a.m. Saturday, also playing Friday’s TGIF Party

Kicking off the free concert is popular Venice-area band Swinging Bridge. The band recently marked its 20-year anniversary with a live CD. Swinging Bridge excels at traditional bluegrass and classic country and has built a following in Florida and beyond.

Flatt Lonesome: 12:15 p.m.

This looks like it could be Florida bluegrass fans’ last chance to the see the two-time IBMA Vocal Group of the Year in concert. Earlier this year, the young musicians announced that Flatt Lonesome would go on hiatus after the 2019 festival season.

The band features siblings and Florida natives Kelsi Robertson Harrigill, Buddy Robertson and Charli Robertson Shuler. Kelsi and her husband, banjo player Paul Harrigill, have a young son. Buddy and Charli, who are twins, both got married this summer. The Grascals’ Roberts has been a mentor to the musicians since Flatt Lonesome first formed for a band contest in 2011. He said with all the changes in their young lives, the band decided to take a break.

“They’re like family. They’ve always been like our kids,” said Roberts, whose wife, Andrea, is Flatt Lonesome’s manager. “I think they all have to just see where life leads for a little bit and then get settled back in and then figure out what they want to do from there.” 

The Grascals: 1:30 p.m.

This Nashville-based band has won the prestigious IBMA Entertainer of Year Awards twice and showcases Benson, one of the best banjo players on the bluegrass circuit. The Grascals play a contemporary traditional mix of bluegrass and classic country, featuring talented singers John Bryan and Terry Eldredge.

“It’s good that after this many years that people still seem to like our music and request it,” Roberts said. 

Lonesome River Band: 2:45 p.m.

This Virginia-based band has been a fixture at the Bash for the past few years, delighting audiences with their signature rock-infused brand of bluegrass. Banjo player Sammy Shelor sets the tone for the band with his driving style of playing. “I always describe Lonesome River Band as a traditional bluegrass band with a rock ’n’ roll downbeat,” Shelor said in a 2017 interview with the Herald-Tribune. Singers Brandon Rickman and Jesse Smathers front the band, which recently celebrated its 30th year in bluegrass. 

I Heart Banjos and Appalachian Jam: 4 p.m.

Stellar banjo players Shelor and Benson are featured in a once-in-lifetime collaboration.

Then all three bands take the stage for a finale featuring classic bluegrass and gospel favorites.