On April 14, Georgia Tech played house to "Barbecue and Bluegrass", a two part event featuring an early evening meal of rib sticking barbeque followed by some good ol pickin from 3 very talented Bluegrass Bands: Peachtree Station; Hot Buttered Rum; and Cherryholmes.
Peachtree Station opened up the show to a crowd who mostly remained seated, but were extremely attentive. After finishing up, there was a small break in the show, which was enough time for concertgoers to head to the lobby for coffee and refreshments. After the short intermission, Hot Buttered Rum took to the stage.
It seemed as though the crowd had loosened up a bit from the heavy BBQ dinner and was ready to have a good time. Hot Buttered Rum kicked off their set with Amanda Lynn, Limbo in Lovelock and Honey Be, all of which really got the crowd excited. As the evening progressed, the band seemed to enjoy the attentiveness of the crowd, giving them plenty of opportunities to share some stories and even talk about their bus. Before rolling into Well-Oiled Machine, HBR spoke of how they filled their tour bus with over 600 gallons of bio-fuel before heading down to Atlanta. HBR's tour bus runs on recycled vegetable oil, which they are able to get from restaurants that are willing to donate.
The guys finished off their 11 song set with a crowd pleasing cover of Paul Simon's Gumboots and then into Backrooms of My Mind and closing out the show with Wedding Day. Cherryholmes took the stage after to a much smaller crowd; however they put on a fantastic show which included some great stories, covers and even some clogging. After the show, concertgoers had the opportunity to meet all the members of Hot Buttered Rum and Cherryholmes, as well as purchase merchandise and get some autographs.
The evening went off without a hitch despite some unpleasant weather. A great venue, plenty of BBQ and lots of fine pickin Bluegrass. Personally, that's a combination that can never go wrong. Hot Buttered Rum and Cherryholmes can be found on tour all summer throughout the US.
