By Casey Curtis
Leader Staff Writer
If you weren’t in Oxford this weekend’what were you thinking?
Thousands of music lovers, young and old, flocked to Centennial and Scripter parks for Oxford’s Second Annual Hot Blues and BBQ Festival.
The weekend of music kicked off on Friday night in Centennial Park featuring Zydeco music from Fatboy and Jive Turkey and headliner Terrance Simien, who’s upbeat tunes got the whole park dancing into the evening.
Vendors included Victoria’s Delights and The Oxford Tap, which made the park feel like Louisiana with their delicious Cajun selections.
Saturday’s day-long event featured music from Pete ‘Big Dog? Fetters, last year’s winner Luther ‘Badman? Keith, and Oxford’s own Jazz Junk & the Booty. Eleven bands total played throughout the day.
At 11 p.m., headliner ‘Harmonica? Shah closed the night off with some of his no-holds-barred sound.
Hot Blues and BBQ is the kickoff event for 2006 Detroit Blues Challenge, the annual Motor City Breakdown.
Sponsored by the Detroit Blues Society and Royal Oak-based Big City Rhythm & Blues Magazine, the Breakdown is a series of local blues competitions in which winning acts advance to the next round, the ultimate goal being to send an unsigned, independent blues band from metro Detroit to the February 2007 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee Davis took first place this year and received a hollow-body commemorative guitar hand-crafted by Ron Couts, owner of the Chesterfield-based HMR Guitars.
With saucy ribs and ice-cold lemonade in hand, festival goers were overwhelmed with the many food vendors, like Lazy Bones Smokehouse, The French Gourmet and Mountain Town Station, lining the park.
A beer tent operated by the Oxford/Orion Kiwanis Club was filled to the brim with people enjoying Budweiser and Widmer Brothers products, as well as wine coolers.
Sunday’s Gospel Bluesfest, featuring Calvin Cooke and the Sacred Steel, drew about 300 listeners to Centennial Park.
Hot Blues and BBQ event coordinator Steve Allen said he was ‘very pleased with the event and its organization, volunteers, vendors, music and staff.?