Melz Hangs Out At His First Red Dirt BBQ Fest

Before my arrival to East Texas, I already heard and knew about the annual Red Dirt Music and BBQ Festival in the downtown square of Tyler through lots of friends who have been. The common answer I always received when I would ask "How is it?" was "It's cool!", so my curiosity went into overdrive to check it out.

All throughout the week, our offices and studios at Townsquare Media have buzzing with excitement for this year's fest and I couldn't wait to check it out! Don't get it twisted that even though I'm a staunch R&B and hip hop dude, the opportunity to check out some great LIVE music once again AND 25 of the best BBQ restaurants in Texas serving up samples of their best dishes, was one too sweet to miss....even though I had to "work" and help out our team....I'm not complaining.

Since I work for the same company as our sister station KNUE I got the hook up to check it out all access and spent most of the day at the Dr. Pepper Photo Booth snapping photos of folks in attendance and whenever there was a break in the action, I would run and snatch trays of BBQ to enjoy.

While me (and my stomach) couldn't try everything out, I did try some AMAZING stuff throughout the day. From boudin balls to ribs, to pulled pork, to brisket with chimichurri sauce,  to waygu beef, it was dope!

While I didn't get to really check any of the bands because of all my "running around", you could still feel the energy and the beat all throughout the day.

But the BEST part of it all: Being out and about TOGETHER OUTSIDE with friends. Its been a tough year for us all and we're making it through the other side. Making new friends, eating great food and jamming to live music feels great again, so I'm super excited to come back next year and have a blast!