A listing of events happening around the country involving Barbecue, Blues and Brews—as well as other live music, cornhole, motorcycles……
This is continuing to be a huge list of events, so as summer transitions to fall there are plenty of options for some good BBQ, beer and [often] live music! One thing I noticed as I compiled these festivals is that many events from last year were cancelled for 2017. Hope they are able to return by 2018 [Links in festival names].
Aug 31-Sep 3
American Royal World Series of Barbecue | Kansas City, KS
Sep 1-2
Beach Boogie & BBQ Festival | Myrtle Beach, SC
Sep 1-2
Pigmania | Lebanon, OH
Sep 1-2
Smoke the Town | Leon, IA
Sep 1-2
Smokin’ in the Bogs | Warrens, WI
Sep 1-3
Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival | Bedford, TX
Sep 2
Sam’s Club National BBQ Tour | Traverse City, MI
Sep 2-3
Big Muddy Brew ‘N Que | Winona, MN
Sep 2-3
Blues Views & BBQ Festival | Westport, CT
Sep 2-3
Redwood Coast Grills Gone Wild | Crescent City, CA
Sep 2-3
Septemberfest BBQ & Rib-eye Steak Cookoff | Omaha, NE
Sep 8-9
Apple & BBQ Festival | Hart, MI
Sep 8-9
Colorado Pork & Hops Challenge | Grand Junction, CO
Sep 8-9
Derby BBQ Festival | Derby, KS
Sep 8-9
Hog Wild BBQ Contest | Leavenworth, KS
Sep 8-9
International Goat Days Championship BBQ | Millington, TN
Sep 8-9
Puckaway Pigfest | Montello, WI
Sep 8-9
Ribs, Rods & Rock ‘n Roll | Vermillion, SD
Sep 8-9
Smoke on the Ohio | Mt. Vernon, IN
Sep 8-9
South Georgia BBQ & Outdoor Festival | Douglas, GA
Sep 8-9
Tony Stone Cookeville Cookoff | Cookeville, TN
Sep 8-10
Kentucky State BBQ Festival | Danville, KY
Sep 8-10
Puckaway Pigfest | Montello, WI
Sep 9
Bands, Brews and Barbecue | Manassas, VA
Sep 9
Beak Week BBQ Challenge | Goldsboro, NC
Sep 9
Granite City BBQ Festival | Elberton, GA
Sep 9
Hot Pursuit BBQ Cook-off | Shawnee, OK
Sep 9
Recovery Fest BBQ Cookoff | Richmond, VA
Sep 9
Sam’s Club National BBQ Tour | Kansas City, MO
Sep 9-10
Green Mountain BBQ Championship | Randolph, VT
Sep 9-10
Oldies but Goodies Fest & BBQ Cook-off | West Baton Rouge, LA
Sep 10
Kansas City Kosher BBQ Contest | Overland Park, KS
Sep 15
BBQ & Huckster’s Day | Butler, MO
Sep 15-16
Bands & BBQ at the Point | Carrollton, KY
Sep 15-16
BBQ Championship & Huckster’s Day | Butler, MO
Sep 15-16
Cherokee Strip Cook-Off | Ponca City, OK
Sep 15-16
Jesse James Barbeque Cook-Out | Kearney, MO
Sep 15-16
King Turkey Day Smokin’ Gobbler Barbecue Cook-Off | Worthington, MN
Sep 15-16
Marshall County Blazin’ BBQ & Bluegrass | Plymouth, IN
Sep 15-16
Pork-a-Palooza | Weatherford, OK
Sep 15-16
Riverfest Barbecue Competition | Decatur, AL
Sep 15-16
Smokin on the White BBQ Championship | Batesville, AR
Sep 15-16
Smokin Pig BBQ Fest | Lake City, FL
Sep 15-16
Taste of Autumn BBQ Championship | Spearfish, SD
Sep 15-16
Tilley’s Biker Blues & BBQ Rally | Salisbury, NC
Sep 15-17
Smoke on the Water Arkansas BBQ Championship | Atlantic City, NJ
Sep 16
Blue & Gray BBQ Contest and Craft Festival | Chickamauga, GA
Sep 16
Blue Ridge Blues and BBQ Music Festival | Blue Ridge, GA
Sep 16
Currituck Heritage Festival Bulls & BBQ | Powells Point, NC
Sep 16
Grillin’ @Gator Grounds | Bunkie, LA
Sep 16
Hot Q’s & Cold Brews BBQ Championship | Oroville, CA
Sep 16
Rock’N Brews and BBQ | Nampa, ID
Sep 16
Rock’n Ribville | Lawrenceville, GA
Sep 16
Sam’s Club National BBQ Tour | Madison, WI
Sep 16
Smokin’ on the Rez BBQ & Music Festival | Ridgeland, MS
Sep 16-17
Boats & Bones | Kimberling City, MO
Sep 16-18
Que by the Sea BBQ Competition & Festival | Seaside Heights, NJ
Sep 20-23
Blues, Brews & BBQ | Fayetteville, AR
Sep 21-23
Murphysboro BBQ Cookoff | Murphysboro, IL
Sep 22-23
BBQ on the Hill | Blue Island, IL
Sep 22-23
Bikes, Blues & BBQ | Fayetteville, AR
Sep 22-23
Butts and Beans BBQ Challenge | Newton, NC
Sep 22-23
Grillin & Chillin BBQ Cookoff | Owensboro, KY
Sep 22-23
Jammin’ in J.C. Blues & Barbecue Festival | Junction City, KS
Sep 22-23
Muletown BBQ Cook-off | Columbia, TN
Sep 22-23
Rumble on the River | Grand Haven, MI
Sep 22-23
Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship | Shawnee, KS
Sep 22-23
Smoke & Soul Fest | Casper, WY
Sep 22-23
Smoke in the Park | Lemoyne, PA
Sep 22-23
Smoke in the Valley | Pikeville, TN
Sep 22-23
Smokin’ in the Hills | Hillsboro, OH
Sep 22-23
Smokin’ in the Pines BBQ Festival | Live Oak, FL
Sep 22-23
Smokin Up Layton Hill | Layton, UT
Sep 22-23
Tri-City BBQ Fest | Denison, IA
Sep 22-24
Great Maine BBQ Challenge | Southwest Harbor, ME
Sep 22-24
Oinktoberfest BBQ Cookoff | Clarence, NY
Sep 23
BB Brew for Hope | Fort Collins, CO
Sep 23
Blues, Brews & BBQ | Hinesville, GA
Sep 23
Sam’s Club National BBQ Tour | Edmond, OK
Sep 23-24
Que by the Sea BBQ Festival & Competition | Seaside Heights, NJ
Sep 23-24
Smoke in the Park | Lemoyne, PA
Sep 24
Carnivores Classic | Missoula, MT
Sep 29-30
Downtown Jonesboro BBQ Festival | Jonesboro, AR
Sep 29-30
Lulu’s Brew & Que | Brighton, CO
Sep 29-30
Smoke on the Trails BBQ Competition | Gardner, KS
Sep 29-30
Smokin’ in Sapula | Sapula, OK
Sep 29-30
Smoking in the Golden Valley | Clinton, MO
Sep 29-Oct 1
PortoberQue | Dothan, AL
Sep 29-Oct 1
Red White & Que BBQ Competition & Music Festival | Cresskill, NJ
Sep 30
Bryants’s Buzzin’ BBQ Bash | Bryant, AR
Sep 30
Barbecue in the Badlands | Glendive, MT
Sep 30
Rim Country BBQ Classic | Payson, AZ
Sep 30
Unruly Country Brew n Que Festival | Sonora, CA
Oct 6-7
Decatur”s Smokin’ BBQ Festival | Decatur, IL
Oct 6-7
Fire ‘n’ Up the Flint Hills | Council Grove, KS
Oct 6-7
Go Hog Wild Arkansas State Championship BBQ Cookoff | Sheridan, AR
Oct 6-7
Harbor-Que State Championship BBQ Festival | Winthrop Harbor, IL
Oct 6-7
Independence Fire & Ice BBQ | Independence, MO
Oct 6-7
Jim Beam BBQ Classic | Springfield, KY
Oct 6-7
Keystone Classic BBQ State Championship | Harrisburg, PA
Oct 6-7
Roast~n~Boast BBQ Cooking Competition | Columbus, MS
Oct 6-7
Squealin’ on the Square | Laurens, SC
Oct 6-7
Wisconsin Colorfest & BBQ Bash | Turtle Lake, WI
Oct 6-8
Devon Grube Memorial BBQ Classic | Virginia Beach, VA
Oct 7
BBQ & Blues on the Levee | Helena, AR
Oct 7
Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival | Leesburg, VA
Oct 7
Bicycles, Brews & BBQ Festival | Commerce, GA
Oct 7
Que & Cruz | Louisa, VA
Oct 7
Riverside Blues, Brews & BBQ | Greenfield, MA
Oct 7
Sam’s Club National BBQ Championship | Bentonville, AR
Oct 7
Smoke on the Water | Guntersville, AL
Oct 7-8
Fall Festival & Pig Roast & BBQ | Newbury, NH
Oct 13-14
Anchor City BBQ Contest | Centralia, MO
Oct 13-14
Central Illinois Bragging Rights KCBS & Backyard BBQ Competition | Arthur, IL
Oct 13-14
Cookin’ on the Kaw Blues and BBQ Festival | Desoto, KS
Oct 13-14
Eastern Carolina BBQ Throw Down | Rocky Mount, NC
Oct 13-14
OC BBQ Competition | Costa Mesa, CA
Oct 13-14
The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival | Lyons, GA
Oct 13-14
Smoke & Ale Fall Festival | Chelsea, MI
Oct 13-14
Smokin’ Blues & BBQ Festival | Duncanville, TX
Oct 13-15
Crescent City Blues and BBQ Festival | New Orleans, LA
Oct 13-15
Grillin & Chillin BBQ Cookoff | Waxhaw, NC
Oct 14
Blues, Brews and BBQ Festival and Competition | Prince Frederick, MD
Oct 14
Shenandoah Autumnfest/BBQ Fest | Woodstock, VA
Oct 14-15
Bay State BBQ Championship | Monson, MA
Oct 14-15
Bedouin Brew & Bar-B-Que | Muskogee, OK
Oct 14-15
Nile Beer-B-Q | Billings, MT
Oct 20-21
Best of the Midwest BBQ Cook-off | Union Grove, WI
Oct 20-21
Big Buffalo Crossing BBQ Cook-Off | Munfordville, KY
Oct 20-21
Blaze-Off and Senior Q | Independence, MO
Oct 20-21
Boo-B-Que | Rehobeth Beach, DE
Oct 20-21
Downtown BBQ Showdown | Hattiesburg, MS
Oct 20-21
Harper County Bullseye Barbecue | Harper, KS
Oct 20-21
Logandale Fall Festival BBQ Cookoff | Logandale, NV
Oct 20-21
Mid-South Barbecue Festival | Mount Pleasant, TN
Oct 20-21
Ohio Smoked Meat & BBQ Festival | Nelsonville, OH
Oct 20-21
Smoking in the Foothills Barbecue Competition and Festival | Lenoir, NC
Oct 21-22
Ocean State BBQ Championship | West Kingston, RI
Oct 20-21
Vander Pig Cook-Off | Fayetteville, NC
Oct 26
Mallard Creek BBQ | Charlotte, NC
Oct 27-28
Border War BBQ | Osawatomie, KS
Oct 27-28
Jack Daniel’s World Championship Barbecue Invitational | Lynchburg, TN
Oct 27-28
Smokin’ the Fort BBQ & Bluegrass Festival | Fort Gibson, OK
Oct 28
Barbecue Festival | Lexington, NC
Oct 29
Dallas Kosher BBQ Championship | Dallas, TX
Oct 29
Rock Springs BBQ Bash | Black Canyon City, AZ
