The Annual Savannah Roundhouse Blues and BBQ Festival

The 2009 Festival is scheduled for NOV 13-14

You don't want to miss the annual Roundhouse Blues and BBQ Annual Festival.

This annual Fall weekend event at the historical railroad Roundhouse in downtown Savannah is hosted by Coastal Heritage Society, and features some of the top regional and national Blues artists. In addition, you can enjoy excellent Southern slow-cooked BBQ with all the extras. 100% of the proceeds help fund educational programming. For more info, visit: www.RoundhouseBluesandBBQ.com

Savannah has many hidden locations to discover for fun and excitment. The Roundhouse is one of those special gems that is often overlooked. Its full name is the Roundhouse Railroad Museum, and it is located at 601 West Harris Street which is one block West of MLK Jr Blvd near the Savannah Visitor Center. With only one entrance, it can be difficult to find, but it is worth the extra effort. Historically, in the days when railroads ruled the world of commerce and were the only choice for city to city transportation, the Roundhouse was a beehive of activity being the place where the big train engines coming into Savannah were turned around on the tracks to head back out to other destinations.

Today the Roundhouse Museum maintains the tracks, engines, and the turning wheel and keeps them all running in excellent working condition. Also on the site is a wonderful miniature train display which spans several rooms. It is a joy to watch the toy trains meander about the fantasy countryside. The Roundhouse Museum is part of the Coastal Heritage Society of Georgia www.CHSGeorgia.org along with several other fascinating historical locations in the Savannah area, all worth exploring.



The Roundhouse is mostly a large open area; however, it also contains a covered section with a full stage, making the Roundhouse an excellent location for concerts and cookout events. For this reason, when the Coastal Historical Society took over management of the Night in Old Savannah event in 1995, they moved it over to the Roundhouse where there was plenty of room for all of the people and festivities. As the years passed, the event began to focus primarily on Blues entertainment, and currently the annual extravaganza is known as the Savannah Blues and BBQ Festival www.RoundhouseBluesandBBQ.com .

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The 2007 Annual Roundhouse Blues and BBQ Festival included headliner guitarist Johnny Winter. Thousands crowded the Roundhouse both nights for delicious food and foot-stomping music in cool temperatures under clear skies. Other excellent Blues performers included locals Amburgy and Hanson, Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love (from Thunderbolt), and Magic Slim and the Teardrops (from Chicago), Spencer E. White, III and the Praise Delegation, Tremont Temple Missionary Baptist Church Gospel Ensemble, and Wanda Johnson with Shrimp City Slim (with Eddie Phillips on Guitar and Big Mike McCaine from Charlotte on Sax), who received a standing ovation for "Love is Like a Radio." All performances were superb full-power entertainment, and the crowd loved every minute. Johnny Winter played for nearly 2 hours covering many of his well-known favorite tunes. His guitar playing is as fast as ever, and he and his band played each song flawlessly.
You can learn more about Johnny at his official website: www.JohnnyWinter.net


Johnny's first album/CD was released in the late 60's simply titled, "Johnny Winter". It includes some really excellent Blues tracks, including a wonderful B. B. King tune titled, "Be Careful with a Fool" which is described by Johnny as a good ole Blues song and one of his favorites. That track really showcases Johnny's talent and style, particularly his lightning-fast guitar playing ability. It is difficult to listen as fast as he can play!