The long walk across sprawling gravel parking lot entry to Hogs for the Cause allowed time to note all the out of state plates, trucks with trailers and a bumper sticker or two touting Donald Trump and the NRA.
Clearly, this event has grown. Any and all success is a good thing when it comes to supporting families fighting pediatric cancer, so relocating eighth installment of the festival-like fundraiser to the massive grounds between Lake Pontchartrain and UNO’s Kiefer Lakefront Arena was a smart move. It’s perfectly fine if some of the cooks come from places that bust New Orleans’ bohemian bubble.
The sweet, smoky scent of burning pork filled the sunny blue skies Friday and Saturday. While all the ribs, burnt ends and pork bellies on a stick were enough of an attraction, an expertly curated musical line-up puts Hogs for the Cause in rarified air as it approaches a decade as a main event on New Orleans’ crowded festival calendar. With three stages filled with music both days, two prevailing thoughts stick out: the Chris Robinson Brotherhood plays the best psychedelic rock out there these days, and the trend of returning to the old-school blues two-piece format of guitar and drums is producing killer, tight little bands in the London Souls and Shovels and Rope.
Local rockers Motel Radio kicked things of in fine fashion Friday, the boys facing the blazing late-afternoon sun with mirrored sunglasses and a rock swagger. This paved the way for the desolate Deep South crooning of Georgia boys the Futurebirds, who confessed to having “some meat sweats going” in a set that was highlighted by songs “Virginia Slims” and “Rodeo.”
New York duo the London Souls slayed their set as well. Guitarist Tash Neal worked his vintage Gibson 355 with wild abandon, blistering the strings for an electrifying sound through this Vox amp and Bigsby tremolo. Drummer Chris St. Hilaire proved a master of time, leading them though a slow-pace, reggae-like take on the Beatles’ “Get Back.” The Chris Robinson Brotherhood followed on the main stage and used their 90 minutes to take the crowd on a magic carpet so beautifully intense and boundary breaking that one bug-eyed fan rushed the stage. Chris Robinson saved the situation, simply putting the young man in check with a quick shove down and off the stage. Drawing some from deep-cut Black Crowes tracks (“Tornadoes,” “Star or Stone,” “I Ain’t Hiding”), the CRB has plenty of its own material to melt faces and inspire smiles with the interplay of Robinson’s vocals and Neal Casal’s otherworldly guitar wizardry.
On Day 2, CRB’s headliner slot was reserved for the BBQ competition awards, so the music was pushed up a bit earlier in the day, which saw crowds of roughly double that of Friday’s attendance. Railroad Earth finished their winter tour in balmy conditions, thrilling its crowd with a multi-instrumental weave through improv-heavy heady bluegrass, nailing originals like “Mighty River” and the closing cover of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Catfish John,” punctuated to wild crowd delight by a Dixieland-style clarinet solo.
Even if you’re tending bar and toiling over tables all week on Oak Street and you’ve heard George Porter Jr. sing “Lovelight” three times this week, you still go see him. It doesn’t matter matter if acclaimed Americana duo, Charleston, South Carolina’s husband-and-wife tandem Shovels and Rope plays opposite.
Solid scheduling by the Hogs for the Cause organizers allowed for a bit of time to take in Shovels and Rope, who upped their set’s energy from mellow singer-songwriter vibe to a barn-burning electrified blues in the White Stripes mold. You’ve also scheduled it pretty good, since you’ve got enough Hoggy Dollars to buy another beer and another pork belly on a stick on the way home—with two dollars worth in the event’s tokens to save for next year.
Here’s a look at the Hogs for the Cause competition winners:
Ben Sarrat, Jr. Grand Champion: Blue Oak BBQ
Top Fundraiser: Fleur de Que
Whole Hog: Mr. Pigglesworth
Ribs: Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q
Pork Butt/Shoulder: Mississippi Bacon Association
Porkpourri: Pork City BBQ (with their Green Curry Boudin)
Best Sauce: Aporkalypse Now
Fan Favorite: Mr. Pigglesworth
Blue Plate Mayonnaise “Best Side”: Stand Up and Snout
Best Booth: House of Hogs
Best Friday night party: The Boar’s Nest
All photos by Jeffrey Dupuis.
