17th Annual Great Eldorado BBQ, Brews & Blues Festival
A Review by Kevin Reeves
Staff Writer
Believe it or not, the 17th Annual Great Eldorado BBQ, Brews & Blues Festival in downtown Reno, Nevada reminded me of back when I was living in Japan. I know: an American Blues-roots music festival featuring copious amounts of lip-smacking barbecue and enough beer to drown a dragon is not exactly quintessential Japanese fare. But during my time overseas, I noticed there was a festival nearly every weekend, depending on how far I was willing to travel within Japan. In a country as huge as the U.S., that wouldn’t seem so bizarre; but for an island country that could fit inside the state of California, such a multitude of festivals told me that the Japanese people truly valued communal celebration. The common thread was just about coming together, having a good time, and enjoying the ability to eat, drink and be merry.
The Great Eldorado BBQ, Brews & Blues Festival has been doing that very same thing (albeit in the high desert of Reno, as opposed to a Pacific island nation) for seventeen years, and I see no sign of this fun time ever going away. Mark your 2013 calendar’s June page now! As an office co-worker of mine told me, before I attended this year’s festival: “That [BB&B Festival] is a good time!” He may be a man of few words, but he sure wasn’t lying.
“It feels like our own party! Watching other great musicians come together and party there, on the street, is like [creative] food for us.” says Shane Dwight, a California-born blues rock musician now living in Nashville. His artist’s brain--heralded as “a music sensation” by the San Francisco Chronicle, “exceptional talent” by the Blues Revue, and an “ace songwriter” by USA Today--wasn’t the only thing getting fed at this festival.
In addition to smoking-hot blues from two different stages (whose locations and performances were divided enough to avoid stepping on one another’s sounds), there were also smoking-hot hogs: as in several whole pigs, smoked (as Eldorado’s VP of Food & Beverages, Gregg Carano put it: “from the rooter to the tooter”) right there on the street for all to see. Vegetarians beware! It felt like a Medieval Banquet when the barbecue experts hefted a giant pig out to cleave a fresh piece of pork right off the body, and handed it to me to taste. Photo by Kevin Reeves: fresh-smoked Hog
I’d figured my earlier helping of “Kick-Ass Fries” (smothered in sweet and spicy barbecue sauce, cheddar cheese, and pork), plus the mouth-watering “Big Dawg Burger” (for those who want a hotdog and a hamburger all at the same time), would have prevented me from having any more food. But the freshly-smoked pig was too tantalizing to pass up. Photo by Kevin Reeves: Kick-Ass Fries
Hearing Blues crooner Edwin McCain strumming the crowd’s heartstrings in the background (singing lyrics like “The strands in your eyes that color them wonderful, Stop me and steal my breath. And emeralds from mountains thrust towards the sky, Never revealing their true depth”), my brother-in-law and I enjoyed the sweet and bubbly company of Eldorado Publicist Jennifer Eastwood as we meandered about the microbrew tasting tents, representing nearly 40 breweries from around the world.
What’s not to love about buying a big plastic mug that you can carry from one brewery tent to another, sampling as much or as little you want of ales ranging from pale, amber, Belgium, pilsner, stout, dark, light, fruity, spicy, mild, biting, to everything in-between? Wish I’d had the gullet to try them all, but alas, I was only able to sample around 15 beers, my two favorites of which were Deschutes Brewery’s new Chainbreaker White IPA (out of Oregon) and Kona Brewery’s passion-fruit-tinged Wailua Wheat from Hawaii.
With a pleasantly full belly and a beer-soaked joie de vivre, I was in the perfect frame of mind to enjoy the aforementioned Dwight’s honky-tonk growl and sizzling rockabilly guitar twang. And I wasn’t alone. The crowd was clearly excited by the festival’s repeat performer who --although not the biggest name at the festival (compared to the arguably better known Fabulous Thunderbirds and Canned Heat)—was obviously a HUGE draw for attendees. It’s no wonder why; my eyebrows raised themselves involuntarily more than a couple times, in conjunction with my dropping jaw, as I wondered how Dwight’s guitar-slinging fingers weren’t reduced to bloody pulps, the way he banged out the music with such speed and heart.
Equally representing his self-written bittersweet 
poetry as well as his foot-stomping lively tunes, the charismatic artist played the crowd nearly as well as he played his instrument. “Some of my songs are more fun, and others are more private. The Good Life tells the true story of urban life, drug abuse, and the eventual decay of the adult life –if you let it– and that’s happened to people I’ve known, so I’m proud of how the song’s affected others.”
Courtesy Photo: Shane Dwight
Bouncing from the edge of the blues stages, back over to the food, I noticed even more delights for festival goers to enjoy: carne asada tacos, roasted corn, and more. “This year we have 4,000 pounds of ribs and 3,000 pounds of brisket. And of course, my barbecue sauce is killer,” Carano had told me before the festival, successfully whetting my appetite. At first I’d thought “Doesn’t everyone say their barbecue sauce is killer?” But as the first sauce-covered French fry touched my lips, I knew his sauce really was killer: not too spicy, but still with enough bite to provide a delicious contrast to the brown sugary sweetness. As I write this article, I’m already wishing I had some more (!) Photo by Kevin Reeves: Attendee Bob Northam (L) getting his BBQ on with Gregg Carano R, holding the fries
BBQ, brews and blues: sounds simple enough, right? But when a business like the Reno Eldorado decides to celebrate the advent of summer, out on the downtown streets, they prove there’s nothing 2-dimensional about it. And after all: how can a block party of over 25,000 people possibly be wrong?
Missed the great BBQ event this year? Escape to the Eldorado Hotel Casino, named "Best Rooms and Suites" by Casino Player Magazine, where every detail has been considered in order to provide you with the stay of a lifetime. Experience timeless luxury and friendly, personal service in the heart of Downtown Reno, the ultimate downtown Reno hotel vacation. Enjoy a Broadway-style production in the opulent Eldorado Showroom, spectacular bars and lounges, since 1973.
http://www.eldoradoreno.com
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