# Event Details - **Event Name**: Bob Sykes BBQ & BLUES Festival - **Event Start and End Date**: Sat, 25 Apr, 2026 at 11:00 am – Sat, 25 Apr, 2026 at 06:00 pm (-05:00) - **Event Description**: The festival combines the best of blues music and legendary Bob Sykes Bar B Q.About this EventExpect a day of talented blues musicians, legendary Bob Sykes Bar B Q and activiites for the entire family. Be prepared to sit back and relax or get up and dance to the blues at the beautiful DeBardeleben Park in downtown historic Bessemer, Alabama. Barbecue and Blues are a great combination so start planning for the 15th Annual Bob Sykes BBQ & BLUES Festival is set for Saturday, April 25, 2026 The event will combine the best of blues music and legendary Bob Sykes Bar B Q from 12-6pm. Gates open at 11am. Event is held at the beautiful DeBardeleben Park located at 1700 3rd Avenue North in Besemer, Alabama. Be sure to bring your chair or blanket and set-up your spot for the day to enjoy talented blues musicians.Since 2010, the event has been a local favorite for festival goers. Attendees of the festival range from youth to adults. 2nd generation owner and pit master of Bob Sykes Bar B Q Van Sykes says “Each year the festival grows and we couldn’t do it without our sponsors and the support of the community.” City of Bessemer Mayor Kenneth Gulley says "The Bob Sykes BBQ and BLUES Festival has been a great event for the City of Bessemer. We're looking forward to many more great years of barbecue and blues music in downtown Bessemer.”The festival has been chosen for numerous years as one of the top food festivals in Alabama by al.com. There are activities for the entire family including a large kids corner. Children eight and under are free with a ticketed adult. Besides great music and bbq the festival offers a variety of booths including arts and crafts, outdoor exhibits, and a diverse selection of vendors selling tempting offers.Tickets are $10 and day of the festival, the tickets are $15. Since the 2010, the festival has provided funding for Alabama local charities including Ady’s Army, The Bessemer Education Enhancement Foundation, Bessemer Service League, Caring Men and Caring Women, Children’s of Alabama Hospital, Clay House, Community Food Bank of Central Alabama, Hands on Birmingham, Latch and Live Foundation and Red Mountain Grace. The 2026 charity beneficiary will soon be announced.Bob Sykes BBQ & BLUES Festival Event Information:15th Annual Bob Sykes BBQ & BLUES FestivalSaturday, April 25, 202612pm-6pm. Gates open at 11amDeBardeleben Park at 1700 3rd Avenue NorthBessemer, Alabama$10 Tickets can be purchased at www.BobSykesBlues.comor visit Bob Sykes Bar B Q Restaurant$15 tickets day of eventhttps://www.eventbrite.com/e/bob-sykes-bbq-blues-festival-tickets-1371275896119?aff=oddtdtcreatorCall for more details at 205-426-1400### - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/bessemer/bob-sykes-bbq-and-blues-festival/100001371275896119 - **Event Categories**: festivals, nonprofit, charities, music, food-truck-festivals, food-drinks, entertainment, kids, art, music-festivals - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 20 ## Ticket Details - **Ticket Price Range**: min: 12.51, max: 12.51, currency: USD ## Event venue details - **city**: Bessemer - **state**: AL - **country**: United States - **location**: 1700 3rd Ave N - **lat**: 33.4009303 - **long**: -86.9554074 - **full address**: 1700 3rd Ave N, 1700 3rd Avenue North, Bessemer, United States ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: Bob Sykes BBQ & BLUES Festival - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events7/banners/71ec3d6560a91c4296d03afa3d461296788ca6cdbaf64ca388c16d3e59a8200d-rimg-w1200-h800-dcbfd8f3-gmir.jpg?v=1750470792 ## FAQs - **Q**: When and where is Bob Sykes BBQ & BLUES Festival being held? - **A:** Bob Sykes BBQ & BLUES Festival takes place on Sat, 25 Apr, 2026 at 11:00 am to Sat, 25 Apr, 2026 at 06:00 pm at 1700 3rd Ave N, 1700 3rd Avenue North, Bessemer, United States. - **Q**: How much do tickets cost for Bob Sykes BBQ & BLUES Festival? - **A:** Tickets for Bob Sykes BBQ & BLUES Festival are priced at USD 13 per person. This is a high-demand event - early booking is strongly recommended. Here's a full breakdown of available ticket types:Ticket TypePriceAvailabilityGeneral AdmissionUSD 13 + USD 3 feeAvailable - **Q**: Who is organizing Bob Sykes BBQ & BLUES Festival? - **A:** Bob Sykes BBQ & BLUES Festival is organized by Bob Sykes Bar B Q Restaurant. - **Q**: Who is this event for? Is it right for me? - **A:** Bob Sykes BBQ & BLUES Festival is ideal for music lovers, fans of all genres, and anyone who wants to celebrate the power of music - from intimate gigs and live sessions to festivals and cultural performances. Whether you're a first-time attendee or a longtime enthusiast in Bessemer, this event is thoughtfully curated to deliver a standout experience worth every moment. If Bob Sykes BBQ & BLUES Festival sounds like your kind of event, don't wait - spots fill up fast. ## Similar Events - **Event Name**: Cutting Edge Wood Creations @ Magic City Art Connection - **Date**: Fri, 24 Apr at 12:00 pm - **Venue**: 20 32nd Street North, Birmingham, Alabama, 35222, United States - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/birmingham/cutting-edge-wood-creations-magic-city-art-connection/200029599031828 - **Event Name**: Holi: The Festival of Colors - **Date**: Sat, 11 Apr at 12:00 pm - **Venue**: 2000 Reverend Abraham Woods Jr Blvd, Birmingham, AL, United States - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/birmingham/holi-the-festival-of-colors/200029809746252 - **Event Name**: 28th Annual St. Elias Lebanese Food and Cultural Festival - **Date**: Fri, 17 Apr at 10:00 am - **Venue**: 836 8th Street South, Birmingham, AL, United States, Alabama 35205 - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/birmingham/28th-annual-st-elias-lebanese-food-and-cultural-festival/200028742619403 - **Event Name**: The Tuscaloosa Margarita Festival - **Date**: Sat, 11 Apr at 12:00 pm - **Venue**: The Venue, 6052 Watermelon Road, Northport, United States - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/northport/the-tuscaloosa-margarita-festival/100001979897311155 - **Event Name**: 25th Annual Gardendale Magnolia Festival - **Date**: Fri, 17 Apr at 05:00 pm - **Venue**: Gardendale Civic Center, Gardendale, United States - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/gardendale/25th-annual-gardendale-magnolia-festival/200029560870012 - **Event Name**: Celebrate Hoover Day 2026 - **Date**: Sat, 25 Apr at 11:00 am - **Venue**: Veterans Park Hoover, Al, 4800 Valleydale Road,Hoover, Alabama, United States - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/hoover/celebrate-hoover-day-2026/200029869908513 ## Structured Data (JSON-LD) ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Event", "name": "Bob Sykes BBQ & BLUES Festival", "image": "https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events7/banners/71ec3d6560a91c4296d03afa3d461296788ca6cdbaf64ca388c16d3e59a8200d-rimg-w1200-h800-dcbfd8f3-gmir.jpg?v=1750470792", "startDate": "2026-04-25T11:00:00-05:00", "endDate": "2026-04-25T18:00:00-05:00", "url": "https://allevents.in/bessemer/bob-sykes-bbq-and-blues-festival/100001371275896119", "eventStatus": "https://schema.org/EventScheduled", "location": { "@type": "Place", "name": "1700 3rd Ave N", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "1700 3rd Avenue North", "postalCode": "35020", "addressLocality": "Bessemer", "addressRegion": "AL", "addressCountry": "US" }, "geo": { "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": "33.4009303", "longitude": "-86.9554074" } }, "eventAttendanceMode": "https://schema.org/OfflineEventAttendanceMode", "description": "The festival combines the best of blues music and legendary Bob Sykes Bar B Q.", "offers": [ { "@type": "AggregateOffer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "USD", "availabilityStarts": "2025-06-21", "availabilityEnds": "2026-04-25T18:00:00-05:00", "validFrom": "2025-06-21", "lowPrice": "12.51", "highPrice": "12.51", "price": "12.51", "url": "https://allevents.in/bessemer/bob-sykes-bbq-and-blues-festival/100001371275896119" }, { "@type": "Offer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "USD", "availabilityStarts": "2025-06-21", "availabilityEnds": "", "validFrom": "2025-06-21", "url": "https://allevents.in/bessemer/bob-sykes-bbq-and-blues-festival/100001371275896119", "price": "12.51", "name": "General Admission" } ], "organizer": [ { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Bob Sykes Bar B Q Restaurant", "url": "https://allevents.in/org/bob-sykes-bar-b-q-restaurant/22552298", "description": "Bob Sykes Bar B Q has been a staple in Birmingham, Alabama for decades and will celebrate its 65th anniversary this month. Bob Sykes is a family owned local tradition since 1957. Three generations of the Sykes family has proudly served authentic southern barbecue that literally goes from the pit to the plate. The late Bob and Maxine Sykes founded the restaurant and today their son Van runs the family business with the help of his nephew, Jason Jewell. Bob Sykes Bar B Q has been the benchmark for others to match for true southern barbecue. Times may have changed, but nothing has changed in the way Bob Sykes prepares and cooks their famous barbecue oven an open fire pit located in the center of the dining room for guests to watch.Barbecue and serving others is in the Sykes family blood. Van Sykes grew up in his family barbecue restaurant. By the time Van Sykes was 8 years old he was taking orders, helping in the kitchen and working the pits by the time he was 12. It didn’t take long for the flicker of the flame to catch his eye. For 65 years Bob Sykes Bbq has begun everyday but Sunday at 4am cooking fresh pork shoulders over a natural fire of hickory coals steeped in tradition.Bob Sykes Bar B Q has been a popular spot for barbecue lovers with its southern hospitality and menu items made fresh daily. Some of the many homemade favorites include the classic bbq pork sandwich, ribs, hamburgers, chicken, onion rings, potato salad, cole slaw, homemade pies and cakes including the red velvet cake and the Bob Sykes Bar B Q Sauce.Van Sykes says “we pride ourselves on never having deviated from the restaurants initial upstart that my parents created. We’ve stayed true to course. If you have a great product and you start with quality meats, quality items and everything is still made from scratch, people become accustomed to that. We’ve always kept the sauce as it was back in the 50’s that my Dad created.” The biggest change Bob Sykes has made over the years is adding daily menu specials including smoked wings, beef brisket, bbq tacos, catfish and “Grills Gone Wild” weekly specials. Van Sykes says “cooking bbq could be done easier but we like to do it the hard way.”Van Sykes is proud to announce that he has chronicled how his family traveled in founding the restaurant business. The name of the book is “From the Pit to the Plate” and will be released in 2022. The story tracks the Sykes family move from the farm to the city, marks the ways their work crossed lines of race, class, gender and the story of a true American family business that has evolved today into one of the most recognized names in Southern barbecue.Van Sykes is one of the 50 founding members of the Southern Foodways Alliance that documents, studies, and explores the diverse food cultures of the changing American South. John T Edge of Southern Foodways Alliance and host of TrueSouth on SEC Network/ESPN wrote the Foreword in the Bob Sykes Bar B Q book and says “For the Sykes family of Bessemer, Alabama, barbecue is their livelihood, their identity, their contribution to the place they call home. You will learn how a business has thrived. You will learn how a family has persevered. And you will learn a thing or three about barbecue.”Bob Sykes Bar B Q believes in revitalizing communities and bringing people together. The restaurant is hosting the 11th Annual Bob Sykes BBQ & BLUES Festival presented by the City of Bessemer and Premiere Chevrolet April 30, 2022 at the beautiful DeBardeleben Park in historic downtown Bessemer. The festival is a family event and draws thousands from all over Alabama and out of state who gather to hear national and local award winning blues musicians and enjoy legendary bbq. For more details please visit www.BobSykesBlues.comBob Sykes Bar B Q has received numerous awards and recognition over the years. In 2014, Bob Sykes was voted as the number one bbq sauce and their bbq pork sandwich was chosen as one of the “100 dishes to eat in Alabama before you die.” The restaurant has received national news coverage for its lemon ice box pie and bbq and been featured on the Food Network and Cooking Channel. The Travel Channel says Bob Sykes is “Not a chain, it’s just a good old fashioned joint with a pig sign and a happy man running it. The Bbq pit is the first thing you see when you enter and Van Sykes will tell you all about it if you ask.”Bob Sykes Bar B Q1724 9th Avenue NorthBessemer, Alabama 35020205-426-1400www.BobSykes.com" } ] } ] ```