Pine Belt musician and Piney Woods Picnic co-founder Cary Hudson is passionate about preserving the Pascagoula River Basin, which runs through the Piney Woods and is fed by the Leaf and Bouie rivers.
That’s why each year Hudson and Tom White pull together the event, which is now in its fifth year and helps raise awareness of the importance of preserving this 80-mile stretch of water.
Hudson, who grew up in Sumrall - where he still lives most of the time - has always enjoyed a swim hole on the Bouie. “My cabin is about a mile from the Bouie and it’s just a little swim hole I also used growing up as a teenager,” he said. “I always loved going there.”
But it wasn’t until he started canoeing these creeks and others that he learned to appreciate the Pascagoula, especially the tributaries that flow into the system.
After moving to North Mississippi, Hudson had a greater appreciation of what he’d left behind and realized how really special the rivers, creeks and tributaries were.
“I’ve been a few other places, the Truckee and Colorado River and places in the Appalachians, but I just love the river systems around here,” Hudson said. “They are beautiful.
“I guess the way Tom and I thought about it is if you’re doing a festival it needs to be about something that is a little big bigger than getting together for music and a party. It was a great thing to do and nice to bring awareness to the river system. It’s an interest I share with Tom.”
Hudson said the music performed during the four-day event (Sept. 13-16 at Elks Lake Music Park) will feature an Americana, rootsy-type music.
According to Hudson, they will focus on Americana – bluesy, country and rock ‘n’ roll.
“We also have a focus on including lots of bands from the Pine Belt region and we particularly focus on original artists, those who write their own music,” said Hudson.
They bring in musicians from other places, but also feature a lot of local people.
This year the Picnic will feature two stages, thanks to Heath Kleinke, who also created the T-shirts and poster images promoting the event.
“He is sponsoring his own stage this year, so that brought a lot more local people into the group, which is great,” Hudson said.
The event starts on Thursday, Sept. 13, and runs through Sunday, Sept. 16, and “we don’t rush people out on Sunday morning. We kind of sit around and sing gospel songs and things like that. We also have jams around the campfires after all of the main performances are done for the day, so we encourage people to stay on the grounds with us and camp and bring a guitar, mandolin or whatever you’ve got.”
There will be food/beverage booths, as well as crafts and information booths and Abigail Allen will be constructing her Fairy Village again.
Hudson said there are still plenty of RV spots open, as well as primitive camping sites. The event is also very kid friendly.
Tickets can be purchased at http://pwp2018.com/tickets/. For more information, visit the Piney Woods Picnic Facebook page.
