Why You Should Plan a Trip to Billy Reid’s Shindig in Florence, Alabama

Life in Florence, Alabama, isn’t exactly normal. With two boutique hotels, farm-to-table fine dining, new-school coffee shops and yoga studios, a Grammy-recognized record label, and historic but affordable homes, this small town is populated by creatives from musicians and visual artists to entrepreneurs and tech workers. The energy they bring is the reason why Billy Reid, the CFDA Award-winning fashion designer continues to make his home and work in this corner of Alabama.

And every August, he brings more of that energy to Florence for his annual celebration, Shindig. What started as a way to show off the Shoals (the area home to Florence), has now become a hybrid style-music-food festival that brings in just as many big names out of state as it shows off in town. This year’s Shindig, which will be held August 23-25, enters a new decade with its 11th iteration and a roster filled with events including a concert with Margo Price in a historic theatre with only a little more than 700 seats. (There’s still a few tickets left to purchase here.)

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This year’s schedule also features a Friday night performance with headliners Jack White and The Raconteurs, who haven’t performed together in almost a decade. Artists who will perform in Wilson Park include the Blind Boys of Alabama, Drivin’ N Cryin’, and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. On Saturday, there will be a celebrity baseball game where Jack White’s team will face off against Billy’s followed by another concert, headlined by Nashville’s own Margo Price. And as always, the weekend features dinners and brunches created by James Beard Award-winning chefs including Justin Devillier, Michael Fojtasek, and John Currence. Billy Reid will also present his Spring/Summer 2020 runway show on Saturday afternoon.

For more information on Shindig or to purchase all-access passes, click here.