We were recently contacted by Marlea Maschmeyer on behalf of the 2018 Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival, one of the biggest barbecue and music celebrations in the state. Their motto is "Come for the barbecue and stay for the blues!"

She asked if we could help spread the word on the three-day event combining the Lone Star State’s love of music and grilling with performers and pitmasters from across the country. The event will be held August 31 through September 2.

“We would be honored if Texas BBQ Posse would help us spread the word about the event to other BBQ enthusiasts and possibly attend the event, either as a competitor or just a fan-goer,” Marlea wrote.

In honor of the Bedford Blues & BBQ event's tenth anniversary, organizers are planning the inaugural and unprecedented BBQ Triple Play competition with three sanctioning organizations participating: International Bar-B-Que Cookers Association (IBCA), Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) and Steak Cookoff Association (SCA). Pitmasters will compete for more than $24,000 in prizes in 14 categories that includes the best chicken, pork ribs, pork, beef brisket, beans, sauce, dessert and steak.

Legendary blues guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd and his band are headliners for a great lineup of blues bands and artists. General admission tickets and parking are free August 31 as part of the “Friday Night Free-For-All." You can get event details and buy tickets online now at www.bedfordbluesfest.com.

Here are several other big BBQ events taking place in the DFW area this late summer and fall.

The Smoked Dallas BBQ & Music Festival will take place on Sept 22, 2018, in downtown Dallas, featuring a who’s who of top pitmasters from around the state. Here's a photo story we did on the 2017 Smoked Dallas! festival. Tickets are now on sale at www.smokedbbqfest.com.

The first annual Smoked Ft. Worth BBQ & Music Festival will take place at the Fort Worth Stockyards on Oct 13, 2018. Tickets are not yet on sale yet but you can check back at www.smokedbbqfest.com for more information.

The Smokin' Blues & BBQ Festival will be held October 19-20 in Duncanville. The event is a KCBS state championship, you can get more details at www.smokinbluesbbqfest.com.

The Fourth Annual Dallas Kosher BBQ Championship will be held October 27-28. We’ve written several stories about this event in the past, you can get more info at www.dallaskosherbbq.com.

Of course the big daddy of all barbecue festivals in the state is the Texas Monthly BBQ Fest 2018, held November 3-4 in Austin. All of the magazine’s Top 50 BBQ joints are invited along with a newcomer, this year’s invitee is pitmaster Reid Guess of Guess Family Barbecue in Waco. Here's a story and photos we posted on the first Texas Monthly BBQ Fest in 2013. You can get event details and buy tickets at www.texasmonthly.com.

There are BBQ cook-offs held every weekend around the state, they're really fun to attend and most are raising money for great causes. Here’s the 2018 KCBS cookoff event list and the ICBA event list for the state. Enjoy!