ROBERTSDALE — Gulf Shores isn't the only town to have a three-day music festival. Rockabilly Bama Lama Red White and Boom is set to rock Robertsdale June 30 – July 2.

What is Rockabilly, you ask? According to the Library of Congress, Rockabilly music came about after World War II and is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll. It is a combination of early rock and roll and "hillbilly" music. Some of the key artists include Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Wanda Jackson, Conway Twitty and Gene Vincent.

Judith Galloway and Linda Garret of CGE Productions have been working on this music festival for four years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Galloway and Garret said they think this is the perfect time to kick off the festival because people are ready to get back out and enjoy large-scale festivals again.

"We want to make this festival the best thing that has ever hit Alabama," Galloway said. "It is the most unusual because, as far as our research goes, Alabama has never had a Rockabilly festival. It is not a tribute festival or tribute artists. We are paying homage to the greats that started Rockabilly and we have great bands and artists coming."

The three-day festival is geared to entertain everyone from highchairs to rocking chairs and the organizers have made ticket prices accessible. Ticket prices range from $25 for one day general admission up to $3,750 for a 3-day VIP weekend for 10 guests.

"Our event is family-friendly, and we want to see the whole family there," Galloway said. "With various levels of tickets and ticket packages available we seek to make our event accessible to all and children under 12 get in free."

The lineup includes more than 15 Grammy-nominated and Grammy award-winning bands from all over the U.S., Europe and Columbia. Some artists that will be performing include Stray Cats, Lee Rocker and Jared Petteys and the Headliners.

Galloway said they chose Robertsdale and the Robertsdale Coliseum as the venue due to the central location and the ease of working with the city of Robertsdale.

"We love Baldwin County and Robertsdale," Galloway said. "It truly is the Hub City. With its wonderful people, quaint storefronts and level of growth the kindness of its residents shines through. It is full of personality and possibilities for future events of this magnitude."

CGE is hoping to build Rockabilly Bama Lama into a yearly event and one way of doing that is by offering something new. The all-day event will feature music as expected but it will also feature a car show, Rockabilly Pin-Up Pageant, dance contests and a talent show called Be a Star Contest.

Another unique aspect of the festival is the food. Instead of having various food trucks and festival food vendors, the festival will have a dining hall tent and a lounge tent. The Dew Drop Inn will offer seated dining with a menu featuring recipes from Rockabilly stars like Elvis's grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwich, Patsy Cline's fried chicken salad and more.

The organizers have been working to ensure those in attendance have a great time. Galloway is a stickler for festival shuttle availability and has hired four companies to run shuttles to the festival from the parking areas. She said she does not want people to have to wait for 30 minutes and wants a shuttle to be always waiting. She also said each evening will end with a fireworks display.

For more information on the Rockabilly Bama Lama music festival, to purchase tickets or register for one of the contests, visit rockabillybamalama.com.

Galloway said net proceeds from this event and four other CGE Productions events through April 2024, will benefit Autism-Epilepsy-SUDEP, a residential community for all persons on the spectrum and their families and caregivers to live, work, educate, socialize and recreate. The funds will be used to help purchase and develop a 786-acre estate for the sole purpose of better living and better quality of life.