SeaWorld's annual Bands, Brews and BBQ event starts on Feb. 1, and up until today, we had no idea who was playing it. Over the past six weeks, most of the acts scheduled to play the six-week-long music festival – including Trisha Yearwood, REO Speedwagon, Barenaked Ladies and more – backed out of playing after thousands of fans circulated petitions on Change.org urging their favorite singers to cancel, citing controversial claims made in the documentary Blackfish. "This is a complicated issue, and we don’t claim to understand all of it, but we don’t feel comfortable proceeding with the gig at this time," the Barenakeds told their fans on Facebook when they announced that they'd be pulling from the concert series.
SeaWorld kept saying that it had alternate acts lined up, and today they announced that two-time Grammy winner Alan Jackson will get the event started at 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1.
The following night, 4 p.m. Feb. 2, Kid Rock is scheduled to play at SeaWorld's Bayside Stadium. As of this writing, no other acts have been announced for the six-week event.
Remember pre-Blackfish days when Bands, Brew & BBQ was a place to go for a bowl of Rainbow Stew?