Drake White‘s inaugural Loblolly Fest is happening tomorrow. On Saturday, October 17, White is putting on his first music festival, held at The Bluff Amphitheater, in his hometown of Hokes Bluff, Alabama. White will be joined for the event by The Marshall Tucker Band, Randy Houser, Kassi Ashton, and more.

White is also one of the owners of The Bluff Amphitheater. For White, both the event space and the music festival is his way of giving back, seven years after suffering a near-fatal stroke in 2019.

“Having that story  – I was in the hospital after the stroke, and I said, ‘Lord, if you get me out of this hospital, I will give back to people,'” White tells Everything Nash. ‘I will show people the light in darkness,’ because I experienced a lot of darkness. I experienced a lot of why. Why am I going through this? What is the purpose? And I figured out how to get out of it, and it was because of people. And right after the stroke was the pandemic, so it was like a double banger. I was able to get out of it, so this is just the rising tide floating all the ships.”

 

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Why Drake White Wants to Honor Alabama With His Loblolly Fest

White proudly calls Alabama home. He also looks to several famous Alabama natives as he dreams for bigger things after his first Loblolly Fest.

“I figured if Jimmy Buffett from Red Bay, Alabama can build a three billion dollar company called Margaritaville, that I could do my version of bonfire and bourbon in the foothills of the Appalachians, and push music, culture. Push hope and light into northeast Alabama.”

White also commits that Loblolly Fest will become an annual event, thanks to his passion for his home state.

“We’re doing it every year,” White vows. “An open-air amphitheater is about as risky as it gets. It’s like throwing your dice on a roulette table. But I feel it. I feel like the spirit led. It’s in my mom and dad’s backyard, and it’s a 7500 capacity amphitheater. Riley Green’s having the time that he’s having right now. He’s from that area. Me and him talk a lot about it, because I tour with him. Me and Randy Owen have talked a lot, me and Jamey Johnson have talked a lot. Alabama’s having a moment right now, in a much bigger culture than just Etowah County in Alabama. With Ella [Langley] and Muscadine Bloodline, Red Clay Strays, and Riley and Jamey. I’m part of that conversation, and I want to help people.”

Loblolly Fest will also feature The Grove, a new outdoor sports bar that will allow guests to watch college football while enjoying the festival.

Proceeds from the event will benefit White’s nonprofit, The Benefit For The Brain. Find more information, and purchase tickets, at thebluffal.com.