The Roadhouse Band Homecoming BBQ

Roadhouse Band Homecoming Nov. 12 at Stovall's Grove features barbecue and Americana

One of the St. Louis area's top purveyors of Americana and Roots music, The Roadhouse Band, will celebrate its own roots on Saturday, Nov. 12, with an old-time barbecue and music festival at the historic Wildwood saloon and dance hall where the band got its start. Lovers of authentic American music and their families are invited to a "Roadhouse Homecoming" from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Stovall's Grove. 

Barbecue dinners will be available for $10 a plate and feature pulled pork, grilled chicken, hamburgers, brauts and hot dogs. Sides will include potato salad, coleslaw, barbecue beans and Cajun corn and new potatoes. Hot dogs cooked over an open fire are free for children 12 and under, and for dessert, kids can make their own S'mores.

Stovall's Grove is the oldest saloon and dance hall in St. Louis County and was added in 2009 to Wildwood's registry of historic sites. The Old Stovall's Grove Tavern was one of several buildings and land parcels that George and Mollie Stovall purchased in the 1930s. The set of buildings at that time served as a tavern, dance hall, general store and post office. The site also functioned as a stagecoach/wagon train stop between 1845 and 1904. Stovall's Grove is now owned by Dennis and Liz Elze.

The Roadhouse Band, consisting of Greg Hart, Steve Hollander, Mike Marxer and Kevin Weaks, evolved from a group of musicians that would gather at Stovall's on Tuesday nights. The group has gone through various names including the Tuesday night Tornadoes. The Roadhouse Band is known for its tight harmonies and eclectic playlist which ranges from John Prine and Guy Clark to Jerry Jeff Walker and Bob Dylan. In addition to Stovall's, the popular band frequently performs at benefits and private parties as well as recent concerts in city of St. Louis parks and Kirkwood's Greentree Festival.