I travel and sing for a living. I sing Gospel Music. We lived in Nashville for a while, but missed the mountains and the people here so we came back.
It doesn’t take long to realize that these mountains are filled with talent. Many professional singers, musicians, and artists call The Smokies home.
One such man is Tony Gore. Tony Gore has traveled the gospel music concert circuit for over twenty years. Tony started traveling with The Wilburns and then enjoyed a successful career with his own group, Tony Gore and Majesty.
Following those years, Tony traveled as a soloist until he settled in Sevierville and opened Tony Gore’s Smoky Mountain BBQ & Grill on Highway 66. I have known Tony for several years. I have even eaten his cooking at different places along our travels, but I have never experienced his “real cookin’” until he opened his restaurant. The best ribs in the world! For real.
But the point of this article is that Tony has started a two month long concert series that features his good food and his gospel music friends. Tony has placed a huge tent beside his restaurant complete with a stage, sound system, banquet tables, and chairs and a buffet. Everyday (except Sundays) in September and October, Tony has scheduled a Singing and Dinner on the Grounds.
People can come and enjoy the beautiful autumn weather, wonderful southern food, and good ol’ Southern Gospel Music. Tony has scheduled artists like The Nelons, The Hoppers, The Chuck Wagon Gang, Lu Lu Roman, The Talley Trio, and many others.
I am fortunate to be one of the guests on his line up this month. I was there last week to do some emcee work for one of the concerts and there were people from Norway and South America. It was so interesting to talk to these people who have literally traveled around the world for our food and our music.
They said they saw the advertisement on Tony’s website and decided to make the trip. Another couple told me they heard it on the radio earlier in the day and decided to attend the concert. There were even some locals who had attended for 6 shows straight in a row. With all this said, you can tell it’s worth going!
The buffet for the concert series includes smoked pork and chicken, mashed potatoes, friend okra, green beans, corn, sliced tomatoes, coleslaw, fruit salad, and a slew of desserts. All of this is homemade too!
One of my wife’s favorite parts of Tony’s is the variety of bar-b-que sauces. These sauces are all homemade by Tony and include some of his family recipes. Sauces include Hot Mustard, Fire Water, Southern Bar-B-Que, and two more that I can’t remember!
When you head down Highway 66 into Pigeon Forge you will see a big, really big, white tent beside a little bar-b-que restaurant. That’s the place!