A BBQ Year in Review: Low & Slow in 2024

The Low & Slow Barbecue Show attacked the 2024 BBQ year with a plan for more, more, and more. On all fronts, the efforts were a success. From a 42-week run of new podcasts every Thursday to launching a YouTube channel and a newsletter, this year, we put a bigger spotlight on Carolina barbecue, pitmasters, competitors, and enthusiasts.

As we enter a new year, looking back at the accomplishments of 2024 serves as a guidepost to things we aim to accomplish during the next 12 months.

Keep reading for The Low & Slow Barbecue Show BBQ Year in Review for 2024.

2024 BBQ Year By the Numbers

Statistics don’t always spell success on the playing field.

However, for The Low & Slow Barbecue Show, a look at accomplishments by the numbers reveals the breadth of coverage provided to the Carolina barbecue scene.

Here are a few stats we’re proud to celebrate in our 2024 year in review:

• 44 new episodes starting with Operation BBQ Relief Founder Stan Hays on Feb. 11.
• 26 interviews with pitmasters from across the Carolinas.
• 18 blogs featuring BBQ restaurant reviews, podcast highlights, and BBQ news.

Finally, 38 editions of The Lowdown newsletter hit subscriber inboxes after launching May 7. Subscribe today, and we’ll send the latest Carolina BBQ news, blogs, interviews, and recipes directly to your inbox on Tuesday mornings.

A Growing Carolina BBQ Family

Another highlight of the 2024 BBQ year is our expanding partnerships with barbecue family friends.

In March, a rendezvous at Jon G’s brought us into the orbits of new friends, the Barbecue Bros and The Smoke Sheet. That same trip to Peachland included Master Blend Family Farms and “Batman,” Mr. All-Gas-N-Brakes-365, Ronald Simmons. We’ve welcomed Ronald to the show a couple of times, and he’s always a great interview and a great human being to know.

The Smoke Sheet’s founders “BBQ Tourist” Ryan Cooper and “NYC BBQ” Sean Ludwig, also shared the story of their BBQ journey with The Low & Slow Barbecue Show. Don’t miss Ryan’s recipe for “Boink Balls” in this blog. Sean and Ryan graciously allowed Low & Slow Barbecue Show host Chigger Willard to publish three feature stories through the nationally distributed newsletter.  

• Carolina BBQ Festival Pitmaster Collaborate for Charity – April 17.
• Bryan Furman is Set to Reclaim His BBQ Throne – June 26.
• Operation BBQ Relief Continues Mission to Help Disaster Victims – Oct. 23

Meanwhile, Southern BBQ Network joined The Low & Slow Barbecue Show family during the 2024 BBQ year. We’re excited to spotlight the great events Southern BBQ Network helps produce throughout its competition year. The Southern BBQ Network shared great knowledge with our audience, bringing new connections to great competition barbecue teams like The Ultimate Tailgaters.

Find out more about Southern BBQ Network in this podcast.

Celebrating Barbecue with Charlotte’s Carolina BBQ Festival

We’re excited to continue our partnership with the Carolina BBQ Festival team, including Let’s Meet CLT and Sweet Lew’s BBQ.

The 2025 installment of the Carolina BBQ Festival is set for April 4-5 at Victoria Yards in Charlotte. Be sure to secure your tickets today before they sell out!

The Low & Slow Barbecue Show hit the Carolina BBQ Festival scene for the first time in 2023. On-the-scene pitmaster interview shorts in our first year gave us a great introduction to pitmasters from across the Carolinas – and beyond.

Year 1 highlights included our conversation with Ken and Jess Hess from County Smoak in Virginia. And if you’ve ever wondered about “Catertainment,” do not miss our conversation with Holy City Hogs Pig farmer, pit master, and ring leader Tank Jackson.

In 2024, we expanded our vendor presence and spent the entire day greeting fans, talking with pitmasters, and, of course, sampling the great food featured in the festival.

Stay tuned to The Low & Slow Barbecue Show for more details about the 2025 Carolina BBQ Festival. We can’t wait to promote this great event and its Carolina pitmasters again this year.

Low & Slow Barbecue Show Goes to Video

In August, The Low & Slow Barbecue Show launched a YouTube channel. This platform allows us to publish video versions of our podcasts to the web. More importantly, it affords the opportunity to share the great video footage we capture behind the scenes on our barbecue journeys.

Currently, 39 videos are posted on The Low & Slow Barbecue Show YouTube Channel. Among these are pit-side interviews with pitmasters from across the Carolinas, including many of the annual Carolina BBQ Festival participants.

Stay tuned to our YouTube channel during 2025. More podcasts, interviews, BBQ reviews … instructional cooking videos? … are on the agenda for the year ahead.

A Village Behind the Low & Slow Barbecue Show

The Low & Slow Barbecue Show is a collaborative effort that requires the support, participation, and partnerships of many people.

Many thanks to all the pitmasters, competitors, and event organizers who shared their time for a podcast interview during the 2024 BBQ Year.

Thank you to our producer Andrew Moose, the team The Mesh.tv network of podcasts, and Jackson Creative. Without these people, there is no podcast.

Importantly, The Low & Slow Barbecue Show depends on YOU, too. Every podcast listen, newsletter click, blog open, social share and 5-star review is critical to growing our audience. And growing our audience is critical to the future of our endeavor.

So, thank you for subscribing to our newsletter, reading the blog, and listening to our podcast during 2024. More big things are heating up for the year ahead. Stay tuned and keep it LOW and SLOW.