I can't believe how fast the summer is flying by! A couple of weeks ago I took some time off to soak up some sun at home to Georgia, spend some time with my family and enjoy Sea Island's annual Southern Grown Festival.

Weekend Recap: Sea Island's Southern Grown Festival

In it's second year, Southern Grown Fest is a multi-day event in Sea Island, Georgia all about food, drink, and music. In the days leading up to the finale concert there are several parties and educational sessions like "How to Make a 12 Layer Cake" and a cheese making class with the Southern masters of queso, Sweet Grass Dairy.I could only get away for a couple of days so I missed out this year; I had my eye on Fermentation Experimentation, a deeper look into brewing beer. Fingers crossed they'll offer something similar in the future. Learning how to make homemade pasta would be pretty awesome too. Check out the rest of the lineup from this year here.

The highlight of the weekend was without a doubt the festival concert with Grammy Award winning artists Jason Isbell and Tedeschi Trucks Band; both were incredible. When it comes to Susan Tedeschi, I'm an embarrassing fan girl. I saw her get off the tour bus during Isbell's set and I tried to squelch my school girl squeel. I discovered Susan Tedeschi when we lived in Maui and was hooked instantly. To me she's a combo of Bonnie Raitt and Aretha Franklin wrapped up in a fabulous sequin frock wailing on an electric guitar. Total bad ass.

My sweet mom surprised me with VIP tickets for my birthday but I'll be springing for the VIP tickets next year. For $15o you get prime viewing, 2 drink tickets and private bathrooms. Despite pretty long lines for the bar (to be expected) I thought the VIP tickets were a good deal. It was one of the most chill concerts I've been too; we easily slinked to the front row without any issues or pushing. I'm guessing most people just wanted to be there regardless of lawn chair placement. All the better for us shorties. The deep south is known for extremely hot and humid summers but for this one night the breeze picked up and let us off the hook from the heat and enjoy the tunes without profusely sweating.

The countdown is on for next year... 359 days to go! I can't wait to see who they announce for next year's headliner; I'm definitely going back.

Sea Island's Southern Grown Fest is back in 2017 June 16-18. http://www.southerngrown.com/

Photos by Ryan Hines