North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic Sponsor Spotlight: Cathead Distillery

Cathead Distillery Celebrates 12 Years as Picnic Sponsor; Interview with Austin Evans

by Davis Coen

Jackson, Mississippi-based Cathead Distillery, known about as much for supporting live music as they are for their popular variety of spirits, joins the list of returning sponsors for the 2024 North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic.

Cathead puts on a wide variety of events at their spacious home base in Jackson, which comfortably accommodates both indoor and outdoor live shows. These include the annual Cathead Jam, which hosts some of the country’s hottest “jam” bands, as well as enormous crawfish boils and fish fries.

But Cathead also helps put on events elsewhere, and their iconic name and logo (originated by Clarksdale, Mississippi, bluesman Pat Thomas) have become practically ubiquitous throughout the area. Also, their eye-catching swag, varying from t-shirts and hats to stickers, seems to be stuck on the walls of about every liquor store and bar around the state.

“To be able to partner with a non-profit like the Hill Country Picnic, and truly support authentic roots music in a very positive way, means a lot to us,” said Cathead co-founder and Mississippi native Austin Evans. “The festival itself carries a lot for the music of the region, and it’s put on in one of the most genuine manners that any could achieve, in my opinion,” he said.

Evans, who began a relationship with the festival first as a patron, said that it wasn’t before too long that he began to gain an “understanding of what they’re achieving,” and the “importance of partnering with the Picnic, and Kenny and Sara Brown.”

About to embark on their twelfth year as a sponsor, Evans reflected back on the early days of his distillery’s partnership with the Picnic. “When Cathead goes to sponsor events, we really look towards the mission statement, and the direction or the purpose, and this one checks all of the boxes,” he said. “It’s perfect for us, as appreciators of the blues and the roots of Mississippi music.”

What also makes their relationship with the Picnic special for Cathead is that it’s one of the only sponsorships they participate in where they don’t actually sell their beverages to patrons.

Above all, Evans and the rest of the Cathead family—including other co-founder Richard Patrick—are fans of the music, and quite enjoy being in attendance. The pair can usually be found soaking in the atmosphere and holding court from their very welcoming VIP tent at stage side.

Being a lifelong music lover, Evans had some difficulty picking a favorite band or act from his many times in attendance, but he regards last year’s headlining performance by legendary blues harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite as a standout. “To witness his appreciation, respect, and commitment to blues firsthand,” Evans said, “I mean, he played well over his set allowance time, which was awesome. It was a really cool thing that happened out there last year.”

Evans also remarked that the communal jams led by Kenny Brown are always among his personal highlights, as well as the people who attend.

“The kind and thoughtful people that are always in attendance,” he said. “Everybody looks out for each other and it’s a very family-oriented environment.”