Taylor Hicks Juggles His Upcoming Album and BBQ Side Hustle

By Amy C. Balfour

Taylor Hicks may not live in Charleston, but the Season 5 American Idol winner has had a longtime fondness for the Holy City. He enjoyed family trips here as a kid, and today he returns regularly to kick back with local friends and explore the ever-expanding culinary scene. 

Hicks seeks out uniquely coastal dishes on his visits to the Lowcountry – especially blue crab, which he loves. His joy is not just in the eating; with friends who live near the water, Hicks treasures the whole communal process of checking a crab pot and planning what dish to make. The only problem? Retrieving the meat. After all these years, “I’m still not good at it,” he admitted. “I need to work on getting better with my crab picking!” 

Hicks also visited Charleston as the host of the food-centric travel show State Plate. Available now on Amazon Prime and Peacock, the three-season INSP (Inspirational Channel) network show takes viewers on a culinary tour of each of the 50 states. Each episode explores the history, traditions, and culture associated with a state’s most iconic dishes. In the South Carolina episode, shot locally in 2018, Hicks enjoyed she crab soup at Poogan’s Porch, a Lowcountry boil with the folks at the Smoking Pot, sweet tea at the Charleston Tea Garden and benne wafers at Olde Colony Bakery in Mount Pleasant.

But it's not just friends, crabbing, and reality TV that bring Hicks to Charleston. He also comes for the city’s restaurant experiences. “The culinary scene is exploding. Restaurants are going up. That’s what is beautiful about Charleston,” he said. “It feels like, even though they keep their staples, they’ve really expanded their palate.” 

And Hicks should know. The musician lives in Nashville, another culinary hotspot, and co-owns Saw’s BBQ & Juke Joint and Saw’s BBQ at the Backyard in Birmingham, Alabama. Hicks loved barbecue while growing up in the deep South, and he almost opened a barbecue restaurant in Gulf Shores in his 20s. But music and the entertainment business called, and his barbecue plans were set aside. 

Flash-forward 20 years, after finding fame as a musician, Hicks decided to circle back to his original dream. “I’ve always known that I needed a side hustle, and hawking pork was always one ‘of ‘em.”  

Hicks considers Alabama the heart of the South, a place that embraces a range of Southern influences when it comes to food. Saw’s BBQ reflects that culinary diversity. “It’s truly the heart of Dixie barbecue. It’s got the kick from Louisiana, the sweetness of Memphis, and it’s got the vinegar of the Cackalackies,” he explained. 

While traveling as a musician, Hicks learned what makes a successful barbecue juke joint. And it's not just great music, great food and cold beer — it’s got to be a place where people can come and have a good time. “I was very fortunate to be able during all those years on the road, to pick up on what good vibes are in establishments,” said Hicks. “What I get out of entertaining people musically is also the same feeling I get when I see somebody chow down on some pork and greens from Saw’s BBQ.”

Another key food memory for Hicks beyond barbecue? The fried chicken prepared by his grandmother, Big Mama, on Sundays. “Her name was Tressie — Tressie Hicks. If that’s not a southern grandma name, I don't know [what is]. She would fry chicken in a wrought-iron skillet,” he recalled, adding that, to his youthful mind, it seemed like she cooked it all day. “It’s the best fried chicken I ever had. I’m still on the search for Big Mama’s fried chicken.”

Hicks, a singer who also plays guitar and harmonica, recently finished recording an album in Nashville at Zac Brown’s Southern Ground studio. “The album doesn't have a title yet, but it will come out next year.” He’ll be touring extensively in support of it. And as for the sound? “I always like to say if Chris Stapleton, Zac Brown and Jackson Browne had a baby, it would be me. It's a very Southern roots record. Very rootsy.”

Follow Hicks on www.facebook.com/TaylorRHicks. For tour dates and album updates visit www.taylorhicks.com.