Hillbilly Jam 2025
07/24-07/26/2025 · Maggie Valley, North Carolina
We made it back to Hillbilly Jam in Maggie Valley for the 2025 run, and this one felt bigger than ever from the moment we got there. For a lot of regular festival-goers, this is the event of the year, and after this weekend it was easy to see why. Between the crowd, the vendor turnout, and the amount of familiar faces packed into one place, it carried the kind of momentum that keeps people coming back every summer.
The fairgrounds stayed busy all weekend, but the layout never felt cramped. Booths had room to breathe, people could stop and talk without blocking up the walkway, and the whole setup made it easy to spend hours moving from one conversation to the next. That pacing matters at an event this size, and Hillbilly Jam handled it well.
We spent most of the weekend doing exactly what we came to do — visiting friends, checking out booth setups, and making the rounds with people we only get to see in person at events like this. Hillbilly Jam always gives us plenty to look at, but the real draw is the people attached to it.
One of the biggest parts of our weekend was the booth space and support we got from friends. Big thanks to Big Eaze, Wesley Sandlin, and PhilBilly Moonshine! That space gave us room to set out some of our copper work, talk to people about what we do, and spend time around the kind of setup that makes a long hot festival day a lot more enjoyable.
That same stretch of the weekend also brought one of Still Will’s longtime wish-list pieces into real life. Big Eaze built Will a custom 30-gallon copper pot after the two of them worked out a trade, and it was delivered to Hillbilly Jam by Big Eaze, Wesley Sandlin, and Uncle Joey. Seeing it there in person with our custom copper teapot still cap clamped on top made it feel even more real.
We also got a kick out of seeing one of our shirts out in the wild over the weekend. Our friend Drew showed up wearing the Ballin’ shirt with the multiple sizes of mason jars, which was too good not to document. That kind of thing always means more when it happens naturally at an event instead of just in a product mockup.
There was plenty to stop and study beyond our own table, too. One of the nice things about Hillbilly Jam is that you can spend time with finished equipment, parts, and booth displays without feeling hurried along. It gives people room to ask questions and really look at the work.
As usual, a big part of the weekend was catching up with people we’ve come to know over time. We ran into Moonshiner Benny “Tater” McClure, Master Distiller Alfredo Peña, Donnie Benton from the Backwoods Moonshine Museum, Moonshiner Mark Ramsey, Moonshiner J.B. Rader, Bruiser of Tigershine Copper, and plenty more over the course of the festival. The names stack up fast at a weekend like this, and that’s part of what makes it worth the drive every year.
Those quick check-ins are a lot of what we remember after the weekend is over. Even in a packed schedule, folks still took the time to stop, talk, and take pictures, and we appreciate every bit of that.
The weekend didn’t just stay on the festival grounds, either. The cookouts and late hangouts afterward were a big part of why this one stood out so much for us. Those meals and evening wind-downs meant so much after long hot days, and that carried straight through the whole trip.
By the time the weekend moved into the pin-up contest, it still felt like the same event rhythm — just a different kind of crowd and energy gathered around it. Hillbilly Show & Shine folded the pin-up contest right into the weekend in a way that gave people something else to enjoy without breaking the flow.
We appreciated everyone involved in putting that contest together, especially with plans already being discussed to expand it next year. It was fun, well received, and easy to see how much work went into organizing it. That part of the weekend had its own personality without feeling disconnected from the rest of Hillbilly Jam.
We were especially glad to see Still Will's wife Shana — AKA Miss Kara Loveheart — come out of it with the People’s Choice Award. That gave the whole thing a little extra weight for us personally, and it made the contest photos worth holding onto right alongside everything from the main event.
When all of it’s taken together — the festival itself, the booth space, the copper delivery, the cookouts, and the contest — this ended up being the best weekend we’ve had at a festival to date. It wasn’t just one big moment that made it work. It was how many different people showed up and added something to the whole thing.
Also in attendance
Also in attendance were Damon Beaty, Daniel Stevens, Kris Fortner, Marcus Chapman, Jason and Momma B Biage, Amy Carrel, Mark Morgan, Ozark Still Works, Appalachian Plateau Copper Co. LLC, Amanda Bryant, Moonshiner Steve Barker, Roy Crowthers, Johnboy, Brian-LPR-Shine, and Scott Scooby Garrington.
Special thanks to Becky Ramey and her staff for continuing to run Hillbilly Jam (and Winter Jam!) so professionally while keeping it fun and exciting, as well as Robbie Daniel Honeycutt, Lindsey Garst, and the Pharoahs Car Club teams for hosting the Pin-Up Contest.
👕 Worn at This Event
"Keep It 100 Proof" Tee
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"Intent To Distribute" Tee
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"Ballin' - Multiple Jars" Tee
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Event took place July 24–July 26, 2025 at the Fairgrounds in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. Original Facebook coverage for this trip was first posted on August 2, 2025. Extra photos and community comments are available on Facebook: View the original post.