Hangout Fest, St. Patrick’s Day keep the party rolling

Hangout Fest 2014 just got a little bigger. The festival’s latest addition of artists will definitely add to the already diverse line-up. Blues guitar god Gary Clark Jr. will be making his second appearance at this festival on the beaches of Gulf Shores, May 16-18. Clark’s furious set gathered many new fans with his Hangout Fest debut, and the crowd should expect nothing less at this year’s festival. Ozomatli will be bringing Latin-infused jams, and Matt & Kim are sure to please fans of the underground. St. Paul & the Broken Bones, Tommy Trash, The Tontons, Caked Up, Empires, Black Cadillacs and The Electric Sons have also been added to this stellar line-up. Tickets are on sale now through the Hangout Fest website.

The Azalea City’s St. Patrick’s Day celebrations have grown into epic proportions over the years. It is almost as if the Mobile gets its second wind from Mardi Gras in mid-March. Once again, the area’s most famous Irish pubs are pushing local partiers to the limits with a quadruple-shot of shamrocks and shenanigans for all. It looks as if there will be much travel among our Irish watering holes this year with four huge St. Paddy’s parties happening on THREE days, from Saturday, March 15, to Monday, March 17.

Callaghan’s Irish Social Club’s 68th annual St. Patrick’s Day Street Party is a green monster that grows with each coming year. This OGD neighborhood pub (916 Charleston St.) will open its doors at 11 a.m. on Saturday. At noon, A Drunker Shade of Green will get the party started with traditional Irish music. And at 3 p.m., local favorites Ryan Balthrop and Harrison McInnis will get going. As the luck of the Irish begins to take hold of the crowd, Kansas City Bible Company will take the stage for a raucous set of organic rock backed by a blasting horn section at 6 p.m. At 8 p.m., Alabama neo-soul darlings St. Paul & the Broken Bones will serve as the headliner of this celebration. Besides their addition to the Hangout Fest line-up, they will also be appearing at Bonnaroo. When they hit Charleston street, they will be fresh from an appearance at SXSW. This event has no cover, and all who plan on attending are encouraged to get there early.

Speaking of early, O’Daly’s Irish Pub will be kicking off their fifth annual O’Hooligan’s Ball at dawn that Saturday morning. This LoDa tavern (564 Dauphin St.) will open its doors at 6 a.m., with green eggs and green beer for all those wanting to properly start their morning. As the day progresses, the crowd will be entertained by a number of local bands. The night will come to a climax that will feature a diverse arrangement of sounds. Mobile’s Disciples of the Crow will bring their edgy rock sound. The Mulligan Brothers will follow with a dose of folk-infused tunes. Then, ‘90s rock icons Sister Hazel will round out this trio. For ticket information, visit O’Daly’s Facebook page.

Paddy O’Toole’s on Airport was always a necessary item on the St. Patrick’s Day agenda. They closed their doors some time ago, but now Lucky Irish Pub has moved into the same locale and is continuing to make this spot in the Yester Oaks Shopping Center one of the places to be to get your green on.

On Saturday, March 15, Mob Towne Revival will play in the main tent at Lucky from 6 until 10 p.m. Then inside, Jessee Sawyer and Sergio Rangel Duo will close things out from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. On Sunday, March 16, Jeff Johnson will play from 4 to 8 p.m. and Andrew Van Etten will follow from 8 p.m. to midnight. On Monday, March 17, the tent will open at 8 a.m. Then the schedule is as follows: 10 a.m., BB Palmer & The Kudzu; 2 p.m., Braxton Beam and Harison Myles; 6 p.m., Jessee Sawyer and Sergio Rangel Duo will play inside, as 12 Sharp plays the main tent outside. Then The Perry Walls will close things down inside from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Across the bay, McSharry’s Irish Pub will also have a multi-day celebration at their authentic Irish pub in downtown Fairhope – the owner is from Sligo, Ireland. On Saturday, March 15, they will open their doors at 11 a.m. for the festivities and at 6:30 p.m. A Drunker Shade of Green will play. On Sunday, they will open at 3 p.m., and there will be a Traditional Irish Music Session on the “Paddy-O” at 5 p.m. On Monday, doors will swing open at noon, and at 6:30 p.m. Stag Nation will take the stage.

With so many options, it’s a good thing we all just worked out our livers during Mardi Gras. Hopefully, they will be up to the task of filtering all of this green beer.