Fairhope’s Weeks Bay Plantation will bring its spring blueberry season to a close this weekend with one final installment of its popular Harvest Nights concert series, capped by a performance from New Orleans singer-songwriter Paul Sanchez.
The free-to-pick-goers event is set for Saturday, June 16, beginning at 4 p.m. at the plantation, located at 12562 Mary Ann Beach Road in Fairhope. General admission at the gate is $5, though the fee is waived for anyone who spends part of the afternoon picking blueberries in the plantation’s organic fields.
Since early May, Weeks Bay Plantation has opened its rows of blueberry bushes to the public each Saturday afternoon, inviting families to fill buckets with fresh, organically grown berries while enjoying live music from a rotating lineup of regional performers. The weekly gatherings, dubbed Harvest Nights, have quickly become a warm-weather tradition for the Mobile Bay area, pairing an afternoon of hands-on farm work with a laid-back concert atmosphere overlooking the bay.
Organizers say the series has drawn steady crowds throughout the spring, with families making a habit of combining the harvest with a picnic and an evening of music before the sun sets over Weeks Bay. Saturday’s show marks the final Harvest Nights date of the season, giving area residents one more chance to pick their own berries and enjoy the outdoor setting before the plantation’s blueberry crop moves past its peak.
Headlining the season finale is Paul Sanchez, a founding member of the New Orleans rock band Cowboy Mouth who has spent much of the past two decades building a solo career steeped in Crescent City songwriting traditions. Sanchez is expected to draw heavily from his latest solo release, “One More Trip Around the Sun,” an album that blends countrified rock with swampy, blues-inflected grooves. Throughout the record, Sanchez leans into narrative, character-driven songwriting, crafting tracks that would feel at home in both a juke joint and a honky-tonk.
The pairing of live original music with agricultural tourism has helped Weeks Bay Plantation carve out a niche among Baldwin County’s warm-weather attractions, giving visitors a reason to linger beyond a quick stop at a produce stand. Saturday’s event is expected to draw both regular Harvest Nights attendees and newcomers looking to catch Sanchez’s blend of Louisiana-rooted rock before the series goes on hiatus.
Additional information about the event, including directions and updates, is available at the plantation’s website, weeksbayplantation.com.