Chef RJ Cooper, Chef Patrick Owens, Chef Ken Vedrinski and Pastry Chef Kelly Kleisner Join Chef Rusty Hamlin for Southern Ground Music & Food Festival in Charleston October 11/12

Southern Ground Executive Chef Rusty Hamlin and culinary masters Chef RJ Cooper, Chef Patrick Owens, Chef Ken Vedrinski and Pastry Chef Kelly Kleisner will serve a myriad of mouth-watering Southern gourmet at Zac Brown Band's Southern Ground Music & Food Festival in Charleston, SC on October 11 and 12.

Southern Ground Executive Chef Rusty Hamlin personally curated this year's culinary lineup, gathering award-winning favorites from across South Carolina and a festival veteran from Washington DC. The Louisiana-born chef has become a face for Zac Brown Band's Eat & Greets earning praise for his "improvisatory spirit... and agrarian-centered, fresh-instead-of-deep-fried thinking" (New York Times) - a theme he emphasizes when selecting chefs for the festival's Front Porch Stage Boxes and concessions.

No stranger to the Southern Ground Music & Food Festival, Chef RJ Cooper returns for his fourth consecutive year. Cooper, the mastermind behind the wildly imaginative restaurants Rogue24 and Gypsy Soul in the Washington, DC, area is a James Beard Award-winning chef. His palate bridges the classical decadence of the past with the progressive techniques of modern cuisine to create a genuine thrill in the creative process of cooking.

A Charleston native, Chef Patrick Owens' knowledge and passion for Southern cuisine runs deep. His Langdon's Restaurant + Wine Bar has earned AAA's Four Diamond award every year since opening, and his second restaurant Opal Restaurant + Wine Bar, takes the same level of care and attention to an inviting California-style eatery.

Chef Ken Vedrinski is executive chef, owner and sommelier of Trattoria Lucca and Coda del Pesce in Charleston, South Carolina. With Trattoria Lucca named one of the Best Italian Restaurants in the U.S. by Travel & Leisure magazine, Vedrinski has earned a devoted local following and industry acclaim as his restaurants redefine Italian cuisine in the Lowcountry.

Kelly Kleisner is the pastry chef with the Indigo Road Group including restaurants The Macintosh and Oak Steakhouse. Prior to Indigo, Kleisner worked at The Ocean Room at the Sanctuary Hotel on Kiawah Island, SC., Fat Hen and Lady Fingers Bakery. In 2009, Kleisner opened her own shop Mirabelle Bakery, where she wielded her skills to create sophisticated wedding cakes.

All festival attendees will have access to gourmet concessions, including fare from Zac Brown Band's mobile kitchen Cookie, which will feature Hamlin's Jambalaya and the legendary Chocolate Peanut Butter Biscuit Pudding.

The all-star chef line-up is balanced with a diverse musical lineup this year including Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Gov't Mule, Blues Traveler, Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, North Mississippi Allstars, The Wailers, Greensky Bluegrass, Old 97s, Darrell Scott, Secret Sisters, St. Paul & the Broken Bones, and more. Zac Brown Band closes each night with their much-anticipated "Super Sets" featuring special sit-in performances from other acts on the bill.

Two-day tickets are already sold out and single day tickets are on sale now through Ticketfly: http://charleston.southerngroundfestival.com/general-admission-tickets.html