As barbecue season swings into full force, you’ll be pleased to know that among Meaford’s many amenities is a service you won’t find in every small town. Cutting Edge Meats, on Sykes Street, offers free range chicken, beef, pork and lamb, along with seafood and smoked foods, prepared by a third-generation butcher. But this butcher cuts great country songs along with great-tasting meat.

For 20 years or so, Meaford residents enjoyed the services of Mark Young, resident butcher at The Sirloin Cellar. But when Mark and his wife, Debbie, retired and closed up shop at the end of 2009, meat lovers mourned the closing. Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait long.

At the time, Michael Ruhl operated Cutting Edge Meats in Thornbury. He had begun to think about moving his shop to Meaford, but another goal tugged at his imagination. In 2010, he headed to Nashville to launch a country music career. He recorded an EP, played around town, and shot a music video in Saskatchewan, before returning back to the area and opening his new Meaford butcher shop last summer.

Now, he works both careers – and sometimes combines them, as you’ll discover next Friday at the performance and pig roast supper at Meaford Hall.

The evening begins at 5 p.m with cocktails on the patio at Meaford Hall, followed by a dinner featuring slow-roasted local pork prepared on Ruhl’s 18-foot barbecue. Then, at 8 p.m. Michael Rule (transformed into his stage name), takes to the stage to perform his personal brand of fresh alt-country music.

For tickets, visit the box office online or at 12 Nelson Street East, or call 1.877.538.0463.