Bama’s Boots, Bands & Bikes II Weekend returns

Three Hots and a Cot will get some financial assistance of its own at Bama’s Boots, Bands & Bikes II Weekend on July 22-23.

The organization is a Birmingham nonprofit that works to help homeless veterans make a successful transition back to regular civilian life. It operates seven facilities for veterans, including transitional homes in Woodlawn and Center Point. Bama’s Boots, Bands and Bikes is based out of Hoover.

The two-day event will feature food and drink, live music, a special motorcycle ride and a TV celebrity appearance.

The weekend kicks off with the Veteran’s Benefit VIP Party at Cantina Laredo in Birmingham’s Uptown Entertainment District July 22 from 7 to 11 p.m. 

The party includes food, drinks, a silent auction and an appearance by Rusty Coones, star of FX’s “Sons of Anarchy” and the upcoming A&E series “American Made.” Coones will sign autographs and be available for photos. The cost is $85 per person.

The Charity Bike Ride and the Harley Fest are Saturday.

Registration for the motorcycle ride is at Heart of Dixie Harley Davidson in Pelham at 9 a.m. The ride — to Riders Harley Davidson in Trussville — will begin at 11:30 a.m.

The HarleyFest at Riders will feature another appearance by Coones, as well as live music. Ken Randolph and Cooter Brown will play from 1 to 4 p.m. and the Randy Buell Band will perform from 5 to 9 p.m.

There will also be games, kids’ activities, food trucks, other vendors, a raffle and a silent auction.

Coones is not the first “Sons of Anarchy” actor to come to Birmingham for a veterans benefit. Series co-stars Tommy Flanagan and Mark Boone Jr. appeared at the first “Boots, Bands and Bikes” event in May 2015 in Hoover and Pelham. That event raised money for the national veterans Boot Campaign.