It’s cookout season—get your plate and your playlist

A lettered quote from Mahogany contributing writer Shy Taylor that reads,

Spring always feels like the soft launch of cookout season. The birds sing sweeter, the sun finally decides to show up and, if you’re from the east coast, you already know—because that’s when the fur coats and faux chinchilla get stashed away for the season and the sundresses get pulled out from hibernation. You can feel it in the air: summer is coming… and so is the backyard tradition we all secretly live for.

The cookout.

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Now, let’s get one thing straight.  

A cookout is not just people outside with food. A cookout is a full-on production. It’s family, friends, neighbors, that one cousin you only see once a year and somebody’s coworker who somehow knew the vibe would be fire, so they showed up even with no invitation. It’s a mix of generations, a mashup of personalities and, magically, it all works.

For me, the moment a cookout starts has nothing to do with the grill. Don’t get it twisted. It’s the music—the beat that makes you pause your conversation and the rhythm that turns a backyard into a dance floor.

I’ll never forget one summer in my auntie’s backyard in New Jersey. We were celebrating my cousin’s graduation, and the yard was already packed before the sun even started to dip. Kids running wild and aunties keeping a careful eye on everything while still minding their business. The day was slow, but still in that “warming up” phase. People were talking, laughing and eating but the cookout wasn’t fully alive yet. Something was missing.

Then it happened.  

That loud lyrical vibration, and you could feel it in your chest. Conversations slowed, heads turned and people started gravitating toward the same spot, like it was instinct. And me? I didn’t even think. I just stepped up after my “5-6-7-8″ count-in because I knew it was time for the Electric Slide.

Then my cousin jumped in. Messed it up. Laughed. Dipped back in and tried again. Then my auntie joined in. Then everybody, all on beat, all in unison. Before I knew it, the whole backyard was moving, laughing, catching the rhythm, failing and then getting it right. Nobody cared about perfection; it wasn’t about that. It was about energy, connection and the personality.

That’s when it clicked for me. This is what makes a cookout a cookout. Cookouts aren’t just a thing you do in the summer. Cookouts are experiences. They’re the moments when music stops being background noise and starts making magic. They’re the moments when people let their guard down—the shy ones step out, the bold ones turn it all the way up and everyone somehow ends up laughing at all the same things at the same time.

So, let me just say this now.  

I better not pull up to your cookout and find you’re not prepared. I’m talking no playlist, no vibe, people just standing around like they’re waiting? Yeah, absolutely not! We need aunties two-stepping, cousins arguing over card games, somebody near the grill acting like head chef of the year, and a dance floor—yes, a dance floor. Even if it’s just the middle of the backyard.

Because when it comes to cookouts, we’re not just showing up to eat. We’re showing up to feel. To laugh loud. To connect. To create moments that people talk about long after the sun goes down and the season ends. So, come through with the vibes. Come through with the energy. And, most importantly, come through with a playlist that actually moves the people.

Because a good cookout with a good playlist never disappoints.

A portrait of Mahogany Writing Community contributing writer Shy Taylor.

Shy Taylor is a TV personality, host and correspondent seen on E!, VH1, REVOLT Black News and Baller Alert. Based in Los Angeles, she is a force to be reckoned with using her voice, presence and storytelling to inspire others to unlock their fullest potential.