Come chow down on some tender turkey testicles while treating yourself to some live entertainment Saturday at Friends & Company’s 11th annual Turkey Testicle Festival.

This year’s lineup is somewhat different than past offerings. Instead of Turkey Testicle Fest staples including The Rev. Robert Blues Band and The Cowslingers, Friends will welcome The RipTones back to town as well as first-timers Fist City and Bleed.

Fist City will take the place typically occupied by The Rev. Robert Blues Band. Friends & Co’s owner Jason Kottwitz said when he found out Rev. Robert couldn’t make it this year, he thought the next best thing would be a honky-tonk band.

The quartet will play from 1 until 4 p.m., during which patrons are encouraged to sample the snack the festival draws its name from.

Kottwitz has been on tour with his band Tummler since early November. The final stop on the tour is in Iowa City, Iowa. Kottwitz plans on stopping in Liberty, Iowa on the band’s way back to Illinois to acquire the turkey testicles. Coated and fried to perfection in a special batter, the turkey testicles are tentatively available in a basket of six for $3.

“It wouldn’t be the Turkey Testicle Festival without them,” Kottwitz said. “They really do taste like chicken too.”

The Cowslingers and Trip Daddys provided an alt-country/rockabilly sound for the tenth installment of the festival last year.

However, this year, The Cowslingers informed Kottwitz they also would not be able to perform. To keep the alt-country vibe alive at the festival, Kottwitz tapped the next best thing by recruiting the Chicago-based quartet, The RipTones. The RipTones played at Friends this fall during the last weekend in September. Kottwitz said they always draw well and seemed like a perfect fit.

“They were really excited about the show,” Kottwitz said. “The band knew they would be walking into a full house.”

The RipTones’s lineup features Jeb Bonansinga on lead vocals and guitar. He is also the primary songwriter, and the band’s Web site states that his songs deal with subjects like girls, BBQ and motorcycles. Guitarist Michael Krasovech is a former Eastern student, and the band’s Web site describes him as having more gear than Shania [Twain] has costume changes. Upright bassist Earl Carter “slaps and pounds his bass as if hounds were nippin’ at his heels.” Drummer, Perry Lafine, “sights his two major influences as Gene Krupa and John Bonham.(his) style comes from an American hybrid of jump blues, early 70s rock, western swing and rockabilly.”

The band formed in 1990 and has released five albums. After undergoing a few lineup changes, they have released their last three albums on Chicago’s alt-country and bluegrass label, Bloodshot Records.

Opening up the evening show of The Turkey Testicle Festival will be the Milwaukee-based trio, Bleed. Bleed’s latest effort, 2000’s “Motor Psycho,” was released on the California-based MuSick Records. The band sports a garage sound but not necessarily the glossy type that you might find in the mainstream music industry. Their influences range from Elvis to The Sonics, but their sound is still very punk.

The three members have known each other for sometime and have also been playing together since their high school days in Delafield, Wis. Guitarist Bob Merkt also performs lead vocals, with bassist David Bauman providing backing vocals. Drummer Bart Ferrara does not sit, but rather stands, while he bangs away at his kit. Bleed will contribute a cover of Link Wray’s “Friday Night Dance Party” to MuSick’s Link Wray tribute album, which will be released next year.

The Turkey Testicle Festival will provide a full day of music and an array of alternative snacks to Friends patrons.

Kottwitz said that skipping the eleventh edition of the festival was something that he never considered.

“It’s tradition. It’s one of the most exciting things that happens in Charleston all year,” Kottwitz said.

The afternoon show with Fist City will most likely not have a cover charge. The late show will start at 10 p.m. and have a $3 cover.