JUKE JOINT FESTIVAL

2013 -- 10TH ANNUAL EDITION OF JUKE JOINT FESTIVAL & RELATED EVENTS!

Our 10th annual, 2013 edition of Juke Joint Festival is dedicated to all of the late, great Clarksdale blues performers / supporters who have passed away during the past year.

Juke Joint Festival is "half blues festival, half small-town fair and all about the Delta." It celebrates our past AND living history by presenting over 100 blues acts during the course of the weekend -- most of them Mississippi or Southern, many in their 60s, 70s, 80s or 90s! This is the real-deal Mississippi blues festival that you've read about. It is like no other in the world.

During the daytime, you can expect a dozen small stages with authentic blues. At night, we feature all of our surviving juke joints, blues clubs and other indoor stages -- last year included 21+ venues. (Last year also featured the world-premiere of the new Mississippi blues film, "We Juke Up In Here!")

Our next Juke Joint Festival is Saturday, April 13, 2013, with exciting related events on starting at 6pm on Thursday, April 11th and carrying through the night of Sunday, April 14th. (Related events on that Sunday include the always free and fabulous Cat Head Mini Blues Fest at 10am.)

The home of this much acclaimed festival? Historic CLARKSDALE, MISSISSIPPI -- just 90 minutes south of the Memphis International Airport and once home to such blues greats at Son House, John Lee Hooker, Junior Parker, Ike Turner, Muddy Waters, Pinetop Perkins, Earl Hooker, Lil Green, Big Jack Johnson and many many others.

Don't miss the JUKE JOINT FESTIVAL KICK-OFF -- Thursday, April 12th at Delta Cinema (lobby and stage -- 11 Third St.). Fest poster signing with artist Cristen Barnard & free live blues by TBA (6pm) in lobby. And the evening's live blues headliners TBA (7pm) performing on theater stage!

What is the JUKE JOINT FESTIVAL? It’s a positive event for everyone in Clarksdale. It’s good for families, businesses, musicians and tourists alike. The festival itself combines an international “blues festival” with a community-minded “small-town fair,” creating a strong and memorable event like no other in the universe. It’s organized by the Clarksdale Downtown Development Association (CDDA) and staffed by enthusiastic volunteers. This “half small-town fair, half blues festival” does more than simply entertain attendees -- though it definitely does that, too! It aims to educate and enlighten native Deltans and blues tourists alike through a series of performances, exhibits, and presentations involving music, art, storytelling, film, and children’s events. The event mixes visitors with locals and showcases the economic power of cultural tourism, turning average Deltans into ambassadors for the region.

Speaking of economics, last year’s festival was our most successful yet with full hotels, nearly doubled attendance and expanded press coverage (including a national AP story that ran in many major cities). Festival attendees came from at least 45 U.S. states, 54 Mississippi counties and 21 foreign countries. The Juke Joint Festival makes every effort to keep vendors, talent and suppliers as local as possible. A family-friendly event, the festival also provides a bus service at night to discourage drinking and driving between music venues. Our daytime Saturday events are all FREE while our nighttime Saturday events all come for the price of a cheap, $15 wristband (which gets you unlimited rides on the blues shuttle bus and entry to at least 20 nighttime 'juke joint' venues).

CLARKSDALE FILM FESTIVAL -- 3RD ANNUAL IN 2013

Join us for our 3rd annual CLARKSDALE FILM FESTIVAL, January 24-27, 2013. On the heels of our successful Juke Fest event, CDDA is proud to bring y'all a fabulous, film-based happening in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Please join us for a long weekend of new, indie and classic films celebrating our region's music, culture and people. From documentary shorts to fictional features, from blues movies to Southern favorites... Delta Cinema (11 Third St., downtown) and other less formal venues will screen an amazing selection of known and unknown masterpieces. On the Saturday of the Clarksdale Film Festival, we'll also run a couple Clarksdale Movie History Bus Tours with historian Robert Birdsong as your host. Plus, since we're in Clarksdale -- the original Home of the Blues -- we'll also showcase plenty of live blues in the jukes at night. Details added weekly on our "Film Festival" page of this web site.

If you are interested in helping us put on either of these wonderful non-profit events -- or just need some additional information -- please contact one of us listed below. We are always in need of donations, sponsors and volunteers. Thanks for your consideration!

CLARKSDALE DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION

CLARKSDALE DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT

Volunteer staffed, registered non-profit.