'TRUCK TALK'...JUKE JOINT EDITION!
'Truck Talk" with Felder Rushing 'live' in-person.
×Where: Collective Seed & Supply Co.
Collective Seed & Supply Co.--Clarksdale's only independent garden center & general store.
https://www.facebook.com/collectiveseedandsupplyco/
×(Cover may apply.)
11:00 am
12:00 pm
Bill Abel learned
first hand from
Delta blues legends
of the likes of Paul
“Wine" Jones,
Cadillac
John
Nolden, T
Model
Ford, and Honey Boy
Edwards. Bill plays
a hard driving
electrified country
blues, a gritty
unorthodox
modern
day juke joint
sound, unique in its
own. He has toured
Europe and the
United States
headlining many
festivals.
Where: Deak Harp Harmonica Shop
2:00 pm
Little Joe McLerran and his family band. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Joe_McLerran Joe is known around the world as a master of the Piedmont guitar style. He will be joined by his unbelievably talented family which includes his 11 year old prodigy son, Johnny . Really something to hear and see.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Joe_McLerran
×Where: The Den Again
2:30 pm
Where: Deak Harp Harmonica Shop
3:00 pm
Where: The Blue Room
Downtown Clarksdale's new music listening room, run by Dr B!
3:00 pm
3:00 pm
Where: Travelers Hotel
Brand-new hotel in an old renovate brick building in the center of historic downtown Clarksdale, Mississippi. Cool lobby bar lounge.
http://www.statyattravelers.com
×4:00 pm
Preston Rumbaugh is a veteran blues, roots and rockabilly musician who's played with Scotty Moore, Dale Watson, Lucinda Williams, Ronnie Hawkins, Robert "Bilbo" Walker, Big George Brock and many more. Don't miss him at JJF!
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094063880947
×Where: The Den Again
4:00 pm
Where: Ground Zero Blues Club
HEY Y'ALL! "Yes," Ground Zero Blues Club (which was temporarily closed this winter) is reopening in late March—just in time for the best Juke Joint Festival ever!! GROUND ZERO BLUES CLUB: Clarksdale's largest real-deal blues music venue offers "live" Mississippi blues music every Wednesday to Saturday... plus special events during festival time periods. Co-owned by actor Morgan Freeman, Bill Luckett, Howard Stovall and Eric Meier, Ground Zero Blues Club will celebrate its 5th anniversary in May 2006. Besides the plethora of incredible local blues acts who have performed there, musicians from Mavis Staples and Alvin Youngblood Hart to Jerry Lee Lewis and Bobby Rush have been filmed playing there.
http://www.groundzerobluesclub.com
×5:00 pm
6:00 pm
I was born & raised in the South of France and at an early age I knew that I wanted to
be in America fullfilling my dreams of being a professional musician. I made the big
leap in the spring of 2001 and moved to Hollywood, CA with nothing but a guitar, a
change of clothes and $200 in my pocket. Call it luck or fate but 3 weeks into my stay
in the City of Angels I ran into Shooter Jennings and promptly joined his band
Stargunn. The first two years in California saw my dreams coming true by meeting
and playing with some of my childhood heroes (Waylon Jennings, Slash, Tom Morello
and James Hetfield to name a few…) Since my early American beginnings, I’ve
played guitar for the likes of Stoney LaRue, Billy Joe Shaver and Jack Ingram as band
leader! In the past few years, I’ve expended my craft to singing, writing, recording &
performing my own music both as Frenchie’s Blues Destroyers and more recently as
Guitar Frenchie. To pursue my career as a solo artist, I’ve moved full time to
Clarksdale, MS arguably the home of the Blues to continue pushing my boundaries,
recognizing and respecting the tradition of the birthplace of America’s music!
https://www.facebook.com/guitarfrenchie/
×Where: The Den Again
6:00 pm
Reverend Robert is known for his genuine conviction and honest delivery. His passion for
the blues led him to the prewar blues style of Charley Patton, Robert Johnson, and other
delta blues giants.
Having immersed himself in their recordings, Reverend Robert emerged with an authentic
feeling for the blues that is matched by his easy-going and artistic personality. Reverend
Robert’s tasteful slide guitar playing garnered the attention of the National Slide Guitar
Festival in North Carolina where he took first place in their competition in 2004.
He has entertained audiences throughout the United States, Canada, the U.K., Europe,
and India. In the past two decades he has developed his one-man blues show to
incorporate the influences of jazz, ragtime, and swing, as well as Caribbean, Hawaiian,
African and Indian music.
The perfect combination of tradition and creative innovation, the Reverend’s music is at
home on festival stages or in the street, in clubs or in the backyard. Its dance music played
with a stomping beat
and irresistible groove.
7:00 pm
Laura "Lala" Craig is a female blues artist whose rollicking path to the Delta landed her at the
Crossroads of her
passions for love and music, fulfilling her dream to become an entertainer and share her harmony
with partner,
Dino Musso.
Where: Levon's Bar & Grill
8:00 pm
Anthony 'Big A' Sherrod & Allstars
He's been called "The Torchbearer of the Clarksdale Sound" with good reason. No other
blues guitarist alive played with so many of the late-greats of the infamous Clarksdale
blues scene. Anthony "Big A" Sherrod played in bands with Big Jack Johnson, Super
Chikan, Big George Brock, Bilbo Walker, Wesley "Junebug" Jefferson, Michael "Dr. Mike"
James, Josh "Razorblade" Stewart, Mr. Johnnie Billington and others (plus sat in with
Buddy Guy's 1990s Clarksdale appearance). Today, he leads his own deeply-juke-joint
blues trio: Big A & the Allstars, with Heather Crosse and Lee Williams. (PHOTO BY JEFF
KONKEL.)
https://anthonybigasherrod.bandcamp.com/album/right-on-time
×Where: Ground Zero Blues Club
HEY Y'ALL! "Yes," Ground Zero Blues Club (which was temporarily closed this winter) is reopening in late March—just in time for the best Juke Joint Festival ever!! GROUND ZERO BLUES CLUB: Clarksdale's largest real-deal blues music venue offers "live" Mississippi blues music every Wednesday to Saturday... plus special events during festival time periods. Co-owned by actor Morgan Freeman, Bill Luckett, Howard Stovall and Eric Meier, Ground Zero Blues Club will celebrate its 5th anniversary in May 2006. Besides the plethora of incredible local blues acts who have performed there, musicians from Mavis Staples and Alvin Youngblood Hart to Jerry Lee Lewis and Bobby Rush have been filmed playing there.
http://www.groundzerobluesclub.com
×8:00 pm
Lady Trucker is a multi-faceted artist whose voice, presence, and unique pizzazz has been
mesmerizing audiences for decades throughout the American South – from music festivals
to the Trail Ride Circuits and beyond.
She casts a wide musical net and is equally seasoned singing Gospel from the Baptist
Church she grew up in, commanding audience attention with her powerful renditions of
North Mississippi Hill Country Blues, and leading bands with her searing versions of
Chicago Blues standards. Starting at age 16, she began penning her own lyrics across
many styles – including Zydeco – and hasn’t stopped since.
Lady Trucker, born Peggy Sue Hemphill, is the 14th of 16 children born to sharecropper
and sales associate Henry Lee Hemphill and Lizzie Maewhether Hemphill in Greenwood,
MS. Peggy Sue’s upbringing was steeped in music including relative and Blues pioneer Sid
Hemphill – first recorded by Alan Lomax in 1942. However, it was another of Peggy Sue’s
renowned Blues cousins – artist Jessie Mae Hemphill – who recognized Peggy Sue’s
sweet voice at age 3.
https://ladytrucker.site/about-lady-gigs/
×Where: The Matchbox
New entertainment venue in historic downtown Clarksdale! (Next door to Bluestown Music.)
9:00 pm
Deak Harp has been playing harmonica since he was 12 years old. His
biggest early inspiration came when his brother introduced him to the music
of James Cotton.
Deak followed Cotton's band along the east coast for close to five years
before Cotton offered Deak a job driving his van. For the next six years,
Deak toured with the James Cotton blues band, eventually opening acts
and playing along with "Superharp" himself.
Where: The Den Again
(Cover may apply.)
For more information contact Quapaw Canoe Company or info@island63.com, Ceili Hale 601-918-6810, Mark “River” Peoples 662-902-6479, or John Ruskey 662-902-7841
×Where: Quapaw Canoe Company
All events will meet & take place street level 3rd & Sunflower in downtown Clarksdale all day 9 - 4pm every day Thursday April 13– Saturday April 15. For more information contact Quapaw Canoe Company or info@island63.com, John Ruskey 662-902-7841, Mark “River” Peoples 662-902-6479, Lee Perlow 312-246-3223, or Whit Smith 870-919-6654.
Canoe-Carving Demonstration & Workshop
All events will meet & take place street level 3rd & Sunflower in downtown Clarksdale all day 9 - 4pm every day Thursday April 10th – Saturday April 12th, 2025. For more information contact Quapaw Canoe Company or info@island63.com, Ceili Hale 601-918-6810, Mark “River” Peoples 662-902-6479, or John Ruskey 662-902-7841 ***Winners of the 2024 SBA Small Business of the Year Award***
×Where: Quapaw Canoe-Workshop_Carving Demo
9 am to 4 pm Wednesday - Saturday
Partner: Mississippi Arts Commission, Spring Initiative and GRIOT Arts
Location: Quapaw Canoe Company, 289 Sunflower (Third Street & Sunflower, opposite GRIOT Arts). Contact: 662-627-4070 or 902-7841. Catfish Dugout Canoe carving from 3-ton cottonwood log. Partnership with Spring Initiative and GRIOT ARTS youth programs. This project supported by the Mississippi Arts Commission. All ages welcome. We provide instruction, tools and safety equipment. Children under 18 must be accompanied by parents or guardian. Contact: Quapaw Canoe Company 662-627-4070 or john@island63.com.
25th Anniversary Prayer Flag Workshop
All events will meet & take place street level 3rd & Sunflower in downtown Clarksdale all day 9 - 4pm every day Thursday April 10th – Saturday April 12th, 2025. For more information contact Quapaw Canoe Company or info@island63.com, Ceili Hale 601-918-6810, Mark “River” Peoples 662-902-6479, or John Ruskey 662-902-7841 ***Winners of the 2024 SBA Small Business of the Year Award***
×Where: Quapaw Canoe Company
All events will meet & take place street level 3rd & Sunflower in downtown Clarksdale all day 9 - 4pm every day Thursday April 13– Saturday April 15. For more information contact Quapaw Canoe Company or info@island63.com, John Ruskey 662-902-7841, Mark “River” Peoples 662-902-6479, Lee Perlow 312-246-3223, or Whit Smith 870-919-6654.
5000 Years of the Blues Exhibition Preview
10:00AM – 6:00PM Preview the developing exhibit exploring Blues music from its ancestral forms in West and Central Africa to the early American recordings by Alan Lomax to today's Southern Soul Blues music.
×Where: Crossroads Cultural Arts Center
Clarksdale, MS is located in the Mississippi delta and is famously home to many artists. The Crossroads Cultural Arts Center will include an art gallery, creative spaces for learning, performance space, a visiting artists loft, and retail space. The Center would be infused with the works of traditional and contemporary Delta musicians and visual artists, with an emphasis on local African-American artists and their traditions.
https://www.facebook.com/CrossroadsCulturalArtsCenter/
×Where: Bluesberry Cafe
Delta Regional Artist Meet Event
An evening gathering featuring regional artists showcasing their work, hosted at Griot Visual Arts.
×Where: Bluesberry Cafe
Blues Berry Cafe 1st place winners 2007 Jubliee BBQ Cook Off
Past Performers: Malted Milk Band, Lala , Incode, Super Chikan and The Fighting Cocks, Heavy Suga, Razor Blade, Shake it Like A Caveman, The Blind Ducks, Jeff Lewis, and many more.
Good Food, Good Music, Good Drinks, = Good Times
https://www.facebook.com/Bluesberry-CAFE-245591678792724/
×Where: Bluesberry Cafe
Where: Bluesberry Cafe
Where: Red's Lounge
Red's Lounge? It's the definition of a real-deal Mississippi juke joint. Don't expect to be spoiled with amenities. All you need is a been-there-done-that owner, some beers as big as your head and some "live" blues you'll never forget. (Oh, and MAYBE something out front on the grill.) This is how blues became blues... how the music grew up out of the cotton fields and onto a round piece of vinyl. Speaking of which, the building itself was called "Levine's Music Center" back in the day, and it's where Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm bought the instruments that played the first rock 'n roll song. Yeah, Red's is the real thing for sure...
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Reds-Blues-Club/163702543685722
×Where: Studio 305
Studio 305 is also home to the Clarksdale Reels old-school recording studio, run by blues musician Randy "19th Street Red" Cohen.
Where: Bluesberry Cafe
Who: Layla Musselwhite
Layla Musselwhite is a New Orleans-based singer songwriter and slide guitarist who draws on a rich
musical legacy via her father, blues legend Charlie Musselwhite. Layla grew up on the road steeped in
the music of the greatest artists of our time including Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, Big Mama Thornton &
John Lee Hooker. While her music spans rhythm & blues, blues rock, folk, and soul, the touchstone is
always the same - a deep understanding and respect for the early rhythms and melodies at the heart of
the blues.
Where: Bluesberry Cafe
Juke Joint Festival® name and logo are registered trademarks of Clarksdale Downtown Development Association. All rights reserved.