JJF SAT-NIGHT WRISTBAND PRE-SALES
Buy Wednesday, April 8th: $50 each, while quantities last. The JJF wristband is valid for 20+ official JJF venues on Saturday night ONLY. More details on Wristband page. Price increases to $60 on Friday and Saturday (if not sold-out). Note: WEBSITE PRE-SALE Wristband pick-up location is 243 Delta Ave/Delta Avenue Park, UNDER THE RED TENT. Bring your PayPal/CC email receipt and photo ID: Thursday 4/10 (11am-6pm), Friday 4/11/ (10am-5:30pm) and Saturday 4/12 (10am-8pm). After 8pm Saturday, wristbands move to Ground Zero Blues Club (0 Blues Alley) for pick up. If not sold-out, remaining Saturday NIGHTTIME wristband sales available at Ground Zero Blues Club and Hopson Commissary only.
×Where: Red Panther Brewing Co. Courtyard
Clarksdale, Mississippi's first microbrewery has a cool courtyard for music, y'all (in-between the brewery and Collective Seed & Supply)!
Free 'KINGFISH KICKOFF!' starring Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram
Clarksdale-born, Grammy-winning blues phenom KINGFISH returns to the land where his blues began for a FREE Juke Joint Fest kickoff concert!
×Where: Red Panther Brewing Co. Stage (in street)
NEW FOR JJF 2025! Three days of special events on the new street stage outside the new Red Panther Brewing Co.
Who: Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram’s love of music grew from the rich Gospel sounds emanating from his
family’s church
and the Blues music he regularly heard played in his Delta neighborhood. A cousin to legendary
Country music
great, Charlie Pride and trained at the Delta Blues Museum under the tutelage of Daddy Rich and
Bill Howl-N-
Madd Perry, Kingfish undoubtedly has music in his soul.
At the tender age of 6, Kingfish began playing the drums. Three years later, he took up the bass
guitar. By the
age of 13, he began playing lead guitar. Soon he was fluent in all three instruments and quickly
added smooth
vocals to his musical repertoire.
Kingfish's guitar influences run the gamut from the Delta Blues of Robert Johnson, Elmore
James, Muddy
Waters, and Lightnin' Hopkins to the electric Blues of B.B. King, Big Jack Johnson, Lefty Dizz,
Albert King and
Buddy Guy to the Rock of Jimi Hendrix, Prince and Eddie Hazel. Not only can Kingfish play in the
styling of his
idols and mentors, but he also has an amazing ability to create guitar sounds entirely his own.
https://www.christonekingfishingram.com
×(Cover may apply.)
12:00 pm
Noon to 6PM Dr. B's open mic.
Where: The Blue Room
Downtown Clarksdale's new music listening room, run by Dr B!
2:00 pm
Ilana Katz Katz is a Blues and Appalachian fiddler, singer, songwriting musical chameleon whose busking passion began on Boston’s subway platforms in 2008. Known internationally for her signature solo performances, she also lends her fiddling prowess to a who’s who of Blues musicians and beyond as a recording artist and special guest. She does her best to bring positive vibes to our strange world by offering (FREE) home-baked cookies at her performances. Ilana is also a novelist, sews one-of-a-kind jackets and berets, makes organic body balm, and is a henna artist. More info: www.ilanakatz.com and @ilanakatzkatz (Instagram) and www.facebook.com/ilanakatzkatz
2:00 pm
Bill Abel and Groove Wranglers
In front of Deak’s Harmonica shop
2:00 PM to 430 Bill Abel and groove wranglers.
Where: Deak Harp Harmonica Shop
3:00 pm
Baptized in the fire water of Clarksdale, MS., Sean “Bad” Apple
began his spiritual journey of learning the blues by seeking out
the old blues musicians that were willing to share their years of
knowledge. Sean is working hard to keep Hill Country Blues alive
and well. People are always in for a good show and never leave
disappointed when the Bad Apple is on the stage
Where: Bad Apple Blues Club
Formerly "Club 2000" juke joint, the Bad Apple Blues Club is the blues venue run by Sean "Bad" Apple!
http://thefrontlinemusic.com/tag/club-2000/
×4:00 pm
Wednesday
4:00-6:00 pm Women in Blues Welcome Party #LiveFrom Clarksdale
Thursday
4:00-5:00pm Women in Blues Happy Hour
Where: Shared Experience HQ
4:00-6:00 pm
5:00 pm
Bear Ryan & The Delta Snakes transcend boundaries, blending elements of blues, country, americana, and rock n roll - evoking the raw, soulful essence of the swampy south. Made up of Clarksdale locals, the Delta Snakes feature heavy-hitters such as Guitar Frenchie, Ryan Robertson, and “BE” on drums. Bear Ryan draws her inspiration from the rich, diverse tapestry of Texas Country and Delta Blues - channeling these influences into her distinct brand of “low fence” rock n roll - as both a gifted singer and compelling songwriter. “The Snakes” will captivate and hypnotise an audience making their toes tap and heads nod.
https://www.bearryanmusic.com/
×7:00 pm
The Blue Room Piano Fest w/ Dr. B
The Blue Room Piano Fest 216 Third Street
7PM Dr. B
8Pm Cricket
9PM Lala
Where: The Blue Room
Downtown Clarksdale's new music listening room, run by Dr B!
8:00 pm
Edna Nicole and Rev
Slim
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
×8:00 pm
Lucious Spiller was born in St.Louis, MO. At an early age, he discovered that God had blessed
him with a special
gift. His dad gave him a guitar when he was four. Immediately he was a natural, he started out
playing in church.
Lucious has performed with countless well known musicians to include Bo Diddly, Larry “Totsy”
Davis, Albert
King, Eddie Clearwater, Robert Cray. He has been opening act for such artists as the legendary
Ritchie Havens’
Bobby “Blue” Bland and the infamous Tower of Power, Zach Brown, and many others. His music
is an energized
mix of new blues and old school injected with a contemporary edge. His songs are brought to
vivid life by his
unlimited energy.
https://www.facebook.com/BlueSpiller/
×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
Where: Hambone Art & Music
PLEASE NOTE: Saturday night (April 12, 2025), IF Juke Joint Festival Sat-night Wristbands are NOT sold-out, then limited quantities will be available for purchase only at the 243 Delta Ave JJF HQ building (only till 8:30pm) AND Ground Zero Blues Club, Hambone Gallery and Hopson Commissary (if/while supplies last). Entry to any/all 20+ JJF Sat-night venues requires a festival wristband. No exceptions. Details on Wristband webpage or in program booklet.
HAMBONE: "Hambone Art Gallery" and bar, Artwork by Stan Street , is located at 111 East Second St.,between Madidi's and Theo's Rock and Roll Museum . Formerly Conerly shoes [ co- owned by Charlie Conerly, quarterback of the New York Giants and Old Miss.] Before that, the building was the old Delta theatre. Owners Stan and Dixie Street moved to Clarksdale from So. Florida. Both
blues musicians, they were drawn here by the city's historical roots. Stan is a poster designer for many roots and blues festivals throughout the U.S. and Canada. The Artwork is mostly musical, but the Gallery also has landscapes from the Delta, Abstracts, and ecclectic Found Object
pieces.
8:00 pm
The Blue Room Piano Fest w/ Cricket
The Blue Room Piano Fest 216 Third St
7PM Dr. B
8PM Cricket
9PM Lala
Where: The Blue Room
Downtown Clarksdale's new music listening room, run by Dr B!
9:00 pm
The Blue Room Piano Fest w/ Lala
The Blue Room Piano Fest 216 Third Street
7PM Dr. B
8PM Cricket
9PM Lala
Where: The Blue Room
Downtown Clarksdale's new music listening room, run by Dr B!
(Cover may apply.)
Tours: Living Blues and Civil Rights Museum
Wed April 8 – Sun April 12 9am – 5pm Tours: Living Blues and Civil Rights Museum 615 Sunflower Avenue
×Where: Shared Experience HQ
4:00-6:00 pm
NEW EXHIBIT: "The River and the Road to the Blues"
Delta Blues Museum Upstairs Gallery Open 10A - 5P daily Special Museum hours on Sunday, April 12 from 1P - 5P
×Where: Delta Blues Museum
Since its creation, the Delta Blues Museum has preserved, interpreted, and encouraged a deep interest in the story of the blues. Established in 1979 by the Carnegie Public Library Board of Trustees and re-organized as a stand-alone museum in 1999, the Delta Blues Museum is the state’s oldest music museum.
http://www.deltabluesmuseum.org
×
Juke Joint Festival® name and logo are registered trademarks of Clarksdale Downtown Development Association. All rights reserved.
FREE sidewalk performances! Please tip your musicians, y'all
13 Third Street. Harmonica students playing.
