Mississippi (and neighboring) Blues Festivals in 2008. This list is compiled by members of The Blues Highway Association, a group of volunteers who love and promote the Blues in the Delta. Every effort has been taken to make sure it's accurate, but it's best to check with the contact person, with Mississippi Tourism (1-866-see-miss), The Mississippi Delta Tourism Association (1-877-DELTA-MS), Roger Stolle at Cathead, or The Delta Center before making plans. Remember that definitions and expectations of "Blues" and "Festival" differ, so call the contact person to avoid disappointment! Please send any corrections, additions or deletions to The Delta Center.
Mississippi Blues Festivals in 2008 (updated April 1, 2008)
A full color, 18x24, poster that includes most of the events listed below is available from The Delta Center at a cost of $5. This year's poster [click here to see it] features a photograph of Po' Monkey's Lounge, one of the last surviving Juke Houses in the Delta.
| NAME OF EVENT |
DATES |
LOCATION |
CONTACT | CONTACT NUMBER |
|
International Blues
Challenge The Blues Foundation |
January 29-Feb 2 |
Memphis |
Joe Whitmer joe@blues.org |
901.527.2583 http://www.blues.org/index.php4 |
| Mississippi John Hurt Post-Valentine Gala |
February 23 |
Carrollton |
Mary Hurt-Wright |
http://www.msjohnhurtmuseum.com/ mfhurt_wright@yahoo.com |
| The Millennium Blues Show | March 3 | Greenwood | station WGNL | 662-453-1646 |
| Port Gibson Main Street Heritage |
March 29 |
Port Gibson |
Al Hollingsworth |
601.437.4500 pgmainstreet@yahoo.com http://www.portgibsonmainstreet.com/ |
| River to the Rails | April 12 | Greenwood | 662.453-9197 | |
| Meridian Museum of Art's 2008 Blues and BBQ Festival | April 12 | Meridian Museum | Terry Heder | 601.693.1501 |
| Juke Joint and Planter's Celebration | April 12 | Clarksdale Blues Alley | http://www.clarksdaletourism.com | |
| Vicksburg Riverfest |
April 18-19 |
Vicksburg |
http://www.riverfestms.com/ | |
| Juke Joint Festival |
April 18-20 |
Clarksdale |
Roger Stolle |
662.624.5992 www.jukejointfestival.com |
| Natchez Bluff Blues Festival |
April 18-20 |
Natchez |
Eric Glatzer |
601.660.2792 eglatzer@aol.com |
| Crosstie Art And Jazz Festival |
April 19 |
Cleveland |
Mary Elizabeth Jeffries |
662.721.1235 info@crosstie-arts.org http://www.crosstie-arts.org/ |
|
Cotton District Arts
Festival |
April 19 | Starkville | Arma D. Salazar | asalazar@starkville.org |
| 28th Annual Alcorn State Univ. Jazz Festival |
April 19 |
Vicksburg |
Dr. David Miller |
http://www.alcorn.edu/academic/academ/fineart/jazz.htm 601.877.6602 davemilleralcorn@yahoo.com |
| Cat Head mini Blues Festival |
April 20 |
Clarksdale |
Roger Stolle |
662.624.5992 roger@cathead.biz |
| Lynch Street Festival |
April 25-26 |
Jackson |
Linda Carter |
601.352.6993 http://www.westjacksoncdc.org/specialprojects.htm |
| Double Decker Arts Festival |
April 26 |
Oxford |
Jennifer Downs |
800.758.9177 tourism@oxfordms.com www.doubledeckerfestival.com |
| 6th Annual Ponderosa Stomp |
April 29-30 |
New Orleans |
Andria Lisle |
alisle@midsouth.com; drike@knights-maumau.com www.ponderosastomp.com |
| Blues and Wings Weekend/Stearman Flyin |
April 30-May 4 NEW LISTING |
Merigold/Cleveland, MS | Eric Tatum |
erictatum@deltabluesfly-in.com
662.402.6695_cell |
| Market Street Festival | May 2-3 | Columbus | Jan Miller |
662-328-6305 http://www.columbusmainstreet.com/marketstreet.html jmiller@columbusmainstreet.com |
| 17th Annual Leland Crawfish Festival |
May 3 |
Leland |
Billy Johnson |
662.686.7646 662-347-4223 |
| The Deep Delta Festival |
May 3 |
Rolling Fork |
Meg Cooper |
662-873-1685 megldp@bellsouth.net |
| 29th Blues Music Awards |
May 8 |
Tunica |
Jay Sieleman |
901.527.2583 jay@blues.org http://www.blues.org/handys/ |
| Fourth Annual Robert Johnson Blues Festival |
May 10 |
Crystal Springs |
Steven Johnson |
601.892.1565 robertjohnsonblu@bellsouth.net http://www.robertjohnsonbluesfoundation.org/festival06.html |
| Crossroads Blues and Heritage Festival |
May 10 |
Rosedale |
Bill Bateman
Will Tierce |
662-759-3841 662-846-2601 |
| Clarksdale Caravan Music Fest |
May 10 |
Clarksdale | Theo Dasbach | 901-605-8662 |
| Down from the Hills Heritage Music and Folklife Festival |
May 17 |
New Albany |
Union County Heritage Museum |
662.538.0014 jill@ucheritagemuseum.com |
| Tupelo Elvis Presley Festival |
June 5-7 |
Tupelo |
Debbie Brangenburg |
888.273.7798 http://www.tupeloelvisfestival.com/ |
| Medgar Evers' Homecoming |
June 5-8 |
Pickens |
Renee Shakespeare |
601.201.1445 or WMPR 90.1FM @ 601.948.5835 |
| Highway 61 Blues Festival &Holly Ridge Jam |
June 6-9 |
Leland |
Randy Magee |
mageerc@bellsouth.net http://www.highway61blues.com 662-686-7646 1-800-467-3582 |
| Mother's Best Music fest | June 7 | Helena, Ark | Roger Stolle | 662.624.5992 |
| Jubilee! Jam |
June 13-14 |
Jackson |
John Lawrence | 601.353.9800 |
| Juneteenth |
June 20-21 |
Columbus |
Leroy Brooks |
662.329.5871 http://www.columbus-ms.org |
| Bentonia Blues Festival |
June 21 |
Bentonia |
John L. Neidigh |
Bentoniablues.com john@bentoniablues.com |
| North Mississippi Hill Country Blues Festival | July 4-5 | Potts Camp | Sara Davis |
662-801-7272 sarad@olemiss.edu http://www.nmshillcountrypicnic.com/ |
| Mississippi John Hurt Gospel & Blues Fest |
July 5 |
Avalon |
Mary Hurt-Wright |
http://www.msjohnhurtmuseum.com/ mfhurt_wright@yahoo.com |
| Claiborne County Blues & Cruise Thru History |
July 5 |
Port Gibson |
Edward Carter, Sr. |
601.415.5077 http://www.portgibsononthemississippi.com/welcome.html ejlcsr@yahoo.com |
| Duck Hill Grassroots Blues Festival |
July 12 |
Duck Hill |
Al White |
www.grassrootsblues.com
acwpro@yahoo.com 662 809-7002 662 565-2478 |
| Founder's Day | July 12 | Mound Bayou | Mamie Tate | (662) 741.2244 |
| Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival |
August 8-10 |
Clarksdale |
Panny Mayfield |
662.624.5648 www.sunflowerfest.org |
| Cat Head mini Blues Festival |
August 10 |
Clarksdale |
Roger Stolle | 662.624.5992 |
| 13th Annual Howlin' Wolf Memorial Blues Festival |
August 29 |
West Point |
Richard Ramsey |
662.494.2921 rramsey@wpms.net http://www.wpnet.org/wolf_festival.htm |
| The Mississippi Jazz and Heritage Festival |
August 30 |
Greenville |
Dr. Ron Myers |
662.247.1471 MyersFound@aol.com |
| Browning Labor Day Festival |
Aug 30- Sept 1 |
Greenwood's Browning Community |
Claudine Brown | 662.453.2225 |
| Mississippi Gulf Coast Blues and Heritage Festival |
September 5-6 |
Pascagoula |
Addie Brent | 228-497-5493 |
| Jazz Concert | September 18 | Greenville | http://www.greenvilleareachamber.com/events.htm | |
| Little Winn festival | September 19 | Greenville | http://www.greenvilleareachamber.com/events.htm | |
| Mississippi Delta Blues and Heritage Festival |
September 20 |
Greenville |
MACE |
662.335.3523 http://www.deltablues.org/MACE/home.html |
| Annual Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival |
October 9-11 |
Helena |
Rosie Swan |
870.338.8798 http://www.bluesandheritage.com/ bluesandheritage@sbcglobal.net |
| Cat Head mini Blues Festival |
October 12 |
Clarksdale |
Roger Stolle | 662.624.5992 |
| Pinetop Perkins Homecoming |
October 12 |
Clarksdale |
James Butler |
662.902.3866 http://www.pinetopperkins.com/ |
| Tommy Johnson Blues Festival |
October 17-18 |
Crystal Springs |
http://www.tommyjohnsonblues.com/index.html | |
| Historic Mobile Street Renaissance Festival |
October 18 |
Hattiesburg |
Pattie Hall |
Hattiesburg Arts Council council@hattiesburgms.com |
| 2nd Annual Hambone Festival | October 25 | 111 East Second Street Clarksdale | Stan Street |
stanwstreet@bellsouth.net
|
| St. Gabriel Harvest Festival |
November 1
|
Mound Bayou
|
Sister Donald Mary Lynch | 662-741 3255 |
| Native American Days | November 6-8 | Winterville Mounds | Jan Taylor | jtaylor@mdah.state.ms.us |
| 5th Annual Mississippi Delta Regional Blues challenge |
November 8 NEW LISTING!!! |
Club Ebony, Indianola | Janet Webb |
jmcwebb@yahoo.com www.indianolablues.org |