After 15 years, Juke Joint Festival draws hundreds of blues fans to downtown Clarksdale, MS.
Roger Stolle’s, owner of Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art studio, founded Juke Joint Festival in 2001. Stolle has seen hundreds of bands and thousands people come through Clarksdale over the years, and even opened a bar and music venue with celebrity, Morgan Freemon, all thanks to blues music.
Nathan Robbins, Juke Joint veteran of 10 years and bass player, travels to Clarksdale each year for the festival. Along with playing at JJF, Robbins is an engineer at the University of Mississippi and owns a recording studio, producing music in his spare time.
For the past 14 years, talented blues musician, Rip Lee Pryor, has brought his music to Clarksdale and the Juke Joint Festival, just one of the many known artists to make their way through the “blues town.”
Though open to the public during the day, The Bank of Clarksdale will exclusively open its doors after 8pm only to those with wristband access. Though audiences will have to part with $20 charge in order to stay late, getting to watch the 16-year-old “blues king,” Chris Harvey, seems more than worth it.
The Paramount theatre in downtown Clarksdale, MS is one of several prestigious stages at the festival where various artists will be preforming.
Unlike most of the artists here, Terry “Big T” Williams, welcomes his first time performing at the festival. Though Williams has been playing music all his life and has a love for the blues, this is his first year he has made a recognized appearance at Juke Joint.
From ponies to sheep, to a small cow and even miniature pot-bellied pig, this petting zoo is a favorite for all ages at the Juke Joint Festival for over 15 years. Lori Davis, owner of the animals, shares that when JJF first began, it was just a small gathering outside of Clarksdale. Now, the festival has grown so large, the whole town gets involved.
Alongside the petting zoo, parents can watch as their children ride around the small community of downtown Clarksdale and enjoy the festival scenery on a trolley train.
Children looking for a birds-eye-view of the Juke Joint Festival are welcome to scale the 25 foot rock wall structure.
Scott Berretta (left), famous journalist and local “blues king” in the South, shares that the inspiration for Juke Joint stemmed from Roger Stolle’s idea of wanting to have a festival not geographically bound to one area, but one that includes the whole town.
Along with the hundreds and locally known musicians who bring their music to Clarksdale, there are those more well-known in the industry. Garry and Duwayne Burnside, sons of famous blues artist, R.L. Burnside, play with their band outside Cat Head studio while hundreds stop by to listen to the duo.
Along with food, drinks, and blues music, local art and handmade goods are sold throughout the festival. Shoppers can purchase anything from CD’s to handmade wooden guitars and instruments, to even knives and handcrafted art pieces, like the one featured above.
In addition to blues artists, local ‘Blues Town” shop owners, Ronnie and Claire Drew, say the festival brings hundreds into their business, growing it each year as Juke Joint welcomes more and more blues lovers.
