April Roadtrip, Day 11, Juke Joint Festival, Day 2

 Day 11

Saturday, April 11, 2026

    Sunrise over West Helena...

      The festival's official start time is 10A.  The folks at Bluesberry Cafe start breakfast at 9A.  Today, it came with the music of Rev. Robert.  I've seen him play many times.  Always good.

   On the main stage, The Parchman Band.  The members are all current inmates of the state prison.  The band is part of a rehabilitation program through the state Department of Corrections.  The Music Maker Foundation also funds the program.  This current iteration of the band recently finished an album due out next year.  They played mostly blues and soul and sounded amazing.  

   Just walking around, I stopped to listen to Earl Delaney and his band.

     I ducked into Hambones and ran into Rev. Robert.  He came in early this morning to set up for the breakfast show.  

     Streets are blocked off early.  He got as close as possible and walked his first load in.  When he got back to his car, it was gone.  The city had towed it.  

    He found a cop, told him his story and asked how to get his car back.  The officer told him it was in a temporary impound lot "by the Firestone."  He could "just drive it off."  So he did, and the show went off on time.

   This is my third time seeing Coyote Motel and the first time seeing them as a two piece.  That's Ted Drozdowzki on guitar and Laurie Hoffman on Theramin.

   Ghalia Volt generally does three sets over the course of the festival.  The first time I saw her, she was touring with a band.  She's been solo ever since.  Last year, she played this one for me:

     I saw a full set from Lou Shields last year and bought his album.  I actually saw him in passing yesterday.  He was hardly recognizable without the gray beard.  I actually met his wife and commented on it.  She said he felt the gray just made him look old.  

       I only caught the end of Libby Rae Watson's set last year, bought her two albums and was an instant fan.  Great to see her doing a full set.

     I poked my head into a new venue.  It's the Blue Room for obvious reasons.  My phone was low and needed some juice.  I asked if I could plug in for awhile.  

     That's where I met Bruce, stage name Dr. B.  He owns the place and even gave me a private three minute concert.  Sometimes, life just happens.

     Bruce has been playing piano since he was a kid.  Somewhere in his teens, he discovered the blues.  He grew up, became a doctor in Massachusetts.  On the side, he composed and kept playing.

     Every time he visited Clarksdale, the pull got stronger.  So, he moved here and opened The Blue Room. And yes, he still practices medicine, just part time.

      I caught Bill Abel last year and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Levon's is a restaurant and all the seats were taken.  No one seemed to care that I wasn't eating, just chillin' by the door.

     I would eventually work my way back to The Blue Room for Dr. B.  It's a small venue with a capacity of perhaps twenty-five.  He plays all original songs.  If he had an album, I would have bought it.

     Little Willie Farmer grew up in Mississippi.  He's been drawn to the blues all his life, and began playing in his teens.

     He picked cotton to earn enough for better equipment.  He eventually joined a band that played juke joints on the weekends.  

     While he loved to play, he didn't like the rough venues full of drunks and people fighting.  So, he taught himself auto mechanics and started playing with gospel groups.

      He ran his own auto shop for thirty years and played as a solo act.  In a modern twist, he recorded his first album in 2014 after being discovered on Youtube.

     

   Doug Macleod came on next.  As a kid, he learned to play guitar and sing as a way to overcome his stutter.  His family moved to St. Louis when he was a teen and he frequently hit the blues clubs, totally absorbed in the music. 

    He spent four years in the Navy and checked out the local blues scene wherever he was stationed.  That's where he was given some sage advice, "Never write about something you don't know about."  

     

      At this point, it was 11:30P and I was just done.  There are venues with music late into the night.  I still had to drive to West Helena.

April Roadtrip, Day 14, The Drive Home

 Day 14

Tuesday, April 14, 2026

     The last day of the roadtrip and I'm headed home, with a few stops of course.

     But first, sunrise from the Best Western parking lot.

    Just like Clark Creek in Mississippi, The Walls of Jericho Trail was rated as the best in Alabama on numerous lists.  I tried it a few years ago and didn't make it to the end.  So, I'm trying again.  The trailhead is an easy, half hour drive from Winchester. There are multiple starting points.  I chose the one just over the Alabama state line.

     It's been a couple of years since I tried this.  The parking lot is noticeably larger.  And the trail has a lot more red blazes than I remember.

     The first two and a half miles is pretty easy, but steady decline towards the bottom of the canyon.

     The last stretch is a bit rocky, but still not too bad.  I can see why the trail gets the reviews it does.  The butterflies were a nice bonus.  I learned later that a group of butterflies are a called a Kaleidoscope. 

     Of course there's the inevitable trip back up...

      Pretty good morning and a great way to wrap up the trip.

     It was time to head for home.  Along the way, I passed something called the Tumbling Rock Cave Preserve.  Your fee gets you access to their cave system, plus necessary equipment.  Not my thing, but interesting.  I've done Mammoth Cave National Park and loved it.  I prefer not to be crawling around underground though.  

      Since I was passing through Scottsboro anyway, I made a quick stop.  There's a place in town that sells the contents of unclaimed luggage.  Seriously.  They've been doing this since 1970.  I stopped in years ago and it was interesting, though I didn't buy anything.  The place just felt a little grungy.

     They've really done a lot with the place.  It's clean, well organized and big.  Still didn't buy anything though.  

     The rest of the drive was just a slog and I would eventually pull into my driveway a little after sunset, tired but feeling good.

Dave

4/2026

April Roadtrip, Day 13, Clarksdale to Winchester, TN

Day 13

Monday, April 13, 2026

     This was always going to be the drive day.  If it looked like rain, the direct route home is 7-8 hours.  If the weather held, an equally long drive to Winchester, Tennessee.  Why Winchester?  Tune in tomorrow.

       When I drove this two years ago, I spend half a day hiking in Tishomingo State Park.  An internet search brought me to the Oxford campus of the University of Mississippi, aka Ole Miss. 

    There's a five mile rail trail that seemed perfect.  This used to be the trackbed from the Central Mississippi Railroad.  The official trail is two and a half miles before turning around.  But, it does keep going.  There are also numerous side trails if you choose.  

    Not a bad morning at all..

      Circle and Square Brewing is a brewpub just off campus.  

    Of course I stopped in.  Funny how the conversations around me are the same I was hearing forty years ago, just some different slang.

    About an hour and half northeast is where you'll find Ingomar Mounds.

     There used to be thirteen mounds in the area.  Twelve were destroyed, leaving one.  Archeologists date it back to around 200AD.

     Just follow the path of cut grass.  So many reviewers mentioned the sketchy stairs.  Good to see they had been replaced.

    The view from up top...

     The field walking out was covered in Crimson Clover.  Bonus.

      There were a few other stops for the day.  But, I often underestimate distances.  So, they'll be for next time.

     

     There are no big roads from Huntsville to Winchester.  It makes for a long drive.  But, there is a silver lining.  I got to stop in the travel lane and shoot this...

   The Winchester Best Western was definitely the right choice.  The staff was great and spaced the guests out so we didn't share walls.  Nice breakfast, too.  

    From the motel parking lot...