Day 1
Thursday, April 10, 2025
With four hundred miles to drive, I was up and out nice and early. Knowing I had morning commuters to contend with, I took a few back roads and picked up I-20 well west of town. From there, it was a matter of grinding out the miles.
To set the mood of the trip, I selected Rip Lee Pryor from the thumb drive. I saw him at the Juke Joint Festival a few years ago.
Sunrise over Campbellton...
Outside Oxford, Alabama, I started seeing signs for Combat Park, where you can drive a tank for $99. Interesting, but I drove on.
Passing through the town of Riverside, I noticed an old bridge in the distance. Of course I went to check it out.
The rest of the drive was simply grinding out the miles and trying to get to the motel before this hit...
Once again, I had tried to book a room way too late. My options in Clarksdale was a shared room in a hostel with seven other guys, or the Hampton Inn. They were the only place on line that had a room left. It would have run me $1,225 for the entire weekend.
So, I booked myself into the same place as the last three times, the Delta Inn in West Helena, Arkansas. Sure, it was a thirty minute drive from Clarksdale. But, I did get to cross the Mississippi River.
I was just glad to be in before the rain.
The rain came and went, just in time for sunset.
Day 2
Friday, April 11, 2025
The original plan was to be up early enough for sunrise over the Mississippi River. With all that road time yesterday, I just wasn't feeling it.
Instead, I drove down to Riverside Park on my way out of town. They have a nice walkway out to an overlook of the river.
That's the bridge I crossed last night and will be taking back into Mississippi. Before 1961, the only way across was by ferry.
From here it's a half hour drive to Clarksdale, Mississippi. Friday is basically a soft open to the Juke Joint Festival. Saturday, most of downtown gets blocked off. Not a problem today.
Cat Head is a blues themed store selling CDs and books. Out front, Randy "19th Street Red" Cohen was warming up. Decent way to open the weekend. You can see him perform "Mystery Train" here.
Nice to see the old Marion Theater getting some much needed love. It first opened in 1918. On the back of the building, there's a stairway up to the balcony entrance. At the time, only white patrons were allowed in the front door. In 1931, a brightly lit marquis was added and it was rebranded the Paramount Theater. On Saturday, musicians will set up underneath. Griot Arts, Inc bought the Theater. The plan is to make it into a community based art facility. Click the link to read more.
The motel coffee was tepid at best. The craving kicked in and I found myself walking into Meraki Roasting Company.
Delta By the Beach was on stage. I only caught the last few songs. Definitely worth checking out again. And the coffee...excellent.
I've hit my share of coffee shops on the road. This is a first, a communal printer. Nice!
Next stop was Deak Harp's Harmonica Shop. I met a local woman who watches the store when Deak is out on vacation. It's apparently well known among harmonica enthusiasts. They come from all over the world to his shop.
Out front, Bill Abel was just starting his set. With some performers, I'll stop for a few songs and move on. I stayed for his entire set. And yes, I even bought one of his CDs. This is from the festival five years ago. This is why I keep coming back.
His drummer was wearing an Acid Hologram shirt. Interesting choice for a blues festival. Click the link, if you dare. It's definitely different.
My next stop was a place called Hambone Art and Music. They sell art work from local artists inside. Outside. Alessandro Ponti & Da Bones Man were playing. I hadn't seen them before, but enjoyed their whole set.
Some days you just need your formal washboard...
I wandered back to the car to drop off the CD to find this...
You can clearly see where the faded white lines end. I was effectivity parked in, as were three other cars. It's not even like the lot was full. Good thing I wasn't going anywhere. I'd hate to have this guy towed.
Back to Hambones for one of the musicians I was most looking forward to, Ray Cashman. I saw him last year and immediately bought multiple CDs. I bumped into him on Saturday and we had a brief chat.
Saturday, there will be stages and musicians everywhere. Not as much today. No complaints. I just hung around Hambones.
Next up was Guitar Frenchie. I had never heard of him, but enjoyed his set. You can see him performing his song "Bound for Mississippi" here. Sign of the times, the Virtual Tip Jar.
He did a video tour of this year's festival. You can see it here:
Meanwhile, over at the Cat Head stage, Ghalia Volt was working through her set. She does multiple shows throughout the festival at the various stages. The first time I saw her play, she had a full band. These days she's traveling and performing solo. "Meet You Down the Road" is a personal favorite.
When she finished, I stopped in next door to a place called Against the Grain.
They specialize in portraits carved in wood.
On stage, Ramblin' Dan. Excellent musician. But yeah, he does ramble a bit.
Next up on the stage, Cruz the Dame. I caught part of her act last year and wanted to see more. You can see part of last year's show here:
Primer played for an hour and a half with the crowd in the palm of his hand. Knowing I still had the drive ahead of me, I decided to call it a day.
Since some of you are probably curious, the parking saga continued. The previous dufus had moved their car. But, another equally dopey person has replaced him, parking about a foot from my rear bumper.
So, imagine the scenario. There's a car in front and two on each side. All perfectly legal. There's also a guy illegally parked behind you.
So, I ditched my stuff in the car and found two Clarksdale police officers and asked for advice. Since it's a private lot, there was nothing they could do. I understood. I asked if I could get the car behind me towed. They said they couldn't even legally suggest that.
Enter Plan B. The spot adjacent to the vehicle in front of me was empty. With a little help from some random people, I was able to squeeze through a gap into that empty spot. Barely.
Finally free, it was back to West Helena for the night.
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