The Juke Joint Festival is one of Mississippi’s premier music festival and she turns 20 this week.
And this year the crew that organizes this event is pulling out all the stops to celebrate two decades of community development, tourism and downtown revitalization. Downtown Clarksdale will be filled with old friends and new businesses, small-town hospitality for “Juke 2023.”
"This year's Juke Joint Festival may well be the biggest music event ever held here," said artistic director Roger Stolle. "To celebrate Clarksdale's two decades of growth based on blues and cultural tourism, our 20th Juke Joint will feature over a hundred performances on 17 daytime stages and inside 26 nighttime venues."
Juke Joint Festival is Saturday, with related events held Thursday through Sunday.
SATURDAY
During the daytime on Saturday, April 15th, visitors and locals alike will enjoy eight blocks of music stages, arts & crafts vendors, Southern street food, and more — including racing pigs, a petting zoo and monkeys riding dogs. The daytime music stages are all free. That Saturday's nighttime music venues require an official Juke Joint Festival wristband. Wristband quantities are limited. All sales are final.
"We offer over 80 Saturday performances for free during the daytime, but attendees need to buy a wristband to enjoy the 30-some acts in over two-dozen venues at night," said festival director Nan Hughes. "We hope to have another wristband sellout, so we recommend that folks buy pre-sale now at jukejointfestival.com."
If Saturday-night wristbands still remain on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday of the festival week, they will be sold in-person at a higher price (still to be determined based on demand). The official festival headquarters for merchandise sales and wristband information is at 243 Delta Avenue.
Spread over 17 stages, daytime music starts around 10 a.m. and includes acts like Jimmy "Duck" Holmes, "Little" Joe Ayers, Duwayne Burnside, Robert Kimbrough Sr., Layla Musselwhite, Little Willie Farmer, Lightnin' Malcolm, Miss Australia "Honey Bee" Jones and many more.
The festival's 26 nighttime wristband venues include Ground Zero Blues Club, Red's Lounge, New Roxy, Bad Apple Blues Club, Messenger's, Bluesberry Cafe, Hambone, Buster's Down Home Blues Club and others with acts like Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band, Super Chikan & the Fighting Cocks, Kent Burnside, Terry "Big T" Williams & Family Band, Watermelon Slim & Truckers, Anthony "Big A" Sherrod & Allstars, Keith Johnson & Big Muddy Band, Jimbo Mathus & Creatures of Southern Wild, Garry Burnside, Kenny Brown and many more.
Downtown residents are reminded of the 24-hour parking restrictions that go into place at 2 a.m. Friday night and require all cars to be out of the downtown area. A special parking lot for downtown residents has been set up across from City Hall.
The community is also reminded that a 9 p.m. curfew will be enforced downtown during Juke Joint. Anyone under the age of 18 will not be allowed downtown unless accompanied by an adult.
20TH ANNIVERSARY
Clarksdale's massive 20th Juke Joint Festival celebration officially starts with a Thursday 5pm-8pm Kick-off inside the alternatively-renovated New Roxy theater (described as "quite possibly the coolest venue in the South") with free performances by Sean "Bad" Apple and Lucious Spiller Band.
Then, following a day of intimate music performances and panel discussions downtown, the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area presents a special festival edition of the world-famous Thacker Mountain Radio Hour at the New Roxy—starring host Jim Dees along with author Robert Mugge (Notes from the Road), one-man blues band Rip Lee Pryor and Clarksdale's own high-energy Super Chikan & the Fighting Cocks. The live, in-person event is free to the public (first come, first served) from 6pm-7pm.
Finally, after a Saturday of great music and community events running from 10am till after midnight, Sunday keeps the celebration rolling with related events such as the Cat Head Mini Blues Fest, Bluesberry Backyard Blues Fest, Red's Post-JJF Blues Jam and more.
Official Juke Joint Festival lineups, pre-sale wristbands and general information at www.jukejointfestival.com. Explore what today's Clarksdale has to offer at visitclarksdale.com, crossroadseconomicpartnership.com, deltabluesmuseum.org and cityofclarksdale.org. Find out more about the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area at msdeltaheritage.com.
VOLUNTEER!
Major 2023 Juke Joint Festival partners include Visit Clarksdale Tourism, Cathead Vodka, Southern Bancorp, Crossroads Economic Partnership, Visit Mississippi, Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area, C Spire, City of Clarksdale. Clarksdale Public Utilities and others.
"Our nonprofit organization is eternally thankful for the incredible support that our 'half blues festival, half small-town fair and all about the Delta' event receives," said Hughes. "From our hardworking volunteers to our major sponsors, it is truly humbling."
If you are interested in volunteering or becoming a sponsor please Email office@jukejointfestival.com.
For festival details go to www.jukejointfestival.com.
