T-Model Ford performs for an appreciative crowd at the Wade Walton Stage in Clarksdale at the Juke Joint Festival April 14, 2012. The Wade Walton Stage is located in the parking lot of the late Wade Walton’s barber shop, and honors the legacy of Walton, who was a legendary Clarksdale bluesman as well as a barber.
Juke Joint Festival
The Stax Academy and Soulsville Charter School operate in the South Memphis neighborhood where Stax Records was located. The Academy trains young people to be musicians, while the charter school is a publically-funded high school. The Stax Academy drumline was in Clarksdale during Juke Joint Festival warming up for their performance on the Delta Blues Museum Stage.
Juke Joint Festival, Clarksdale, MS April 14, 2012
Crankshaft is a one-man blues band that has a somewhat alternative rock approach to the blues. Here he was performing in the parking lot beside Ground Zero during Juke Joint Fest in Clarksdale, April 14, 2012
Channel Ziltch is a bizarre television-themed performance venue in Clarksdale, located next door to the highly-acclaimed Southern cuisine lunch restaurant Oxbow. Juke Joint Festival, April 14, 2012
The Baby Blues Drumline at the Juke Joint Festival in Clarksdale
The Baby Blues Drum Line is comprised of young Memphis drummers who are amazingly talented for their young age. They frequently appear at Memphis events, but it was unexpected to encounter them at Juke Joint Festival in Clarksdale. Wherever they go, they always attract a crowd.
Louis “Gearshifter” Youngblood performs at the Cat Head Music and Folk Art stage in Clarksdale, MS at Juke Joint Festival, April 14, 2012
Austin “Walking” Cane performs at the Stone Pony stage on Delta Avenue in Clarksdale during the Juke Joint Festival, April 14, 2012
Juke Joint Festival, April 14, 2012, Clarksdale, MS
The marble lobby of this old bank in Clarksdale has been turned into a performance space known as The Bank. It was one of the main venues for the Juke Joint Festival this year.