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Juke Joint Fest Journal: Friday Night: Frank “Guitar” Rimmer Jr. at Red’s; Robert Kimbrough Jr at Bluesberry Cafe
Juke Joint Fest Journal: Friday Night: Frank “Guitar” Rimmer Jr. at Red’s; Robert Kimbrough Jr at Bluesberry Cafe

Juke Joint Fest Journal: Friday Night: Frank “Guitar” Rimmer Jr. at Red’s; Robert Kimbrough Jr at Bluesberry Cafe

After dinner, I began my first night of the Juke Joint Fest at Red’s Blues Lounge in Clarksdale to catch Grenada bluesman Frank “Guitar” Rimmer Jr. To my amazement, the place was packed with people. After a year of almost no live music, it was so good to see people back in a nightclub enjoying good blues in person. Unfortunately, Red’s has always been restrictive with regard to filming and sometimes even photography, so after Rimmer’s first set, I headed around to Bluesberry Cafe to catch Robert Kimbrough Jr, son of the late Junior Kimbrough. Robert was the first blues artist I met at my very first Juke Joint Festival back in the day; at that time he was selling a burned CD with a few songs on it. He has come a long way since those early days, with four studio albums to his credit. His performance at Bluesberry Cafe included songs from his new album The Pain Won’t Stop and several covers of songs recorded by his late brother David Kimbrough III, notably “Home Alone.” As at Red’s, there was a significant crowd at Bluesberry Cafe too, and the mood was jovial on the streets. It was a great way to kick off this year’s Juke Joint Fest.

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