King Biscuit Blues Festival

Subject: King Biscuit Blues Festival
From: Tweed
Date: 09 Oct 06 - 10:12 AM

I got back last night from attending the best and probably the largest gathering of blues performers and fans on the planet. I know that this used to be a sort of blues forum as well as folk and wondered if any of you out there went to Helena, Arkansas this past weekend.

There were 80 performers on the three main stages and I don't know how many buskers on Cherry Street. The buskers were by far the most interesting of all by the way. Lot of one-man-bands out there playing modified drum kits with their feet while accompanying themselves on guitars, diddly bows etc with five gallon plastic tip buckets full of dollar bills set out in front of them.
Robert Lockwood Junior, who's 90-something years and the step son of Robert Johnson played a great set. So did Philip Walker, Robert Belfour, the Fieldstones from Memphis, Sam Carr, Dave Riley, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith to name a few of the big names.

I'm guessing that around 75,000 folks showed up from all over the world and from the Holy Mississippi Delta region.
Had to have been more 'catters there than just me, but maybe not.

Perfect azure sky weather all three days with an enormous full moon rising over the levee each night. I've been to some festivals back in the day, but this one topped all of them. Ribs, soul-food, roasted corn on the cob, beer, Crown Royal....yassuh!! It could not have been any better or run any smoother.

Tweed