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Historical Evolution of the
Return of the Bentonia Blues Festival™
| IMPORTANT NOTICE - Below are old, obsolete, deleted articles from the official Bentonia Blues Festival™ webpage that give some historical background to the revitalization of “...maybe not the biggest but the most popular blues festival in Mississippi.” These articles are not necessarily accurate now but were when written. |
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The Bentonia Blues Society™ announces the Bentonia Blues Competition™, which will be held During the Bentonia Blues Festival™ at the Blue Front Café on Saturday, June 16th, 2007, from The competition will consist of juke joint bands inside the club alternating their performances with acoustic solo acts (i.e., one or two, but no more than two people) on the front porch of the Blue Front. Each act performs for exactly 30 minutes, and separate judges will be present for the electric band and solo competitions. Promo packages |
are required; send them to Ronnie Eldridge, One winner from the electric band competion and another from the accoustic solos will be chosen to open the Bentonia Blues Festival’s blues stage at 6:30 pm, as well as, represent the Bentonia Blues Society™ in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in February, 2008, however, the Bentonia Blues Society™ will supply no monetary compensation to said winners.
The Bentonia Blues Society™ has changed the official date for the |
Annual Bentonia Blues Festival™ from the 2nd to the 3rd Saturday of June.
Ronnie Eldridge, Booking Director for the Bentonia Blues Festival™ explained, “We lost the opportunity to have four excellent acts perform at last year’s Bentonia Blues Festival™ because, instead, they all performed at the Chicago Blues Festival.” “See, the Chicago Blues Festival always encompasses the 2nd Saturday of June. Therefore, we decided to move the date for the annual Bentonia Blues Festival™ from the 2nd to the 3rd Saturday of June each year.” |
Yes, by all accounts, it turned out GREAT! Huge crowds. Huge entertainment. Eddie, Brad and I certainly had our hands full all day and evening at the Bentonia Blues Society’s booth—and Ronnie lining up acts, not to mention Duck performing and MCing the blues stage, too. All the volunteers, you were a Blessing! I hope to get some photos up very soon—as my contributions to the Society generally are not photography (Hint, hint to all who had cameras: create a profile in the Society’s forum and send me ’em! And if something won’t work for you “forum-wise” send me a message.), I have to wait ’til someone forwards pics of the event to me before I can add them to the site. And I hear some wonderful shots were taken.... Looking forward to seeing y’all next year! And remember, unless indicated otherwise here, the Bentonia Blues Festival™ is the SECOND SATURDAY OF JUNE. |
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GREAT NEWS! After a ten year absence, one of the oldest, outside blues festivals will return. Known worldwide as the most famous and popular blues festival in Mississippi, the 2006 Bentonia Blues Festival™ will be held Saturday, June 10, 2006, Click this link for more details (and please remember to take the simple, one-question survey). The date and |
performers will be announced first, here, on bentoniablues.com™. Tell your family and friends, and make plans to attend. The Bentonia Blues Festival™ is alive and well! The first Bentonia Blues Festival™ was held in July, 1972, on the Holmes Farm. It was a tiny event, with only one D.J. and Walter “Big Daddy” Hood (“500 lbs. of Blues”) performing acappela.
The Bentonia Blues Festival™ has grown in size and reputation every year. Jack Owens’ |
Here’s an old, original poster from the 1974 Bentonia Blues Festival™ (the festival’s 3rd year): |
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