Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival

From Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival Website:

The 31st Sunflower is scheduled for
August 10-11-12, 2018.

CLARKSDALE - Music fans from New Zealand, Italy, Japan, and Germany to Paris and Bangkok, Thailand affirmed Clarksdale as the cradle of the blues and the Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival as the perfect place to experience it, says festival chair Melvita Tillis Presley.

"We are very excited over the success of our 30th anniversary," continues Presley. "From Thursday night's sponsor party to the gospel finale Sunday night, the festival was extraordinary."

"We had a very large audience Friday night for O.B. Buchana, Nathaniel Kimble, and Super Chikan Johnson," says festival co-chair John Sherman.

"Our six acoustic stages Saturday afternoon also were a great success," he said. "Most of the venues were packed."

Asked what he thought about the festival he co-founded in 1988, Jim O'Neal says the Sunflower still occupies its billing as a "unique place" among festivals. "It's great that it keeps going on."

"The Sunflower is one of the few grassroots, comfortable places," to enjoy authentic music, he added. "It's not a high pressure situation, and people are not afraid of the crowd size."

O'Neal liked the abundance of local performers in the lineup and especially the large hometown turnout for Clarksdale native O.B. Buchana.

The Sunflower has been ranked among America's Top Ten places to hear authentic music by U.S.A. Weekend.

Festival Saturday night finale highlights included performances by Big George Brock and Grammy winner Charlie Musselwhite, a Clarksdale favorite since his initial Sunflower performance in 1995.

The Delta Blues Museum's student education wing was packed Sunday afternoon for a prestigious Mississippi Bicentennial event: "Conversations with Charlie Musselwhite."

With his encyclopedic knowledge O'Neal, co-founder of Living Blues magazine, interviewed Musselwhite about his 50-year career.

Describing his growing up days in Memphis, his move to Chicago where he began sitting in with Muddy Waters, Musselwhite told colorful, humorous s stories about playing on Maxwell Street and many musicians including some who became famous.

"All of them were from Mississippi," Musselwhite said.

Musselwhite was honored on stage Saturday night before his performance with the festival's Early Wright Blues Heritage Award.

Madge Harris was honored Sunday night with the Julius Guy Gospel Heritage Award.

Sponsored by the Mississippi Humanities Council and Visit Mississippi (State Tourism), the program was funded by a grant awarded to the Sunflower River Blues Association.