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CAT HEAD UPDATE NEWSLETTER
CLARKSDALE FESTIVAL EDITION
"All the blues that's fit to print"
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IT'S FESTIVAL TIME IN MISSISSIPPI'S "FESTIVAL CITY" WITH 2 REAL-DEALS THIS MONTH ALONE!
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Hey y'all... Happy August. Hard to believe, but Clarkdale, Mississippi, has already enjoyed 10 music festivals this year... and we still have half a dozen more to go. Up next? The grandmother of 'em all: Fri-Sun 8/9-11, it's the SUNFLOWER RIVER BLUES & GOSPEL FESTIVAL, www.sunflowerfest.org. Then, the "King of the Juke Joint Runners" Red Paden lives on in spirit with Orlando Paden's amped up RED'S OLD-TIMERS BLUES FEST on Saturday, 8/31. Incredible lineups. Incredible Clarksdale homecomings. Find lodging ASAP via www.visitclarksdale.com — PLUS check out all the club listings on my MUSIC CALENDAR page at www.cathead.biz (simply click the calendar button, and scroll down the the month of August).
Spring and early summer brought us plenty of other blues and tourism highlights, of course. Many of which I'll touch upon in this edition of the quasi-regular CAT HEAD UPDATE.
As always, please remember that Clarksdale is one of the very few places on earth that features 'LIVE' BLUES 365 nights a year (plus many days) as well as over a dozen annual festivals. Really. And truly.
Oh hey, guess what?!?
CAT HEAD is celebrating its first 22 YEARS IN CLARKSDALE as Mississippi's blues store and your first stop for Sounds Around Town recommendations. THANKS TO ALL Y'ALL for supporting my small-town small business in a big way. It ain't always easy to keep things rolling, but it is always worth the effort. Y'all make it both possible and worthwhile. (As my blues friends often say, "Give yourselves a hand!")
Read on. Come for a visit. And in the meantime, please check out my super-cool online CAT HEAD WEB STORE at www.cathead.biz.
Rock on, blues fans!
Roger Stolle (and Ayler Pug)
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Clarksdale's down-home SUNFLOWER RIVER BLUES & GOSPEL FESTIVAL returns in Aug. It's FREE, y'all!
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It's one of the oldest real-deal blues festivals around—founded in 1988. This year's always-free SUNFLOWER RIVER BLUES & GOSPEL FESTIVAL will feature a stunningly good array of local and regional Mississippi blues acts—from Big A to Big T, from Jimmy "Duck" Holmes to James "Super Chikan" Johnson... and beyond. AUGUST 8-11 for everything, including... a VIP party on Thursday. Classic blues festival on Friday and Saturday. And an almighty Gospel Stage on Sunday. PLUS, we'll have all our normal 365 blues happenings and plenty of bonus festival-weekend music—inside and out. Check out the details at www.sunflowerfest.org
  
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Then, 6th annual RED'S OLD-TIMERS BLUES FEST pays tribute to 'Juke King' Red Paden. It's also FREE!
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"The game's [still] for life." And RED'S OLD-TIMERS BLUES FEST (with Red's son Orlando AKA "Little Red" now at the helm) is still absolutely "backed by the river and fronted by the grave!"
Experience deep blues from the old-timers on the MLK Stage just a block from the legendary Red's Lounge juke joint, SATURDAY, 8/31 FROM 10AM-9M. Enjoy the best of the blues from Mississippi blues acts aged 64 to 97. FREE festival, but please feel free to donate to the event either in-person (to Orlando Paden) or online (https://www.gofundme.com/f/reds-oldtimers-festival). And, of course... "Tip tip tip the band!" Also, please bring a lawn chair or blanket. Food/beverages available. Portajohns on site.) Website: redpaden.com / Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/redsoldtimersbluesfestival
See the poster for the incredible lineup — from Cadillac John to Charlie Musselwhite...
  
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SOUNDS AROUND TOWN calendar is a snapshot of the week's blues (but we also have it every other day)
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Seriously. Visit Clarksdale. And experience 'live' blues... plus all the history, Southern hospitality and more... 365! MUSIC CALENDAR with Sounds Around Town, annual festival list and the month at a glance... exclusively at https://www.cathead.biz/music-calendar
Then, find a cool place to stay (from a world-class hostel to out-of-this-world luxury lofts... and way beyond) via VISIT CLARKSDALE Tourism's lodging page at https://www.visitclarksdale.com/stay-all
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CAT HEAD — Mississippi's blues store in Clarksdale since 2002 — celebrates 22ND ANNIVERSARY!
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"HAPPY 22ND ANNIVERSARY, CAT HEAD!" 22 years ago on July 25, 2002, I sold my first CD at "the store I always wanted to walk into but could never find." My official grand opening was a couple weeks later during the Sunflower River Blues Fest when Terry "Harmonica" Bean, T-Model Ford and Big George Brock performed in-store. Only Terry still walks among us, and he'll play again to celebrate—along with 19th Street Red, Preston Rumbaugh and Watermelon Slim.
THANKS TO ALL Y'ALL who've supported me and my CAT HEAD related endeavors through the years. From blues books, documentary films and radio shows... to Sounds Around Town calendars, overseas tours and local festivals, it's been a blast. Learn more about all that (and shop the web store) at www.cathead.biz.
As I told the local newspaper at my grand opening back in 2002: "A year ago, I was meeting with the CEO of May Company and traveling to Hong Kong on business. Last week, I booked a blues musician named 'T-Model Ford' and set up a store display that includes a chair made out of painted cow bones. You tell me which sounds like more fun."
Come say hello during our 22nd anniversary celebration. We'll have special extended hours for Sunflower Fest week: MON-THURS 11AM-5PM, FRI-SAT 10-5, SUN 10-3.
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Celebrate 22 YEARS of awesome! Shop the mighty CAT HEAD store in Clarksdale — in-person or online.
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Sure. You can shop our Paris or New York locations. (Not a real thing.) But why not shop the original? (Yeah, it's the only one.) CAT HEAD in Clarksdale. Hit the highway or the jet stream—or shop the worldwide web at www.cathead.biz—for our stellar selection of blues, Clarksdale and Cat Head stuff‚ including short or long-sleeve T-shirts, ball caps, beverage glasses/mugs, prints/posters and much more. Plus, check out our carefully curated collection of books, artwork, vinyl LPs/CDs/DVDs and more. It's no wonder that our CAT HEAD visitors over the past 22 years have included celebrities like Robert Plant, Caroline Kennedy, Dan Akroyd, Tom Waits, Ty Pennington, Andrew Zimmern, Alex Chilton, Ian Astbury, Jools Holland, Joey Lauren Adams, Morgan Freeman, Jessica Lange, Ozzy Osbourne, etc... and tons of other notable musicians, authors, actors and... uh... general "characters"! (Not to mention NPR, PBS NewsHour, 60 Minutes (CBS), New York Times, The Economist, Mississippi Public Broadcasting, numerous documentary film teams, etc.).
          
  
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Miss this year's JUKE JOINT FESTIVAL? Plan now for 2025. Here are a few pics to whet your appetite...
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Was this year's 21st JUKE JOINT FESTIVAL & Related Events (April 11-14, 2024) the biggest ever? Maybe. Over 100 acts performed, and thousands of enthusiastic visitors came from all 50 U.S. states plus D.C., over 50 Mississippi counties and at least 25 international countries (that we could document). This year, we had Mississippi blues performers from 7 to 97 years old. And the Saturday's main events included 16 free day stages and a couple dozen nighttime wristband venues. Lots of smiling faces.
PLAN NOW FOR 22ND JJF—APRIL 10-13, 2025. General festival info at www.jukejointfestival.com (including the 2024 lineup to give you an idea of what to expect). Search for lodging via https://www.visitclarksdale.com/stay-all as well as Airbnb and VRBO. Also, details are to come, but Clarksdale will again welcome campers downtown for the fest weekend (this past April's info at https://jukejointfestival.com/rv_form.php; expect similar arrangements for 2025).
        
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Hear Mr. Cat Head talk and spin real-deal blues on CROSSROADS DELTA BLUES HOUR on KSDS radio!
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Tune into the one-and-only CROSSROADS DELTA BLUES HOUR radio show with yours truly, Roger Stolle, for a weekly trip down the Mississippi blues trail... and beyond... with information on Clarksdale, upcoming festivals and more.
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We lost a great blues friend in Red's barman (and Clarksdale character) "BIG" CHARLES HOLMES... RIP
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There is another big hole in the blues universe, y'all. Red's longtime bartender (and beloved character) "BIG" CHARLES HOLMES passed back in late May—Jan 1, 1958-May 25, 2024. RIP.
Thanks for all those late nights of philosophizing at the corner of the bar amidst the blues notes and Bud empties in the dimly lit paradise we call Red's Lounge. We love you, Charles.
As he once told a West Hollywood producer who asked him why Red's was so special, "This is a family. This whole club is a family." That was Big Charles. Good people.
Asked to describe the club, Big Charles told the producer, "What makes a blues club an authentic old blues club is when you walk in the door that blues club's just like a poor man’s house. He ain’t got no money to go out there and buy no d*** matching chairs. When you walk in there, shoot, there ain’t no matching tables, ain’t no matching chairs. He just bought what he could get!"
On Memorial Day, about 8 years ago, I was driving back from a hike in Sardis. My phone rang. "Charles Holmes." Hmm. Oh wait! Big Charles? It was. "What's up?" "Come on and get your plate." Huh? "Come by the house. I've got ribs and mac 'n cheese and..." In the wee hours of the night before, he'd asked me if I had holiday plans, and I said no. So, he included me in his. That's the kind of guy Charles was. Like I said... Good people.
He was also a hilarious character. He would do and say things on a weekend night at Red's that would have me laughing all through the next week.
Big Charles: "For Valentine's Day, I bought 4 sets of perfume stuff. Identical. That way I don't have to keep track of who I gave what!"
Big Charles, on his secret-but-famous strawberry cake (secretly made with strawberry drink mix): "Tastes just like strawberries fresh off the tree!"
One night, as Bilbo or Belfour cranked on, Big Charles kept trying to tell me something, but I couldn’t understand a single word, so I just smiled and nodded. When the song ended, he tapped me on the shoulder dead-serious-like and said, "You didn't know I was a ventriloquist, did you?" (Uh, he wasn't.)
One dude to Big Charles: "You don't take credit cards?!" The dude's girlfriend: "How about Venmo?" (I'll let you imagine how Charles responded.)
Every couple years, Big Charles would challenge Red’s champion dancer, Ellis Coleman, to a bit of a dance-off in front of the band. Now, I’m not going to say he could “outdance” Ellis, but to his credit, to see a man of his considerable girth glide around the old dance floor like that was quite a sight to behold. It would usually end with he and Ellis (and the band) laughing and agreeing to a tie.
One night, there was a group of pretty people partying, and the prettiest got out on the dance floor to strut her stuff. Charles frowns, looks at me and says, "She ain't no brick house." Pauses for a moment, then says, "She THINKS she is!"
One night a young-but-breaking-out Kingfish was playing a packed house at Red's. I got there a little late. Big Charles and I hadn't talked in a bit, so when I ordered the beer the size of my head, he wanted to chat. I tried to keep us at a whisper, but... you know. And so a customer in front of me turned around and shushed us. "What the?!? Did you just shush us?! You must think you're in Ground Zero!"
Big Charles and I would also get into serious, personal conversations. But even then, he'd make you laugh. One night, we were talking about health issues and getting older. He announced, "You know, five different times, friends have called me up to say they heard I was dead. I was like, 'Well, if I'm dead, then why in the **** are you calling ME?!?'"
   
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LATEST BLUES, MISSISSIPPI, CLARKSDALE, JAZZ AND RELATED NEWS. Check out the links below...
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- There's a great new place to get those hairs cut in downtown Clarksdale! It's the old Marty's, now run by the blues 'n roots music playing Bear The Barber. Her hours, prices, etc., at https://www.bearthebarber.com/
- Bluesman Little Willie Farmer's studio burned down recently in Duck Hill, MS (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10232340920688629&set=pcb.10232340951649403) He's accepting donations to help him rebuild. (Mail a checks to "Willie Farmer" at Regions Bank, 101 South State St., Duck Hill, MS 38925. Or call bank at 662-731-4000.)
- 2024 Blues Blast Award voting is open to the public at https://www.bluesblastmagazine.com/vote/
- The Blues Foundation in nearby Memphis is looking for board members and more - https://mailchi.mp/blues.org/call-for-new-board-members-artists-advisory-committee-members-and-charter-members
- The Blues Foundation's Blues Music Award submission process is now open for musicians/labels; go to https://blues.awardsplatform.com to submit.
- Mississippi-born Magic Sam's blues music featured recently in The Bikeriders Hollywood movie - https://airplaydirect.com/music/magicsaminthebikeriders/
- Super Chikan, Bobby Rush, Alvin "Youngblood" Hart and Sharde Thomas filmed recently in Bogalusa, LA, for a Warner Bros film (currently untitled); according to Chikan, the movie's set in both 1930s and 1992, and there was "Clarksdale" signage used on the train depot; info online so far about the production: https://cosmicbook.news/michael-b-jordan-ryan-coogler-vampire-movie-grilled-cheese and https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31193180/. Slated for a March 7th release date.
- One of Deak Harp's songs on Clarksdale Breakdown CD to be licensed for a Tyler Perry film, https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10233677697147328 (and speaking of our friend and neighbor Deak... https://magnoliatribune.com/2024/06/05/mississippi-arts-deak-harps-second-act-takes-flight-in-clarksdale/).
- Music Maker to release new Terry "Harmonica" Bean album; learn about the Pride of Pontotoc at https://musicmaker.org/artist/terry-harmonica-bean/
- Speaking of Music Maker, they have a new Earnest "Guitar" Roy album coming, and recently hooked him up with a new ride... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTlE2KAkp8w
- Clarksdale's Lala Craig recently played out in Jersey - https://jsjbf.org/jersey-shore-visits-the-delta/
- Greenville, Mississippi's queen of blues 'n boogie piano—Eden Brent—releases new album, https://www.edenbrent.com/music
- Blues/soul singer Beverly Davis won Mississippi Musician Award (congrats!) plus received an additional nomination, http://www.mississippimusicfoundation.org/new-page-1
- Walt Grayson's Gas Tank Getaways: Clarksdale - https://www.wjtv.com/living-local/gas-tank-getaways/gas-tank-getaways-clarksdale/
- King Biscuit Blues Festival poster unveiling on 8/6 in nearby Helena, AR, featuring 'live' blues by Clarksdale's Big T - https://www.facebook.com/events/1154584629152407
- Teeny Tucker plays BB King Museum in nearby Indianola on 8/17 - https://bbkingmuseum.org/event/teeny-tucker-at-historic-club-ebony/
- Latest updates on Mississippi John Hurt Museum GoFundME at https://www.gofundme.com/f/mississippi-john-hurts-legacy-will-rise
- Clarksdale photo exhibit at Travelers Hotel documents the lives of Black southern farmers https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/18/black-mississippi-delta-farmers
- Mark River Blog: When the Waters Return via Clarksdale's Quapaw Canoe Co (2024 SBA Small Business of the Year award winner) - https://open.substack.com/pub/quapaw/p/mark-river-blog-when-the-waters-return
- Updates from Clarksdale's fabulous Griot Arts nonprofit - https://mailchi.mp/5ebf75e80d0a/new-year-fresh-goals-at-griot-9451135
- Actor-turned-writer Andrew McCarthy explores Mississippi Delta (Delta Magazine) - https://deltamagazine.com/the-roads-less-traveled/
- Our friends at Coopwood Communications in nearby Cleveland, MS, just made a big investment - https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/local/2024/06/20/mississippi-business-journal-sold/74154491007/
- "Delta Rising" music/food/art event at The Powerhouse in Oxford 8/23 - https://oxfordarts.com/shop/product/5413-deltarising24
- Coming to Jackson, MS, on September 14th... it's the awesome Mississippi Book Festival, https://msbookfestival.com
- Clarksdale's Big A plays live at FGCU studio - https://news.wgcu.org/show/gulf-coast-life-arts-edition-with-john-davis/2024-07-25/encore-anthony-big-a-sherrod-performs-delta-blues-in-studio
- Latest from Blues Festival Guide e-newsletter - https://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/email/newsletter/1417139563 and https://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/email/newsletter/1417128083
- GoFundMe for a new Clarksdale W.A.I.T. community radio station; check it out and maybe donate at https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-launch-community-blues-radio-in-clarksdale-mississippi
- A very personal story from Mississippi blues traveler Jeff Mores at https://medium.com/@MoresJeff/heading-into-the-mississippi-delta-with-a-heavy-heart-b6405a78f7f2
- The legendary Mavis Staples sings on... https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/25/arts/music/mavis-staples.html?unlocked_article_code=1.AE4.ybY2.kZdjavxOYkIq&smid=url-share
- Mississippi river boat cruises affected by climate - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/11/travel/mississippi-river-cruises-climate-change.html?unlocked_article_code=1.AE4.Cgfn.6xI2_JSN1w-h&smid=url-share
- Latest updates from the Memphis Flyer - https://mailchi.mp/memphisflyer/new-issue-memphis-women-making-music
- Delta Magazine's annual "Delta Dogs" contest is open - https://mailchi.mp/coopwood/the-edit-lg9a0hqs7t-1602445?e=23cd714938
- Downbeat jazz magazine publishes 72nd annual Critics Poll at https://archive.maherpublications.com/view/315898231/
- Art for Art's annual Vision Festival in Brooklyn, NY, honored avant-garde jazz bass legend William Parker in June - https://www.artsforart.org/vision/
- Speaking of jazz, VP Kamala Harris is a fan of jazz vinyl -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvslq1OAeJ4
- And in yet more jazz news... 100-year-old Sun Ra saxman Marshall Allen is a 2024 NEA Jazz Master; that is a 'living' thing, by the way; even a 100, he is still playing some gigs with the Sun Ra Arkestra - https://avantmusicnews.com/2024/07/18/marshall-allen-and-marilyn-crispell-are-2025-nea-jazz-masters/
- And finally...
Our Clarksdale Film & Music Festival featured THE BLUES SOCIETY film back in January. (Spoiler alert... both were great.) Now, all y'all can see @bluessocietyfilm streaming online via the major platforms shown in the graphic. Enjoy!
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FALL FESTIVALS ARE COMING to Clarksdale and vicinity! Make the pilgrimage... You deserve it.
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As the weather cools and the blues heats up, y'all know the season is right for a road-trip to the Land Where Blues Began. Choose a festival, book a room, and unwind with your friends in the blues Delta. LODGING INFO: https://www.visitclarksdale.com/stay-all MUSIC CALENDAR: https://www.cathead.biz/music-calendar
PLUS, while you're here, be sure to visit the Mississippi Delta's incredible collection of BLUES & MUSIC MUSEUMS as well:
- Delta Blues Museum (Clarksdale) - https://www.deltabluesmuseum.org/
- BB King Museum (Indianola) - https://bbkingmuseum.org/
- Highway 61 Blues Museum (Leland) - http://www.highway61blues.com/highway_61_blues_museum.htm
- Gateway to the Blues Museum (Tunica) - https://tunicatravel.com/blues/
- Grammy Museum Mississippi (Cleveland) - https://www.grammymuseumms.org/
2024 FALL FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS:
- Sat, 10/5, 2024 - Hopson Pumpkin Pickin' Festival (10am-4pm) w/music, kids' activities and more - hopsonhospitality.com
- Thurs-Sat, 10/9-12, 2024 - near Clarksdale, MS, in HELENA, AR - King Biscuit Blues Festival & Symposium, kingbiscuitfestival.com
- 10/13, 2024 - Cat Head Mini Blues Fest (post-Biscuit Sunday) - www.cathead.biz.
- 10/13, 2024 - Super Blues Sunday... with small festival stages and club/juke/restuarant music all day around town... including at Cat Head, Bluesberry, Hopson, Shack Up, etc.
- 10/17-20, 2024 - Deep Blues Fest (official and related blues & roots music events), www.deepbluesfest.com
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British blues legend JOHN MAYALL PASSED AWAY recently, leaving 6 decades of music in his wake...
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In addition to playing area festivals like the King Biscuit in Helena, John Mayall played a super-cool Delta Blues Museum fundraiser here in Clarksdale back in 1998—featuring Mayall, Koko Taylor, Buddy Guy and J.B. & the Midnighters (Mr. Johnnie Billington with his young students like Anthony "[future] Big A" Sherrod, who Guy called up on stage to sit-in at one point).
If any of y'all don't have Mayall's 1966 Bluesbreakers album with Eric Clapton, you need it. I've probably played that album a thousand times. Maybe the greatest British Blues record ever. There's so much packed into each number, and most are around 3 minutes long. For example: https://youtu.be/gDkPEDTcVMg?si=Eu5KwUR9DCkJLDiC
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Oh, and don't forget to plan now for the annual CLARKSDALE FILM & MUSIC FESTIVAL in January!
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That's it for the latest issue of the CAT HEAD UPDATE e-newsletter, y'all! Hope to see y'all soon.....
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In the meantime, please get out there and support your local small businesses... get out there and see some 'live' music... and as always... TIP TIP TIP THE BAND!!
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