The 43^rd Annual Bentonia Blues Festival™ will be held will be held in downtown Bentonia, Mississippi, on Sat., June 20^th, 2015. Each year’s attendance grows—come and join in all the fun! Further details are available on the Bentonia Blues Festival facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ BentoniaBluesFestival.

The 42^nd Annual Bentonia Blues Festival™ will be held will be held in downtown Bentonia, Mississippi, on Sat., June 12^th, 2014. Each year’s attendance grows—come and join in all the fun! Further details are available on the Bentonia Blues Festival facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ BentoniaBluesFestival.

The 41^st Annual Bentonia Blues Festival™ will be held again at Jimmy “Duck” Holmes’ place (313 Wilson Holmes Road, Bentonia, MS 39040) on Sat., June 15^th, 2013. Each year’s attendance grows—come and join in all the fun! Further details are available on the Bentonia Blues Festival facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ BentoniaBluesFestival.

The 40^th Annual Bentonia Blues Festival™ will be held at Jimmy “Duck” Holmes’ place (313 Wilson Holmes Road, Bentonia, MS 39040) on Sat., June 16^th, 2012. Each year’s attendance grows—come and join in all the fun! Further details are available on the Bentonia Blues Festival facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ events/224445337638204.

The 39^th Annual Bentonia Blues

photo by Yazoo Co. Convention & Visitors Bureau

Festival™ will be held in downtown Bentonia, Mississippi, on Sat., June 18^th, 2011.

Each year’s attendance grows—come and join in all the fun. It will be a very memorable Father‘s Day weekend for the entire family!

2011 Festival & Community Gathering Poster

If you missed the 2011 Bentonia Blues Festival™, here are some videos I took at the big party last night.

The first two were taken just before dark when one could walk through the crowd, albeit with difficulty,

video by John L. Neidigh

from the entrance behind the stage to the Blue Front for a little refreshment then find a place to stand in front of the stage.

video by John L. Neidigh

Pedestrian and vehicular traffic control, provided by the local firefighters and police—bless their hearts, was adequate at best. They had a very difficult job and obviously did their best.

The last five videos were taken during headliner T.K. Soul’s amazing performance.

video by John L. Neidigh

video by John L. Neidigh

video by John L. Neidigh

video by John L. Neidigh

video by John L. Neidigh

The 38^th Annual Bentonia Blues

photo by Yazoo Co. Convention & Visitors Bureau

Festival™ was held in downtown

Bentonia, Mississippi, on Sat., June 19^th, 2010.

Each year the attendance grows; 2010’s festival drew 8,000+!

I was unable to attend but could hear it loud and clear all day and night from my place just one mile down the road from the Blue Front Café.

There are many good pictures on this facebook page.

The 37^th Annual Bentonia Blues Festival™ will be held in downtown Bentonia, Mississippi, on Sat., June 20^th, 2009.

For further information about the festival itself, performers, etc., contact Jimmy “Duck” Holmes at 662-528-1900 or 662-755-2278.

Vendors should contact the Town of Bentonia at 662-755-2281.

Here is the complete

photo by Jeff Konkel, design by Allison M. Melton

2009 calendar of Mississippi Blues Festivals throughout the state.

While most were focused on the main stage Saturday afternoon, a

photo by Nick Patterson

smaller crowd gathered inside the Blue Front Café.

A group of musicians were holding an improvised performance while waiting for their turn on the big stage. [Read entire article.]

The 36^th Annual Bentonia Blues Festival™ will be held in downtown Bentonia, Mississippi, on Sat., June 21^st, 2008.

For further information about the festival itself, performers, etc.,

contact Jimmy “Duck” Holmes at 662-528-1900 or 662-755-2278.

Vendors should contact the Town of Bentonia at 662-755-2281.

Bentonia’s 2007 Blues Festival featured not only its internationally famous blues music, but also a great deal of dancing in the streets, plenty of laughing and fellowshipping and southern style portions of food and drink. [Read entire article.]

Bentonia is getting ready to sing the blues and celebrate its own special

brand of music on June 16. [Read entire article.]

The Bentonia Blues Competition™ has been cancelled, however, interested blues artists are welcome

to participate on the Blue Front Café Juke Joint Stage before the Main Blues Stage opens. The Main Blues Stage performers are (lineup and times are subject to change):

The Blue Front Juke Joint Stage opens at 12 noon, the Main Blues Stage opens at 2 pm and the Gospel Stage opens at 12 noon. For more info, contact Jimmy “Duck” Holmes at 662-755-2278, 662-528-1900 or 662-755-8585.

The Bentonia Blues Society™ announces the Bentonia Blues Competition™, which will be held During the Bentonia Blues Festival™ at the Blue Front Caf� on Saturday, June 16^th, 2007, from 1-6 pm.

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

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

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 2^nd Saturday of June. Therefore, we decided to move the date for the annual Bentonia Blues Festival™ from the 2^nd to the 3^rd 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.

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, 12 noon - ’til, in downtown Bentonia, Mississippi.

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’ last public performance was at the 1996 Bentonia Blues Festival™

. Make plans to attend; the Bentonia Blues Festival™ is alive and well!

Here’s an old, original poster from the 1974 Bentonia Blues Festival™ (the festival’s 3^rd year):

 click to view full-size