CLARKSDALE – A “spectacular” lineup of blues superstars including Anthony “Big A” Sherrod, “Big T” Williams, Lucious Spiller, and James “Super Chikan” Johnson has been booked for the annual Thanksgiving Eve Blues Party at Ground Zero, says Melvita Tillis Presley, Sunflower River Blues Association chairman. The event takes place Wednesday, November 21, at Ground Zero … Read more

Superstars Headline Annual Sunflower FestivalThanksgiving Eve Blues PartyGround Zero Wednesday, November 21 Starring Big T Williams, Lucious Spiller and Super Chikan Johnson Door Prizes. Top Holiday entertainment for out-of-town visitors, family and friends while keeping America’s Top 10 authentic festivals free and open to all. Cover for this event is $10.00 The 32nd Annual Sunflower River … Read more

Melvita Tillis Presley, chairman of Clarksdale’s Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival (center) and booking chairman Maie Smith (left) welcome Simona Ottolenghi of Rome, Italy, to the Sunflower’s legendary ‘Grits, Greens, and Barbecue’ opening supper Thursday night. Ottolenghi, is directing Viaggi Esperienza Tibi World’s group of 11 photographers to Clarksdale and the Delta who are … Read more

High-octane energy sizzles through the phone when O.B. Buchana talks about his dynamic musical career as a Southern soul singer/songwriter. Most definitely, the 46-year-old who debuted as a teenage lead singer for the gospel group “Mighty Suns of God” is on top of the world with cross-country bookings and 17 recorded albums including smash hit … Read more

Phenomenal guitarist headlines Sunflower River Festival’s Friday night stage Is magic in the water at Friars Point? Blues legend Robert Johnson not only played there outside Hirsburg’s Drug Store, his lyrics from “Traveling Riverside Blues” are immortalized all the way “across the pond” to the repertoires of Eric Clapton and Led Zeppelin. Decades later the … Read more

“The Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival dedicates its 31st anniversary to two of our own musicians whose rich talents and personalities have contributed to the festival’s unique identity as one of America’s most authentic celebrations,” says chairman Melvita Tillis Presley. Both musicians passed away during the 2018 spring season: Stewart in a Memphis Hospital … Read more

Although Delta blues is the centerpiece of Clarksdale’s Sunflower River Blues Festival, it’s also been a showcase for North Mississippi Hill Country Blues and Bentonia-style blues, says Melvita Tillis Presley, festival chair and daughter of the late blues historian Melville Tillis. Beating a tribal cadence for Hill Country blues through the decades have been two … Read more

All smiles over news of a $4,500 Mississippi Arts Commission grant supporting the 31st Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival at Monday night’s planning meeting at the Delta Blues Museum are (from left) state Rep. Orlando Paden; Melvita Tillis Presley, Catherine Clark, Johnny Kinard, Maie Smith, Pauline Berry, Nancy Foley, and Shelley Ritter. The free … Read more

O.B. Buchana, ‘Kingfish,’ ‘Super Chikan’ among 180 to perform CLARKSDALE – When the Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival celebrates its 31st anniversary in downtown Clarksdale August 9 – 12, booking chairman Maie Smith suggests all 180 musicians performing on 8 stages should claim headliner status. “Our 2018 festival is a showcase of the amazing … Read more

Services set May 19 at Chapel Hill Baptist Church; Visitation, May 18 By Panny Flautt Mayfield, Sunflower Festival publicist CLARKSDALE – When C.V. Veal flashed his magic smile, troubles disappeared, sadness ran for cover, and everything became possible. No matter the setting – Chapel Hill Baptist Church where he sang in the Men’s Chorus, Smitty’s … Read more