The Sunflower River Blues & Gospel Festival is an annual music festival in Clarksdale, Mississippi. It is held the second weekend in August, lasting three days. Created as the Sunflower Riverbank Blues Festival in 1988, the festival features veteran and homegrown performers, attracting blues enthusiast from all over the world. Headliners have included Otis Rush, Ike Turner, Little Milton, Bobby Bland, Bobby Rush, Koko Taylor, Denise LaSalle, Super Chikan, and Robert Plant.
History The Sunflower Riverbank Blues Festival was funded by The Downtown Association of Clarksdale partnered with the Mississippi Delta Arts Council, WROX radio, Delta Blues Museum, Rooster Blues Records, City of Clarksdale, Cahoma County Chamber of Commerce, and Sunflower River Yacht Club. The event was and organized by Living Blues co-founder Jim O'Neal and Dr. Patricia Johnson in 1988. It took place on the banks of the Sunflower River and was filmed by Mississippi Educational Television (ETV). Since then, the festival has been organized by the Sunflower River Blues Association, funded by the Mississippi Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts.
In 1991, the Early Wright Blues Heritage Award was established to honor Early Wright, "The Soul Man" of WROX radio who was Mississippi's first black radio disc jockey.
In 1992, promoters Melville Tillis and Julius Guy held the Issaquena Gospel Festival. In 1993, the two festivals were merged into the Sunflower River Blues & Gospel festival. Tillis became co-chairman of the association. Guy died in 1993, and in 1994, the Julius Guy Gospel Heritage Award was created in his honor.
For the first time in 2012, the festival sold V.I.P tickets, for headliners Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters, generating funds for subsequent festivals. Also in 2012, the Sunflower River Blues & Gospel Festival was recognized with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail.
Headliners +YearHeadlinersNotes1988James "Son" Thomas & Otis RushInaugural event funded primarily by merchants in Clarksdale area and organized by Jim O'Neal and Dr. Patricia Johnson1989Bobby Rush & Big Jack JohnsonFunded largely by individual donors. The Williams Brothers was the featured gospel act1990Various artistsPerformers included Big George Brock, Sam & Doris Carr, Johnnie Billington, and Patrick Murphy1991Otis Clay & Big Jack JohnsonPerformers included Sam & Doris Carr, Stone Gas Band, Clayton Love, and Wade Walton1992Katie Webster, Big Jack Johnson & The Jelly Roll KingsPerformers included Pinetop Perkins, Snooky Pryor, and Lonnie Pitchford1993Booba Barnes & Junior KimbroughFirst year for the Gospel Festival. Event included stars from the motion picture film Deep Blues1994Bobby Rush & The Williams BrothersPerformers included Maxwell Street Jimmy Davis1995Denise LaSalle, Charlie Musselwhite & Frank FrostPerformers included Sam Carr, Lonnie Pitchford, Jack Owens, Bud Spires & The Jackson Southernaires1996Bobby RushPerformers included Lonnie Shields, Charlie Musselwhite, Robert "Bilbo" Walker, Willie Neal Johnson & The Gospel Keynotes1997Little Milton & Ike TurnerPerformers included Big Jack Johnson, Clayton Love, Frank Frost & Sam Carr, Slim & the Supreme Angels & Delta Big Four1998Rufus Thomas, Lynn White & R.L. BurnsidePerformers included Big Jack Johnson, The Kinsey Report, Charlie Musselwhite, Lonnie Pitchford1999Otis Clay, Charlie Musselwhite, & Eddie CampbellPerformers included Super Chikan, Frank Frost, Sam Carr, Othar Turner, Johnny & The Midniters2000Koko Taylor & Bobby RushPerformers included The JT Express with Arthniece Jones, the Stone Gas Man, "Tater" Foster Wiley, Blind Mississippi Morris2001The Pilgrim JubileesPerformers included James Williams and The Messengers, Yolanda Troupe-Williams2002Charlie Musselwhite and Bobby "Blue" BlandTribute to Little Junior Parker. Performers included Big Jack Johnson, O.B. Buchana, The Jackson Southernaires2003Latimore, T-Model Ford, Big Jack Johnson, Sam CarrA tribute to Othar Turner featured a documentary by filmmaker Scott Jennison with music by Othar Turner's granddaughter, Shardé Thomas2004Latimore, T-Model Ford, Big Jack Johnson, Sam CarrPerformers included Latimore, Super Chikan, T-Model Ford, Big Jack Johnson & the Oilers, Nelson Larkins & God's Possey of Chicago2005Charlie Musselwhite & Shirley BrownPerformers included Robert Belfour, Big T & The Family, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Rev. Andrew Cheairs & The Songbirds2006North Mississippi Allstars, LatimorePerformers included Super Chikan, Big George Brock, Wesley Jefferson, Jimbo Mathus2007Bobby Rush and Denise LaSallePerformers included Howlin' Madd Bill Perry, Rita Engedalen & Spoonful, Shardee Turner, Billy Rivers & The Angelic Voices of Faith2008Darrell McFadden & the DisciplesPerformers included Bill Howlin' Madd Perry, Cadillac John & Bill Abel, Arthniece "Gas Man" Jones, and Shemekia Copeland, Selvy Singers 2009Bettye Lavette and Super ChikanPerformers included George Horn and South of Memphis, James "Super Chikan" Johnson, T-Model Ford, Chapel Hill's Mens Chorus2010Johnny Rawls and Homemade Jamz Blues BandThis year's festival was a tribute to Ike Turner & "Rocket 88"2011Dorothy Moore and Johnny RawlsPerformers included David Brinston, Nathaniel Kimble, Super Chikan, Earnest "Guitar" Roy, Kenny Brown, Robert Belfour, Eddie Cusic2012Robert Plant with special guest Patty GriffinPerformers included T-Model Ford, Eddie Cusic, Robert Belfor, Pat Thomas, Arthniece Jones, Charlie Musselwhite, Bobby Rush2013Bobby Rush and North Mississippi AllstarsThis year's festival was dedicated to the late Melville Tillis, owner of the Rivermount Lounge2014Various artistsThis year's festival was dedicated to the legacy of Big Jack Johnson2015William Bell and Rita EngedalenPerformers included Leo "Bud" Welch, Sharde Turner, Jimmy "Duck" Holmes, Super Chikan, Terry "Big T" Williams & The Family Band2016Super Chikan and Lonnie ShieldsPerformers included Heavy Suga & the Sweet Tones, Josh "Razorblade" Stewart, Jimbo Mathus, Little Willie Farmer, Leo "Bud" Welch2017Charlie Musselwhite and O.B. BuchanaPerformers included Jimmy "Duck" Holmes, Lucious Spiller, Watermelon Slim, Rich "Daddy Rich" Crisman, The DBM Band and Ghalia Vaultier2018Christone "Kingstone" Ingram and O.B. Buchana2019Super Chikan and Anthony “Big A” Sherrod & The All Stars
References
External links Official website Sunflower River Blues on Mississippi Blues Trail Sunflower Chronology on Delta Blues Museum