THROUGH THE LENS: Blues & Biscuits Rule at the King Biscuit Blues Festival 2024

The 38th annual King Biscuit Blues Festival took place October 9 to 12 this year, on the banks for the Mississippi River in Helena, Arkansas. Beloved for its rich blues music selection, the festival is considered the best in the world by many blues music enthusiasts.

A history of the fest can be found in last year’s column about the festival, when Boom Baker first visited it. He was so taken with it that he returned for a second helping. The folks at Arkansas Tourism offer an excellent Insider’s Guide of 30 other things to do in and around the area, as well.

Here is Baker’s report, along with photos in the gallery below. 

King Biscuit Blues Festival 2024 by Boom Baker

Arriving in the Delta in the late afternoon you can feel the musical history, complete with its mysterious magical mojo, in the air. It was a feeling I knew well as I’ve been to the Arkansas Delta several times before, but this was only my second visit to the King Biscuit Blues Festival. 

The festival takes place along six blocks of Helena’s Cherry Street, were there were four stages to choose from, three of them free. Music plays from noon to 10 p.m., and each day there was a nice mixture of fans who knew the blues well, newbies, and local residents who wanted to see what the fuss was all about.

There were also food trucks that line the street where you could get anything you want as long as it’s southern, fried, or smoked. The VIP tickets included nightly complimentary meals of fried chicken, gumbo and biscuits, BBQ, and Mississippi River catfish, as well as a full bar of reasonably priced drinks. To top it off, the VIP tent also provided a respite from the sun.  

All that is a backdrop to the fabulous music itself. While I am no stranger to the blues, the fest offered a wide variety of performers, and 32 of the 50 acts were new to me. 

Highlights included the fabulous Bobby Rush, who had just played Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in California the weekend before, and Robert “Nighthawk” Tooms, on the Hammond B-3, of The Wampus Cats. Tooms sat in with just about everyone who needed an organ player, and he was damn good on those keys, zowie!

Catching the fiery guitar playing of Duwayne Burnside (R.L. Burnside’s son) was crazy good, especially when he performed tunes by his father or Junior Kimbrough. I loved his North Mississippi hill country vibe. Another child of a legend was also there, Zakiya Hooker, John Lee’s daughter. She not only had her father’s feel for the blues, she bears an uncanny physical resemblance as well. 

On the the acoustic side, Piedmont Bluz inspired us with their wonderful fingerpicking and faithful interpretation of Piedmont-style guitar playing. The snappy dresser award could easily have gone to Fillmore Slim (turns 90 on November 7) who was also provided one of the fest’s most entertaining sets. 

The biggest surprise came from Thomas Jacques, host of the long-running King Biscuit radio show on KFAA King Biscuit Time, who encouraged us to see soul singer Marcel Smith. Smith took us down the soul highway with his beautiful voice, and even jumped off the stage to work his way through the audience. All in all, it was much more than I anticipated.  

But that’s a hallmark of the King Biscuit Blues Festival, you always get much more than you expect. Both in terms of the music and the overall experience. Sign me up for 2025!

Click on any of the photos below to view the gallery as a full-size slideshow.