The upcoming Grassroots Blues Festival in Duck Hill is still seeing additions to its lineup even as the festival date draws closer and closer.
The festival, which will be held this Friday and Saturday, has added Nathaniel Kimbel to the list of performers, said organizer Al White. Kimbel has just released a new CD and will be performing some of the songs this weekend. The crowd will also be in for a treat with a few surprise guest performances, White said.
“We’re excited. We’ve got a good lineup,” White said. Kimbel joins artists Little Willie Farmer, Willie Cobbs, Pine Blakely and many more Mississippi artists.
Grassroots Blues is in its 16th year. According to Duck Hill’s tourism website, the festival originated in 2003 as part of Project CAM, an intergenerational effort to encourage cultural arts and multimedia. The festival acts as an “effort to help implement [Project CAM’s] program of work in the community and at the same time to provide a platform for traditional blues artists and obscure blues artists, to cultivate and celebrate a musical art form that is unique to our Mississippi Heritage.”
There will be filming crews on site for shooting a documentary and for music video footage. White expects the filming to be a fun experience, he said.
White gave a special shout-out to the sponsors that have been with the festival all throughout the years. Those groups include Visit Mississippi, Mississippi Art Commission and Dixie Roofing. The festival also receives sponsorship from the Montgomery County board of Supervisors, the Town of Duck Hill, Ashley Furniture, Cspire, Sunday’s Best, Willis Engineering, Hill’s Heating and Cooling, the Blues Foundation and several other generous organizations.
“We thank all of our supporters and we want to encourage people to come out and support us,” White said.
Entry to the festival can be acquired through a “ticket donation.” Proceeds go toward paying artist fees. A one day pass is $20 and a two-day pass is $25.
