It's King Biscuit Time!

Sonny Boy Williamson and Lee Trevino?

Last Thursday, me and my brother-in-law, The Bald Hippie, headed down to the picturesque hamlet of Helena/West Helena, Arkansas for the 25th annual blues festival which now has regained the mighty, and appropriate, name of The King Biscuit Blues Festival.  Yes, I know, Helena/West Helena is a dump, and yes, it is quite stupid that they use both names for this town.  And yes, they have three half-decent hotels for 25,000+ attendees.

The King Biscuit is one of the best blues festivals in the country and is definitely one of the most laid back music experiences I have ever had. People come from all over the world to attend this festival. During the first two days, I met people from Chicago; Long Beach, CA; St. Louis; Cleveland; England; Oslo, Norway; Kansas City; Amsterdam; and Manitowac, Wisconsin.

The first night, we saw Reba Russel, Paul Thorn from Tupelo and the awesome B.B. King, 85 years old and still rocking.

Paul Thorn-He's released multiple albums and been thumped by Roberto Duran back in the 80s

B.B. King was seated, but that didn't stop him from really bringing the house down.

Just before the B.B. concert, I learned that the old guy sitting next to me was a H/WH resident and he had seen Sonny Boy Williamson and Muddy Waters play a club there in 1952.  1952! That's 58 years ago people. Just some of the cool stories you find at the King Biscuit. Stay tuned for more of the updates as I get more pictures downloaded.