AUGUST 12,2006
"THE 19TH ANNUAL SUNFLOWER RIVER BLUES AND GOSPEL FESTIVAL"
Hello Blues and Southern Soul fans.I live in the heart of the Mississippi Delta and the people here take great pride in declaring that the blues were truly born in the Mississippi Delta. Clarksdale,Mississippi is a town in the Mississippi Delta that is the birthplace for a number of blues and southern soul artists.Sam Cooke,Ike Turner,O.B. Buchana, and Luther Lackey are all Clarksdale natives.W.C. Handy and Muddy Waters at one time called Clarksdale home.I had the opportunity to attend THE 19TH ANNUAL SUNFLOWER RIVER BLUES AND GOSPEL FESTIVAL in Clarksdale.I've heard about this festival before but this was my first time attending this event.I have to be honest,legendary southern soul recording artist Latimore was the headliner and I've never had the opportunity to see him perform before.So after a long hard day at work I manage to drive up the road to Clarksdale and I'm very glad that I did.I hate that I haven't attended this annual festival before.
I have to tell you about these wonderful people who dedicate their time and energy to provide a three(3) day FREE festival,yes I said free festival for not only the good people in the Mississippi Delta but for people from all over the world.I met people from Italy,Finland, and Switzlerland who all told me that they attend this festival every year.The Sunflower River Blues Association is an all volunteer,501 c 3 organization committed to keeping the festival free and acessible to all.Please visit their website at www.sunflowerfest.org to see how this wonderful group of people bring joy to thousands of people who have a passion for this genre of music. I arrived at the festival right before Latimore was about to perform.I hate that I didn't get the opportunity to see the local acts that had already performed.It was a diversified crowd of thousands in attendance.It was young and old,black and white and this was a nice sight for these pair of eyes.There were plenty of vendors on hand selling everything from cold beer,bar-b-q,fried fish, and get this alligator meat.Steve Ladd was the MC for tonight's show,he was standing backstage so I went over and introduce myself.I wanted to get some close up photos of Latimore and hopefully get an opportunity to talk to him after his show.With the blink of an eye Steve led me to the dressing room where he introduce me to Latimore's band and road manager.Steve and I chatted briefly and he informed me that he was going to join the broadcast team at WDIA 1070(Memphis,TN) and I congratulated him on that.Latimore stage manager said that I could take some photos and talk to Latimore after the show.
So with the bar-b-q grills smoking and the beer ice cold,throw in a melting pot of people from all ethnics from around the world sit back good people and let me take you on this blues and southern soul ride. I was able to position myself right down front by the stage where it was standing room only.I'm glad at these blues and southern soul shows that the people are really good people because we were all jammed so close together your pocket could get picked and you wouldn't even know it.Steve introduced Latimore and the crowd gave him a thunderous ovation.He recieved one of the longest opening ovations that I've ever witnessed.This was the legend that everyone had come to see.This was my first opportunity to see him and I was caught up like everyone else in attendance.I've seen my photos of him and when he appeared on stage images of Charlton Heston's Moses character came to my mind.With his trademark ghostly white hair he looked like a GOD on stage and we were all his faithful servants.He wasted no time in leading the crowd to the promise land.He opened his performance with "Take Me To The Mountaintop" and again the crowd went wild.His deep,sultry voice echoed through the night air.It was several women screaming and trying to get close to the stage.Myself and some other gentleman allowed them to stand in front of us.This one lady said she had drove from St. Louis to see him and she stood there crying as Latimore closed his eyes and lifted his head towards heaven and continued to deliver this classic hit.His next song was "Sunshine Lady" and this received an even louder ovation from the crowd.I had taken enough photos and the women were taking over down front of the stage so I retreated backstage to catch the rest of his performance.I was able to view the entire crowd now and it was a sea of people as far as the eye could see and Latimore was making all the women melt.His live vocals are amazing.He had the crowd at his command.He began to ad-lib with the crowd and he was able to have them singing,dancing and laughing.He picked up the tempo with "Stormy Monday" and this made the crowd do a lot hand-clapping and foot-stomping.By now Latimore had turned this into a wang dang doodle and the faces in the crowd told the story."I'm An Old Dog" and "Keep The Home Fire Burning" kept the crowd juking.His next song was "Bad Risk" and this is one of my favorite Latimore songs.He closed his performance with "Let's Straighten It Out" and once again he ad-lib with the crowd and they simply loved it.Latimore is truly a living legend.I'm glad that I got this opportunity to see him perform.
We took a couple of photos and talked briefly after his performance.He doesn't tour as much as he use to but he is enjoying life in the sunshine state of Florida.We agreed to stay in touch and I told him that I can't wait to see him perform again. The only regret that I have about this show,is that I wasn't here for the entire show and other obligations won't allow me to attend the next two days but people from the Sunflower River Association I promise that I will be back next year for the entire festival.
I want to give a special thanks to Steve Ladd,Yvonne Stanford and Meville Tillis who all made me feel at home backstage.Again please visit there website at www.sunflowerfest.org and learn more about this festival and the wonderful people behind it.As always I had a great time and I just wanted to share it with the greatest fans in the world.Take care and MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALWAYS.
Big K9
"THE 19TH ANNUAL SUNFLOWER RIVER BLUES AND GOSPEL FESTIVAL"
Hello Blues and Southern Soul fans.I live in the heart of the Mississippi Delta and the people here take great pride in declaring that the blues were truly born in the Mississippi Delta. Clarksdale,Mississippi is a town in the Mississippi Delta that is the birthplace for a number of blues and southern soul artists.Sam Cooke,Ike Turner,O.B. Buchana, and Luther Lackey are all Clarksdale natives.W.C. Handy and Muddy Waters at one time called Clarksdale home.I had the opportunity to attend THE 19TH ANNUAL SUNFLOWER RIVER BLUES AND GOSPEL FESTIVAL in Clarksdale.I've heard about this festival before but this was my first time attending this event.I have to be honest,legendary southern soul recording artist Latimore was the headliner and I've never had the opportunity to see him perform before.So after a long hard day at work I manage to drive up the road to Clarksdale and I'm very glad that I did.I hate that I haven't attended this annual festival before.
I have to tell you about these wonderful people who dedicate their time and energy to provide a three(3) day FREE festival,yes I said free festival for not only the good people in the Mississippi Delta but for people from all over the world.I met people from Italy,Finland, and Switzlerland who all told me that they attend this festival every year.The Sunflower River Blues Association is an all volunteer,501 c 3 organization committed to keeping the festival free and acessible to all.Please visit their website at www.sunflowerfest.org to see how this wonderful group of people bring joy to thousands of people who have a passion for this genre of music. I arrived at the festival right before Latimore was about to perform.I hate that I didn't get the opportunity to see the local acts that had already performed.It was a diversified crowd of thousands in attendance.It was young and old,black and white and this was a nice sight for these pair of eyes.There were plenty of vendors on hand selling everything from cold beer,bar-b-q,fried fish, and get this alligator meat.Steve Ladd was the MC for tonight's show,he was standing backstage so I went over and introduce myself.I wanted to get some close up photos of Latimore and hopefully get an opportunity to talk to him after his show.With the blink of an eye Steve led me to the dressing room where he introduce me to Latimore's band and road manager.Steve and I chatted briefly and he informed me that he was going to join the broadcast team at WDIA 1070(Memphis,TN) and I congratulated him on that.Latimore stage manager said that I could take some photos and talk to Latimore after the show.
So with the bar-b-q grills smoking and the beer ice cold,throw in a melting pot of people from all ethnics from around the world sit back good people and let me take you on this blues and southern soul ride. I was able to position myself right down front by the stage where it was standing room only.I'm glad at these blues and southern soul shows that the people are really good people because we were all jammed so close together your pocket could get picked and you wouldn't even know it.Steve introduced Latimore and the crowd gave him a thunderous ovation.He recieved one of the longest opening ovations that I've ever witnessed.This was the legend that everyone had come to see.This was my first opportunity to see him and I was caught up like everyone else in attendance.I've seen my photos of him and when he appeared on stage images of Charlton Heston's Moses character came to my mind.With his trademark ghostly white hair he looked like a GOD on stage and we were all his faithful servants.He wasted no time in leading the crowd to the promise land.He opened his performance with "Take Me To The Mountaintop" and again the crowd went wild.His deep,sultry voice echoed through the night air.It was several women screaming and trying to get close to the stage.Myself and some other gentleman allowed them to stand in front of us.This one lady said she had drove from St. Louis to see him and she stood there crying as Latimore closed his eyes and lifted his head towards heaven and continued to deliver this classic hit.His next song was "Sunshine Lady" and this received an even louder ovation from the crowd.I had taken enough photos and the women were taking over down front of the stage so I retreated backstage to catch the rest of his performance.I was able to view the entire crowd now and it was a sea of people as far as the eye could see and Latimore was making all the women melt.His live vocals are amazing.He had the crowd at his command.He began to ad-lib with the crowd and he was able to have them singing,dancing and laughing.He picked up the tempo with "Stormy Monday" and this made the crowd do a lot hand-clapping and foot-stomping.By now Latimore had turned this into a wang dang doodle and the faces in the crowd told the story."I'm An Old Dog" and "Keep The Home Fire Burning" kept the crowd juking.His next song was "Bad Risk" and this is one of my favorite Latimore songs.He closed his performance with "Let's Straighten It Out" and once again he ad-lib with the crowd and they simply loved it.Latimore is truly a living legend.I'm glad that I got this opportunity to see him perform.
We took a couple of photos and talked briefly after his performance.He doesn't tour as much as he use to but he is enjoying life in the sunshine state of Florida.We agreed to stay in touch and I told him that I can't wait to see him perform again. The only regret that I have about this show,is that I wasn't here for the entire show and other obligations won't allow me to attend the next two days but people from the Sunflower River Association I promise that I will be back next year for the entire festival.
I want to give a special thanks to Steve Ladd,Yvonne Stanford and Meville Tillis who all made me feel at home backstage.Again please visit there website at www.sunflowerfest.org and learn more about this festival and the wonderful people behind it.As always I had a great time and I just wanted to share it with the greatest fans in the world.Take care and MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALWAYS.
Big K9