Juke Joint Festival
Clarksdale, Mississippi, April 15-17, 2011
| Red's Blues Club | |
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| I went to Red's Lounge twice while I was in Clarksdale. The photo was taken on the morning of April 16th. We Juke Up In Here is a road trip through the birthplace of the blues, slated for an April 2012 release. It follows producers Jeff Konkel and Roger Stolle as they explore what remains of Mississippi's once-thriving juke joint culture. The film is told largely from the vantage point of Red Paden, proprietor of the legendary Red's Lounge in historic Clarksdale, Mississippi. He has been running his juke joint for more than 30 years — providing an authentic stage for veteran blues performers, both legendary and obscure. |
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| Ground Zero Blues Club | |
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| In May of 2001, Actor Morgan Freeman and his business partner Bill Luckett opened the Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi. The idea was to bring back the look and feel of an old juke joint (sans the gambling and corn liquor) while creating a stable safe place where the best Delta blues could be heard. Boarded up for decades, the building was once used as a cotton sampling and seeding facility. | |
