July 7, 2005

Duck Hill's music fest exposes young to the blues

Scott Barretta Special to The Clarion-Ledger

Now in its third year, the Grass Roots Blues Festival in tiny Duck Hill has gained a reputation for quality traditional blues.

Artists at Saturday's event include Willie King and the Liberators, Elmo Williams, Eddie Cusic, Louis "Gearshifter" Youngblood and the Mississippi Delta Blues Revue featuring John Horton.

The festival is run by the Duck Hill-based Action Communication and Education Reform (ACER), which promotes cultural heritage and works toward ensuring quality education for low-income families.

"Blues is an art form that comes out of Mississippi and we're trying to help bring it to young folks who have not been exposed to it," said ACER director Al White.

"We see ourselves as providing a platform for traditional blues musicians and want to help them enhance their craft," said White.

"And by doing so they'll be better able to pass down this rich cultural heritage to the next generation."

One musician who is helping them out is Duck Hill's own Little Willie Farmer, who has played blues for 36 years.

On Saturday he'll perform with several local kids that he's been instructing over the past year.

"What made me start teaching was that I saw some kids trying to play," Farmer said.

"It seems to me that if a kid's trying to do something like that, somebody needs to help 'em.

"I've got three students so far and I'm going to try to pick up two or three more. I teach them how to listen first, and after that it goes all right," Farmer said.

The idyllic festival site is located off Mississippi 404 about four miles east of I-55.

In case of rain, it will be held at the Duck Hill Gymnasium. The festival begins at noon and lasts until 10 p.m.

For more information, visit www.grassrootsblues.com or call (662) 565-7004.

Admission to the festival is $8 in advance, $12 at gate and free for children ages 12 and under.

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Scott Barretta is an Oxford-based music writer and critic. He hosts the Highway 61 blues radio show on MPB on Friday and Saturday nights.

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