King Biscuit Blues Festival
Encyclopedia
The King Biscuit Blues Festival is an annual multi-day Blues
festival held in Helena, Arkansas
which attracts upwards of 100,000 Blues aficionados.
The name comes from “King Biscuit Time,” which was the longest running radio show. Sonny Boy Williamson and other musicians played live on KFFA every weekday, pausing for King Biscuit Flour commercials and announcements of their next nighttime performances. Jim O’Neal, the editor of Living Blues Magazine at the time and an authority on blues history, said, “The King Biscuit hour was the thing that really crystallized blues music in this area. Muddy Water and B.B. King would come home from working in the fields every day just to listen to the King Biscuit hour. The festival was temporarily renamed Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival from 2005 to 2010 due to the problems arising out of rights of the name.
The festival was started in 1986 under the guidance of the "Main Street Helena" organization which is part of the "Main Street, USA" program. Its purpose was to revitalize the downtown area of the Mississippi River
port city. In the intervening years the festival has grown into a four-day event with 5 stages and attendance of 100,000 or more.
The five stages are the Main Blues Stage, the Houston Stackhouse
Acoustic Stage, the Robert Lockwood Heritage Stage, the Emerging Artists Stage, and the Gospel
Stage. The artists selected to perform at the festival are chosen based on the influence of Sonny Boy Williamson
and Robert Lockwood, Jr. on their work.
The original name of the festival came from the King Biscuit Time
radio program which featured famous Blues performer Sonny Boy Williamson of Helena. The radio program was sponsored by the King Biscuit Flour Company.
Other events involved with the festival include, arts and crafts, children's events, a 5K Run, and a Barbecue cookoff. Food and beer are sold by street vendors throughout the festival. Festival venues are staffed by 400 volunteers.
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
festival held in Helena, Arkansas
Helena, Arkansas
Helena is the eastern portion of Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, a city in Phillips County, Arkansas. As of the 2000 census, this portion of the city population was 6,323. Helena was the county seat of Phillips County until January 1, 2006, when it merged its government and city limits with...
which attracts upwards of 100,000 Blues aficionados.
The name comes from “King Biscuit Time,” which was the longest running radio show. Sonny Boy Williamson and other musicians played live on KFFA every weekday, pausing for King Biscuit Flour commercials and announcements of their next nighttime performances. Jim O’Neal, the editor of Living Blues Magazine at the time and an authority on blues history, said, “The King Biscuit hour was the thing that really crystallized blues music in this area. Muddy Water and B.B. King would come home from working in the fields every day just to listen to the King Biscuit hour. The festival was temporarily renamed Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival from 2005 to 2010 due to the problems arising out of rights of the name.
The festival was started in 1986 under the guidance of the "Main Street Helena" organization which is part of the "Main Street, USA" program. Its purpose was to revitalize the downtown area of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
port city. In the intervening years the festival has grown into a four-day event with 5 stages and attendance of 100,000 or more.
The five stages are the Main Blues Stage, the Houston Stackhouse
Houston Stackhouse
Houston Stackhouse was an American Delta blues guitarist and singer. He is best known for his association and work with Robert Nighthawk. Although Stackhouse was not especially noted as a guitarist nor singer, Nighthawk showed gratitude for being taught to play by Stackhouse, by backing him on a...
Acoustic Stage, the Robert Lockwood Heritage Stage, the Emerging Artists Stage, and the Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
Stage. The artists selected to perform at the festival are chosen based on the influence of Sonny Boy Williamson
Sonny Boy Williamson II
Willie "Sonny Boy" Williamson was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, from Mississippi. He is acknowledged as one of the most charismatic and influential blues musicians, with considerable prowess on the harmonica and highly creative songwriting skills...
and Robert Lockwood, Jr. on their work.
The original name of the festival came from the King Biscuit Time
King Biscuit Time
King Biscuit Time is the longest-running daily American radio broadcasts in history. The program is broadcast each weekday from KFFA in Helena, Arkansas, United States and has won the George Foster Peabody Award for broadcasting excellence and is currently broadcast from the KFFA studio located in...
radio program which featured famous Blues performer Sonny Boy Williamson of Helena. The radio program was sponsored by the King Biscuit Flour Company.
Other events involved with the festival include, arts and crafts, children's events, a 5K Run, and a Barbecue cookoff. Food and beer are sold by street vendors throughout the festival. Festival venues are staffed by 400 volunteers.