Shawn Rossi/Flickr Creative Commons
According to legend, blues guitar player Robert Johnson is alleged to have gone to a crossroads at midnight to meet the devil and trade his eternal soul for fame, fortune, and incredible talent at playing the guitar. Ever since he was “rediscovered” in the 1960’s, folks have argued until they were blue in the face about which crossroads was home to The Deal. Rosedale, MS claims it happened at the junction of Hwys 1 and 8. Clarksdale, MS claims Hwys 49 and 61 were The Spot. Historians claim it might have been closer to Cleveland, MS over by the Dockery Plantation. Does it really matter? No, it doesn’t because legends don’t survive fact-checking too often because we all enjoy the story more than the reality.
The neat thing is, these days you can go enjoy the culture and music that spawned the legend of Robert Johnson because Clarksdale, MS (winner of the publicity battle of the “true” crossroads location) is host to the Juke Joint Festival every April. Music lovers from all over the world converge on Clarksdale that weekend and it’s not the typical music festival atmosphere you would expect. The average age of the festival goer runs from mid 30’s to Baby Boomers, so if you’re being kept up by the noise and frivolity it’s being created by someone your own age! The main stars of the festival are the local Mississippi bluesmen who still pound out the music in local juke joints and dance halls. Another good thing about this festival is the rooms in town are generally booked up a year in advance so campers and RVs are welcome! Not only that but there is probably no other music festival in America that is better suited to the tailgater BBQ than the Juke Joint Festival. The pre-parties generally get cranked up on Wed and Thurs night, then the main events are Friday and Saturday nights, but there is live music happening all over town, all day long.
And as we always say, before you hit the road, hit our website for any parts and accessories you may need!