Friday was pretty much all Biscuit. After breakfast from some basics we’d picked up at the grocery store, we headed off to the Crossroads where Robert Johnson supposedly sold his soul to the devil. Sure enough, there is a big sign in the middle of a traffic rotary. Rather uninviting but we just had to see it.
We were back in our favorite parking spot at the Biscuit ready for a full day of listening to music and sweating in the Mississippi sun. Here’s the walk in from Porter street. Helena is undergoing what looks like a revitalization of their downtown. The main stage is on the levee along the railroad tracks
We brought some festival chairs with us that we got at REI before the trip. Key feature was light and compact so they wouldn’t take up too much room in the suitcase. Comfort and ease of setup took a backseat
Then the sweating commenced. Not a cloud in the sky.
The music was good and the $4 beers were cold but we still had to get out of the sun occasionally. Very glad that one of our breaks was a tour through the Delta Cultural Center on the main street (Cherry Street) in Helena. Besides AC and real bathrooms, they had some great exhibits
Another break came when we went to a couple of the side stages. Really enjoyed this guy and hoping I remember his name soon as it’s not on the program. Tom found it: Jesse Cotton Stone!
And Veronika Jackson who is signing acoustic blues folk, both original and heritage. So good.
In search of more AC and some healthy food, we wandered in to Ballie Maes, a local restaurant that we’d seen advertising food and espresso. There was a bit of a line being managed by a friendly guy who asked where we were from. I said Masachusetts and commented that they probably didn’t get a lot of people from MA at the Biscuit. He then pulled out his MA drivers license! Small world. He floats between Billerica and Arkansas – something about his daddy tell him to beware of southern women and him not listening; hence his connection to the south. He grew up in Brooklyn and did post grad work at Harvard. Now involved in a community education thing in Helena to teach coding to kids and basic computer skills to seniors. Excellent lunch and then back to the main stage where we stayed until they closed it down a bit after 11. Headliner was JJ Grey and Mofro but my favorite was Paul Thorn – keeping the revival show alive!