Starting as a small, local event, the Freedom Creek Festival has grown to an
internationally renowned festival, attracting audiences from across the nation
and overseas. Known for its warm welcome and outstanding blues performances,
this is a unique festival set in the backwoods of the Alabama Black Belt. Local
juke-joint musicians perform along with national and international acts,
combining to make an outstanding display of blues talent - all in the peaceful
setting of rural Pickens County.
This year's festival features an outstanding roster of premier blues artists
including headline acts Jerry Portnoy, the legendary Sam Lay, Willie King
& The Liberators, Cedric Burnside and Lightenin Malcolm and Mudcat, along with
Highlander, Alabama blues women Carroline Shines, Debbie Bond, Shar-Baby and
Sweet Claudette, plus Alabama blues talent "Birmingham" George Conner, Jesse
Daniels, Rev. Little, Julian Conner, Taylor Moore, Caleb Childs, Grape-vine,
Robert, Alex, and more! The festival promises to be an explosive celebration of
the blues, deep in the land from which it is was born!
Admission to the festival is a suggested donation of $6 on Friday and $12 on
Saturday, in support of the Rural Members Association. For further information,
check out the web site at www.willie-king.com, email to info@willie-king.com or
call (205) 752 6263.
The Freedom Creek Festival is presented by the Rural Members Association (RMA),
a non-profit organization located in Old Memphis, Alabama, that seeks to
preserve traditional local culture and assist the community in Pickens County.
Founded by Willie King in 1983, RMA's Freedom Creek Blues Festival brings all
walks of life together once a year, allowing local musicians to display their
musical talent alongside national and international acts and bringing much-need
attention and interest to this underserved area of the Alabama Black Belt.
The festival has been endorsed by attracting sponsorships from the National
Endowment for the Arts, the Alabama State Council on the Arts, Music Maker
Foundation, the Black Belt Community Foundation and other generous supporters,
plus assistance from the Alabama Blues Project. This collaboration of national,
state and local organizations and individuals makes a delicious community gumbo
everyone can get a taste of!
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