Throughout the weekend, one consistent message was delivered by the host of Freedom Creek was, "This isn't my festival, this is our festival." Freedom Creek is a project of Tuscaloosa favorite blues musician Willie King. It's not named to be catchy, for it has a very significant meaning.
King told Chicago Tribune's Geoffrey Himes, "There's a reason why we have this festival on the bank of a creek," he says. "When you lived on a plantation, you didn't have running water or even a well, so you had to go down to the creek to wash nyour clothes, to water your livestock, to catch your fish, to baptize your children, to make your moonshine. I took my first bath in muddy water, and I had to jump up and down to chase all those snakes out of there. The creek helped you survive, and the blues are like that creek."
Freedom Creek has come a long way. It is certainly the coolest showcase and venue of music that we have ever been so lucky to experience. You could just take it from us, but you have to know that there were hundreds of people in attendance from as far away as California and even New Zealand – just for this!
Interestingly enough, being such an international attraction, it is held in Old Memphis, Alabama. A backyard of Tuscaloosa, Old Memphis is officially the smallest incorporated town in the United States with the last census count of 32. That doesn't stop Willie from giving citizens the treatment that every American deserves. Through his Rural Members Association (RMA), which Freedom Creek proceeds are given to, the townspeople of Old Memphis are able to learn skills in farming, quilting, music and heritage. Located in Pickens County, a poor area also known as the "Black Belt," Old Memphis is in great need of assistance to continue their way of life.
Willie's message of "One Love" between all walks of life radiates fully in this atmosphere. From the minute we pulled in, we had new buddies. Two young boys, Evan and Artavius, eagerly put together the tent that we would never had gotten up before sundown on Friday had it not been for their help. And they wouldn't even accept Milo's sweet tea for their effort! Speaking of good things for the tummy, the vendors from the area had food to die for. You could hunker down on ribs, chicken, burgers, hot dogs and gumbo. These folks knew how to cook it up, so there was no wrong choice.
Now onto the music… WOW! Unfortunately, we got to the festival after it had begun on Friday. However, due to the late night free-for-all blues jam until 2 a.m., we were able to catch a taste of what we had missed. And boy was it yummy! What a great stage it is with incredibly talented blues musicians crawling on and off to jam together on various classics and new favorites. One of the catchiest was Columbus, Mississippi's Big Joe Shelton belting out on vocals and howling harmonica on his latest, "Black Prairie Blues" tune. It's one the best songs out there – and technically, it's not "out there" yet. His new CD will be released soon. We can't get enough of this and are chomping at the bit! There was also a fine performance delivered by the young band The Old Memphis Kings. It was a fine appetizer to the main course that was to come on Saturday.
Saturday began with gospel music performed by soulful local talents from Pickens County. The Alabama Blues Project's advanced band – also known as The Project – showed fans that you're never too young to rock. As they performed, the crowd was astonished to see the talent portrayed by a band consisting of high school students.
A big highlight of the weekend was an Alabama blues women showcase. All performed individually, and all are Alabamians. Shar-baby really cooked Friday and Saturday, coming back home all the way from Indiana. Her cowboy hat tops off her honky-tonk style of blues. Down from Detroit was Sweet Claudette, originally from Mobile. She is a regular of Freedom Creek and put on a dazzling vocal performance, as well as mingling in the crowd. Caroline Shines gave her sassy and sweet delivery of crowd pleasing tunes that had the audience captivated by the fun lyrics and solid sound. Debbie Bond capped off solo performances by earning loud applause and respect from the crowd, not only entertaining with her unique and resounding voice, but also giving a masterful performance on guitar. Then, to everyone's delight, all four hit the state together! It was a sight – full of sounds – that was heard loud and clear all the way to the campground with a big impact on everyone, and much appreciated!
Paul Oscher, who like Delbert McClinton played harp for several years with the great Muddy Waters, was one of the late afternoon gems. He performed solo with only guitar and harp and reminded the audience in the woods just how important that blues "folk" music really is. A masterful performance kept the audience glued to every blue note and on the harp he is a powerful performer.
Next up was a real crowd favorite - all the way from Atlanta, Georgia - the blues/jazz/gospel sounding combination Mudcat. This 5-piece band included trombonist Joe Burton, who gave this group a real New Orleans flavor and Danny "Mud" himself, put on a slide guitar show that was stunning. He took his guitar into the crowd and played while looking at randomly selected single audience members straight in the eye - playing without looking at all. At one point, he played guitar behind his wife's back while dancing with her - an extraordinary exhibition was on display. The band stayed to sign CDs and for the evening's festivities. Mudcat is a highly entertaining band on a mission.
After dark, Mississippi delta favorite T-Model Ford gave his down-home, gritty performance that had everyone on their feet. In his 80s, he himself sat down, but his sound didn't miss the beat of a guitarist in his 20s. The Fat Possum recording artist has a great juke joint style that was a perfect lead in for his close friend, no other than Willie King. Of course, the host of the night received the largest ovation alongside his band The Liberators. Willie's music is juke joint and classic rolled into a groovy sound with powerful lyrics that are both political and thought provoking. Then, some are just down right fun such as favorites "Mama Killed a Chicken" and "Ride Sallie Ride." The Liberators ended the show with their guitarist Debbie Bond handing her six-string to Mud and Willie giving his to T-Model. Debbie backed vocals while Willie showed the crowd the classic juke joint dance moves for an all-star performance.
Freedom Creek 2007 was definitely a WANG DANG DOODLE. Check out more on www.willie-king.com And, most importantly, don't miss it next year!
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