If it's early October then that must mean that the King Biscuit Blues Festival is about to get cranking on Cherry Street in downtown Helena-West Helena. This year's festival starts with the Bubba Sullivan Memorial Jam on Wednesday and runs through Saturday with more than 70 acts on six different stages. That's a lot of blues!
For a complete rundown on the fest, flip over to Helaine Williams' story on 1E.
We asked Thomas Jacques, host of "King Biscuit Time," the Peabody Award-winning radio show that airs weekdays from 12:15-12:45 p.m. on KFFA in Helena, to curate a festival-inspired playlist to get fans in the mood.
"Listen to these songs on the way over and in the days before the festival to give you a good taste of what's to come," he says.
Jacques, assistant director of the Delta Cultural Center on Cherry Street, has served up 17 tracks from artists featured in this year's lineup along with legends like Sonny Boy Williamson, Robert Lockwood, Jr. -- the original stars of "King Biscuit Time," which first aired in 1941 -- CeDell Davis and Houston Stackhouse (all of whom have festival stages named for them).
"You can't talk Helena or 'King Biscuit Time' or Delta blues and Arkansas' impact on blues without mentioning Sonny Boy Williamson," Jacques says. "['Help Me'] is such a great track."
Stackhouse, another early "King Biscuit Time" player, "does a great rendition of 'Big Road Blues,'" Jacques says.
"Crying Come Home" by Phillips County native C.W. Gatlin, a longtime festival favorite who plays Friday at 5 p.m., is on the list; so is "Soul Searching" by Texas native Ruthie Foster, who headlines Thursday night.
Foster is "one of the great voices of contemporary blues," Jacques says. "She brings a lot of folk and gospel into her music."
"You Make Me Want to Dance" by Robert Finley, who once busked on the street during the festival, is another song Jacques recommends.
Nearly every track can be found on the "KBBF '23" Spotify playlist. Here are all 17:
"Help Me," Sonny Boy Williamson.
"Take a Walk With Me," Robert Lockwood, Jr.
"Big Road Blues," Houston Stackhouse & Friends.
"Soul Searching," Ruthie Foster.
"Crying Come Home," C.W. Gatlin.
"Ain't Gonna Cry No More," Mary Lane.
"The Right Man," D.K. Harrell
"Deep South Boogie," Detroit Johnny.
"Keep Holdin' On," Paul Thorn.
"Soul of a Man," Robert Hill and Joanne LeDiger.
"Who'll Sop My Gravy," James Mathus & His Knockdown Society.
"Who's Gonna Ride," Memphissippi Sounds.
"The Bait in the Snare," Nick Moss Band featuring Dennis Gruenling.
"You Make Me Want to Dance," Robert Finley.
"Boo Boo Boogaloo," Boo Boo Davis.
"Fistful of Dollars," Lonnie Shields.
"Play with Your Poodle," CeDell Davis.
email: sclancy@adgnewsroom.com