2024 MS John Hurt Blues Festival - Mt. Zion Memorial Fund

2024

Mississippi John Hurt

Homecoming Festival &

History Symposium

Mississippi’s Only Blues/Folk Festival & History Symposium

MUSICAL & ACADEMIC LINEUP TENTATIVE

SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

5-6 October 2024

Avalon, Mississippi

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2024 Mississippi John Hurt Blues Festival

The Mt Zion Memorial Fund (MZMF) is partnering with the Mississippi John Hurt Foundation (MJHF) to present a two-day celebration of the life and musical legacy of Carroll County native Mississippi John Hurt on October 5-6, 2024. The event will take place on the former site of the Mississippi John Hurt Museum, which burned to the ground in February on County Road 109 in the Avalon community of Carroll County.

As an artist and art therapist, Ravin Hill Lovett strives to share her gift of quilt-making with others, she believes that her work can help MZMF, the Hurt family, and all attendees overcome the mental, physical, emotional, and psychological issues stemming from the loss of the museum. She will lead a workshop on quilting at the event, and she will produce a collaboratively designed and fabricated quilt for MZMF reflecting the long history of Black Freedom Struggle.

DESCENDANTS OF BLUES ARTISTS

1) Mary Frances Hurt Wright, the granddaughter of MS John Hurt

2) Cynthia Burse Wesson, the grand-daughter of Memphis Jug Band legend Charlie Burse,

3) Kechia Patton Brown, the great granddaughter of Delta Blues stalwart Charley Patton

4) Carroline Shines, the daughter of blues singer Johnny Shines

5) Perdido Burse, the grandson of Memphis Jug Band legend Charlie Burse

6) Tracy Cusic, the son of Greenville-based Blues artist Eddie Cusic

7) Vera Johnson Collins, the niece of epic 1920s recording artist Tommy Johnson

SCHOLARS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY

1) Brian Mitchell, the Director of Research at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Illinois,

2) Tara White, Assistant Professor of Public History at UNC-Wilmington

3) T. DeWayne Moore, Assistant Professor of History at Prairie View A&M University and Executive Director of the MZMF

This event is sponsored by the Mississippi Arts Council, the Mississippi Humanities Council, Visit Mississippi, the New Hampshire State Arts Council, the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area, the city of Carrolton, Mississippi, the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund, and the Mississippi John Hurt Blues Foundation.

Saturday, October 5th
10 AM – Museum Ashes Memorial led by Mary Frances Hurt (Event Host and Granddaughter of Mississippi John Hurt, Founder & President of the Mississippi John Hurt Foundation), Rev. Samuel, Bill Katz, and Dorothy Lewis (Gospel Singer)
10:30 AM – Reinstall & Rededicate Blues Trail Marker with Mississippi Blues Commission
11 AM – Concert featuring Buck Hoffman & Drew Fisher
Noon – Concert featuring Silas Reed IV
1 PM – Concert/Workshop (Why Blues-In-The-Schools) with TJ Wheeler (Blues Artist & Educator)
2 PM – Quilting & Healing Power of Art Therapy, Presentation of Quilt to MZMF Representing Black Freedom Struggle with Ravin Lovett (Artist, Art Therapist)
3 PM – Concert featuring Andrew Cohen & Dee Robinson
4 PM – Concert featuring the Piedmont Blūz Acoustic Duo
5 PM – Concert featuring Rory Block
6 PM – Blues Scholar Presentation with Dr. Brian Mitchell (Director of Research at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum)
7 PM – Documentary Film Screening – A Man Called Hurt: The Life and Music of Mississippi John Hurt

Sunday, October 6th
10 AM – Memorial Walk led by Mary Frances Hurt (Event Host and Granddaughter of Mississippi John Hurt, Founder & President of the Mississippi John Hurt Foundation), Rev. Samuel, and Dorothy Lewis (Gospel Singer)
Noon – Importance of African American Women in Historic Preservation with Dr. Tara White (Assistant Professor of Public History at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington)
1 PM – Descendant’s Round Table moderated by Dr. Tara White with descendants: Cynthia Burse Wesson and Perdido Burse (Charlie Burse), Kechia Patton Brown (Charlie Patton), Carroline Shines (Johnny Shines), Tracy Cusic (Eddie Cusic), and Vera Johnson (Tommy Johnson)
2 PM – Concert featuring Gabriel N. Akins
3 PM – Concert featuring Rev. Samuel / Choir
4 PM – Open Mic led by Howard Curry
5 PM – Sunday Finale Concert featuring James “Super Chikan” Johnson

How to Get Here & Where to Stay
Visit Directions & Lodging for directions to the festival grounds. Attendees can enjoy a special $135/night rate at the Holiday Inn Express (401 Clements Street, Greenwood MS 38930) for October 4-6 by mentioning the “John Hurt Festival.” This block of rooms is limited so make your reservation now!