2026 Red's Old Timers Blues Festival

Red Paden was the proprietor of Red's Juke Joint on Sunflower Avenue in Clarksdale, Mississippi ("Backed by the River, Fronted by the Graves"). In a tremendous loss to the blues community, as well as Clarksdale, Red passed away on December 30, 2023. Red was one of a kind and Red's is one of the last of its kind.

In 2018, Red organized a blues festival that's held in the park across the side street from the club to give "old timers" their due and provide them a chance to be in the spotlight. Regarding who gets booked to play, Red explained, "They have to be at least 60 years old and I have to like listening to them." Fortunately, his son Orlando keeps both Red's and the Old Timers Festival going.

Held every Labor Day weekend, the 2026 edition fell on Saturday, September 5, 2026. If you thought we had escaped the heat by early September, you'd be wrong this year. The temparature topped out at a scorching 102 degrees in the afternoon. There's hot, ... and then there's the out-in-the-middle-of-an-open-field-in-Mississippi kind of hot (IYKYK)! On the brighter side, the blues coming from the stage was scorching too!

During the festival, Chris Barilla interviewed headliner Charlie Musselwhite for a feature story in People magazine. Chris was kind enough to include a few of my photos of Charlie from the festival in the article. You can read it here: https://people.com/charlie-musselwhite-talks-new-music-blues-brothers-tradition-exclusive-12109705 .

Here's a few shots from the day, followed by a few in memory of Red:

Rest in Peace, Red.

Thanks for stopping by.

~ Steve

text © 2026 Steve W. Likens

photos © 2026 Steve W. Likens, unless otherwise stated