THE SHOALS-Make plans now for the 42nd annual W.C. Handy Festival beginning Thursday, July 20, and extending through Sunday, July 30. There will also be pre-festival and post-festival events! Some details have been posted on the official website at WCHandyMusicFestival, with many more to come!
The W.C. Handy Music Festival is the largest tourism attraction held in northwest Alabama. The festival honors both the musical legacy of the Shoals area and its namesake, Florence native composer and world-renowned Father of the Blues” William Christopher (W.C.) Handy. Handy Festival attendees will enjoy contemporary and traditional jazz, soulful R&B and old-time blues, inspiring gospel, a little bit of country, a little bit of rock and roll, hip-hop, and much more! The family-friendly festival will feature activities especially for kids. There are also plans to take the music to nursing homes for those who can’t get out and about. With music and movies, plays and exhibits, parades and a car and truck show, the Handy Festival is a perfect time to mingle.
This year’s headline concert will be Friday, July 28, in UNA’s Norton Auditorium and will feature festival favorite, Eric Essix and his band. R&B singer Melvia “Chick” Rodgers, a vocal powerhouse who is new to the Handy Festival will follow Eric. The concert ends with the international traveling blues singer, Bobby Rush, bringing his unique brand of story-telling to the stage. The traditional Riverside Jamz will take place Saturday, July 29, and the week will close out with several events on Sunday, July 30, that include church music, a business expo, and a performance by a new country singer. Sample the best in Caribbean food and steak, burgers, seafood, and visit friends!
Official Handy Festival t-shirts will be available for purchase at Handy Headquarters, Coats
Clothing, Keepers Korner, and Ye Olde General Store in Florence, Counts Brothers Music in Muscle Shoals, and at WZZA Radio and Colbert County Tourism in Tuscumbia. Find more information about Handy Festival at www.wchandymusicfestival.com, on the Handy Festival Facebook page, by accessing the QR Code on Handy Festival posters, or by picking up a printed Handy Festival brochure at locations all over the Shoals. Visitors are also welcome to come to the main hub of activity at Handy Headquarters, housed at the Southhall Moore home, 215 E. Tuscaloosa Street, across from Wilson Park in downtown Florence.
Media Release/Tori Bailey/Music Preservation Society, Inc.
