Everything you need to know about this week's W.C. Handy Blues & Barbecue Festival in Henderson

HENDERSON, Ky. − For the 32nd time in 33 years, it’s time for a summer fixture in downtown Henderson: The W.C. Handy Blues & Barbecue Festival.

What is this event, you ask?

Henderson’s volunteer-run music festival has grown through the years into one of the largest “free blues festivals in the country.”

Here are 10 things to know about it.

Where does this take place?

Main festival days are June 14-17, although some auxiliary events take place in the community in the days leading up to it.

The main stage for the W.C. Handy Blues & Barbecue Festival is in Audubon Mill Park (not to be confused with John James Audubon State Park) on the downtown Henderson riverfront. The park is located at the foot of Second Street adjacent to the Ohio River Boat Ramp.

Water Street from First Street to Third Street and a half block of Second Street are closed for festival infrastructure. Parking is available along any of the adjacent streets and in many surface parking lots during the evening hours. Special festival handicapped parking spaces are located at the foot of First Street across from the Henderson Post Office.

There’s music on the main stage at the following times: Wednesday, June 14, starting at 5 p.m.; Thursday, June 15, starting at 5:30 p.m.; Friday, June 16, starting at noon; and Saturday, June 17, starting at noon.

Where do I get my tickets?

You don’t need one. The festival is free, just like it’s been for 32 years. This volunteer-run festival is funded through sponsorships from local businesses, sales of merchandise, soft drinks, java shakes, a half-pot, bucket shakes, a beer garden and the popular Zydeco Night food concessions. Donations to keep this festival free also are welcome and accepted on the non-profits Facebook page, facebook.com/handyblues.

Who will I be able to hear in 2023?

Once the main stage lineup starts rolling, it will remain red-hot through late Saturday night. Here’s what’s on tap:

Wednesday:

5 p.m.: End of the Line

7 p.m.: Ally Venable

9 p.m.: Southern Avenue

Thursday:

5:30 p.m.: Dewayne Dopsie

8 p.m.: Chubby Carrier & The Bayou Swamp Band

Friday:

Noon: Blues 4U

1:30 p.m.: Tinsley Ellis Acoustic Songs & Stories

3 p.m.: Al Green & The Hard Times

5 p.m.: King Solomon Hicks

7 p.m.: Bywater Call

9 p.m.: Tommy Castro & The Painkillers with Tinsley Ellis as special guest

Saturday:

Noon: David Jacobs-Strain & Bob Beach

1:30 p.m.: Ghalia Volt

3 p.m.: JD Simo

5 p.m.: Matt Schofield

7 p.m.: Shemekia Copeland

9 p.m.: The War & Treaty

Why Zydeco Night?

This event started in the early years of the festival to showcase Zydeco genre of blues and to raise seed money for the following year’s music. It takes place on Thursday night with the food tent sales of red beans & rice, jambalaya, bread pudding, andouille sausages and more starting at 5:30 p.m. No other food sales are available on the festival site on Thursday, but a variety of downtown restaurants are open in the vicinity if that’s your preference.

What else can I eat at the festival?

Festival food will be available on Wednesday night next to Audubon Mill Park and on Friday and Saturday starting at 11 a.m. on Second Street. You can expect barbecue, ribs, burgers, gyros, fries, lemon shakeups, pork chop sandwiches and all the favorite festival foods.

What is the Street Strut?

The William Branaman Street Strut Peoples Parade, an exuberant gathering of strutters dressed in New Orleans Dixieland jazz attire and sporting decorated umbrellas, has been part of the festival since the beginning.

It takes place on Saturday, June 17, and starts with a HandyFest Creation Station/Street Strut Workshop at 8 a.m., First and Water streets. Participants can decorate an umbrella or create costume pieces.

The Street Strut Parade begins at 10 a.m. from that corner and will be led by the Grand Ooh-Pee-Doo selected at the conclusion of last year’s parade and a live band.

Prizes will be awarded for: 2024 Grand Ooh-Pee-Doo, Best Decorated/Creative Umbrella, Most Spirited Strutter, Best Group, Best Decorated Bicycle, Best Decorated Baby Stroller, Best Decorated Wagon, Best Decorated Golf Cart and Most Spirited Pet.

Will there be other music besides Main Stage?

Henderson Chamber of Commerce has organized Handy Lunch Breaks and Happy Hours on Monday through Friday of festival week hosted by local businesses. Here’s the schedule:

Tuesday, June 13: 

11 a.m.-1 p.m.: The MelVon Owen’s Trio, The Elm

11 a.m.-1 p.m.: Roy Carter Trio, Rockhouse on the River

Noon-2 p.m.: Josh Merritt, Homer’s BBQ

5-7 p.m.: RJ Rigdon & Jonas Cowan, Rockhouse on the River

Wednesday, June 14: 

11 a.m.-1 p.m.: Dave Redmon, The Elm

11 a.m.-1 p.m.: Zion & Tim Austin, Rockhouse on the River

Noon-2 p.m.: Spencer Bloodworth, Homer’s BBQ

Thursday, June 15:

11 a.m.-1 p.m.: Rigdon Jiles, The Elm

Noon-2 p.m.: Ben Davis Jr., Homer’s BBQ

Where can I get a beer?

Alcohol (and coolers) are not allowed in Audubon Mill Park, but there is a Beer Garden available to ages 21 and older on Water Street. A portion of the proceeds help fund the festival There are also a number of restaurants offering alcohol sales near the festival.

Where can I get my Handy T-shirt?

You can purchase festival merchandise including shirts, hats, mugs and other items from the merchandise trailer that will be located on Water Street next to the park. After the festival, Henderson Tourist Commission’s gift shop in The Depot at 101 N. Water St. will sell the remaining merchandise.

Why Handy in Henderson?

The “Father of the Blues” William Christopher Handy spent about 10 years living in Henderson from roughly 1893-1903. Born in Alabama, he ended up in this area after traveling with a band to perform at the 1892 World’s Fair in Chicago.

Part of his employment while he lived in this area was playing music for barbecues, parties, banquets and other events. It was in Henderson that he met his first wife, Elizabeth Price Handy. With their growing family, they made Henderson their “home base” as Handy gained fame in the music world penning such hits as “St. Louis Blues,” “Memphis Blues,” “Mr. Crump,” “Yellow Dog Blues” and many others. He was also a composer of many spirituals.

Handy returned to Henderson in 1953 to be honored and attend a fundraiser for building a community swimming pool that bore his name. That pool went out of service in the early 1980s.

Handy used the experiences and songs he heard in his travels for inspiration in writing and codifying the music that would eventually become a whole new genre: The blues.

About Henderson’s impact on that, Handy once told a Louisville newspaper writer: “"I didn't write any songs in Henderson, but it was there I realized that experiences I had had, things I had seen and heard, could be set down in a kind of music characteristic of my race. There I learned to appreciate the music of my people."

Handy Fun Facts

• Mark your calendar: The W.C. Handy Blues & Barbecue Festival always takes place the week before Father’s Day to honor the musician/composer’s designation as “Father of the Blues.”

• W.C. Handy’s “Memphis Blues” is considered to be the first composition from the Blues genre.

• Tri-State favorite Blues 4U is the only band to play for every year of the festival.

• The first headliner for the festival was Metropolitan Blues All-Stars in 1991. The band never took the stage because of a big storm that rolled up the Ohio River and rained out the festival. Despite fears from the volunteer organizers, that deluge didn’t drown out Year 2.

• For about a decade, the festival included a Memphis-In-May sanctioned barbecue competition. A team called Ole 97 won the first sanctioned barbecue contest.

• For about a decade starting in 2000, the festival showcased local barbecue cooks at the “Taste of Henderson Barbecue” that took place on the Saturday before the Main Stage music.

• The Street Strut parade is named for the late William Branaman, a local attorney who served as Grande-Ooh-Pee Doo for a number of years.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: This week's W.C. Handy Blues & Barbecue Festival in Henderson, Kentucky