Christone “Kingfish” IngramMore Info
Today’s scheduleAll events are on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard from about Georgia Avenue/Patten Parkway east to about Palmetto Street. Admission is $5 with a Riverbend wristband, $10 without.Bessie Smith Hall Stage› 5:30-6:45 p.m. Drew Sterchi & Blues Tribe› 7-8:15 p.m. Deacon Bluz & the Holysmoke Band› 9-11 p.m. Christone “Kingfish” IngramTrestle Stage› 6-7:15 p.m. Charles Walker Band› 7:30-8:45 p.m. Rick Rushing & The Blues Strangers
Riverbend activities move away from the river tonight as everything takes place on M.L. King Boulevard for the Bessie Smith Strut.
There has been a renewed push to make the event the popular neighborhood block party that it used to be with more vendors, more music and more people, according to Paula Wilkes, executive director of the Bessie Smith Cultural Center.
Most of the activities will take place in front of or near The Bessie. Headlining will be Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, a 19-year-old blues guitar phenom.
Ingram developed his love of music at an early age, especially the rich gospel sounds emanating from his family’s church and the blues music he regularly heard played in his Delta neighborhood. He is a cousin to legendary country music great Charley Pride, and he trained at the Delta Blues Museum under the tutelage of Richard “Daddy Rich” Crisman and Bill “Howl-N-Madd” Perry.