Родина Роберта Джонсона впервые провела фестиваль блюза, который станет ежегодной традицией

Robert Johnson’s hometown throws its first blues festival, and his family says it won’t be the last HAZLEHURST, Miss. (WLBT) - The guitar licks drifted down Ragsdale Avenue before the crowd even settled into their lawn chairs Saturday. Vendors were flipping plates, kids were dancing barefoot in the grass and downtown Hazlehurst — a small Copiah County town of a few thousand people — sounded like it hadn’t in generations. This was the inaugural Robert Johnson Crossroad Blues Festival, a free, family-friendly celebration of the man many call the King of the Delta Blues. Johnson was born in Hazlehurst, and until this year, his hometown had never held a festival in his name. “It’s a lot of music, it’s a lot of people, it’s a lot of good food,” said Stephen Johnson, Robert Johnson’s great-grandson, who performed at the festival with his own band and helped organize the event. For Stephen Johnson, the day was about more than a lineup of blues acts — though there were plenty, including The Jureesa McBride Band, Johnny Rawls, Lady Adrena, Grammy Award-winning Dexter Allen and Stephen Johnson’s own band closing out the bill. It was about place, and memory. “It’s very important to know that I’m here in Copiah County,” he said. “He’s walked on the same roads that we walk on, and his name has been mentioned. He’s made such an impact on the music itself. That’s inspiration for the people who also walk these same roads. It didn’t stop with them, it didn’t end with them. So you have to keep his memory alive.” Robert Johnson recorded just 29 songs in his short life, but his influence on the blues — and the rock music that followed decades later — is hard to overstate. His guitar playing became the stuff of legend, literally: the myth goes that Johnson sold his soul to the devil at a Mississippi crossroads at midnight in exchange for his musical gift. State Rep. Gregory Holloway Sr., who represents Mississippi’s 76th District, brought that legend up himself while walking through Saturday’s festival crowd. “The myth is that he sold his soul to the devil at the crossroad at midnight to maintain his guitar prowess,” Holloway said. Holloway said the deeper story is less about myth and more about what Johnson’s legacy still means for the community that raised him. “It’s all about the community and the reason why we’re here,” Holloway said. “I really want to bring entertainment — good, clean, wholesome entertainment — to the community. And this is one way to do it, by celebrating the legacy of Robert Johnson.” Stephen Johnson said the timing wasn’t random. His family pointed to the 2025 film “Sinners” — about a young man singing the blues who awakens spirits — as a moment that reignited public interest in the genre and, with it, in his great-grandfather’s story. “Keep the culture and music alive, especially with the festival bringing so much attention to it,” Stephen Johnson said. “We’re just here to commemorate that and have a good time with each other.” The Johnson family says the inaugural festival won’t be a one-time event. They plan to bring the Robert Johnson Crossroad Blues Festival back to Hazlehurst annually, hoping to grow it into a lasting tradition — and a reason for people well beyond Copiah County to make the trip. For now, Stephen Johnson said the goal is simple: don’t let the music, or the memory, fade. “We’re keeping his memory alive because of the contribution he made,” he said. “Make sure you make a contribution as well.” Want more WLBT news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter. See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please click here to report it and include the headline of the story in your email. Copyright 2026 WLBT. All rights reserved.