Like I said elsewhere here in the juke joint, most of the 15,000 or so folks who attend the Delta Blues Festival congregate around the main stage. There's so many people, blankets, ice chests, lawn chairs, flattened beer cans, gnawed turkey bones, etc., in front of the main stage that you can't walk. If you run out of beer or get hungry for a fried turkey leg, you'll have hell returning to your spot on the ground. After dark, it's even worse. So take my advice and congregate in front of the Juke House Stage with me and about 200 other folks who are all having a blast dancing our asses off and stomping flattened beer cans and gnawed turkey bones.

From left to right we see "Guitar" Charlie Rickard on rhythm guitar, John "Bud" Horton on Flying V lead guitar, and "Harbo" Harbison on drums. Bud Horton is the best damned bluesman in the Delta. He can play that Flying V like Albert King, his idol, and he can blow a harp like Little Walter. He can fill his ample lungs with air, and when it comes out of his mouth in the form of words, it sounds like the voice of Howlin' Wolf. He's also a damned fine fellow. Order a copy of JUKE and you'll see what I mean. The scene with Bud and his dad, "Farmer" John Horton, playing Muddy Waters's "Down In Florida" from the back of a truck on Greenville's Nelson Street is awesome.

Over to the right and from left to right we see "Smilin'" John Ezell on drums, T-Model Ford on guitar, and Terry Bean--the pride of Pontotoc, Mississippi!--on harp. The photographer was from Australia, believe it or not. That's T-Model's hat on the floor beside his left foot, and it's filled with money--including a ten and several fives. I snapped this photo at the end of T-Model's session on the Juke House Stage. Well, actually, it was in the beginning of Eddie Cusic's session on the Juke House Stage. T-Model didn't want to leave the stage and the crowd didn't want him to quit playing. They kept yelling, "More! More! Play us another one!" The announcer finally came out and tried to restore order. But the crowd then started yelling, "Let him alone! Let him play us another one!" While the announcer pleaded with the crowd, a man to my right turned to a man who looked like Mean Joe Greene and said, "Why don't you go up there and throw that son-of-a-bitch off the stage?" The remark, made more than ½ seriously, caused a ripple of laughter to roll through the crowd. The announcer also laughed and soon restored order. In the middle photo we see Stella Smith, T-Model's wife. She's all decked out in orange and dancing to the T-Model blues. In the bottom photo we see Eddie Cusic trying his best to play some acoustic blues while T-Model Ford steals even more of his show. If looks could kill, T-Model would have dropped dead a few seconds after I took this photo.