City sponsoring 3-day event in September
For decades bluegrass music drew huge crowds to Columbia, and now a popular festival is coming back after being absent for several years.
The Mississippi Bluegrass Jamboree is set for Sept. 27 to Sept. 29 at the Expo Center. The city of Columbia is helping to bring back the event, and Mayor Justin McKenzie said he hopes it draws a lot of visitors.
McKenzie, with the help of promoter Bertie Sullivan, Expo Center Director Jan Clark and a host of others, has been busy planning for the event for months. More than a dozen bluegrass acts will appear.
“The city agreed to help along the way to make it a reality,” the mayor said. “So is Main Street Columbia. The goal is to bring some good talent so that we can bring a large crowd into our community. Ultimately, they’ll be here for three or more days, visiting, shopping, eating … all in our community.”
Tickets and camping hookups are on sale, with a three-day pass available for $80 or daily passes for $30. The mayor said keeping events at the Expo Center throughout the year is a top priority and that profits will be invested back into improving that city-owned facility.
The festival is in memory of the late Johnnie and Peggie Stringer who helped bring the bluegrass world to Columbia through the Legends of Bluegrass and Country event. That event was last held in 2011.
“They brought in some of the most well-known artists in that genre. They had countless Grand Ole Opry stars play at the event,” he said. “We were flipping through some old pictures recently, and we were floored at some of the people we saw there.”
Events will run during the day, with music starting in the early afternoon and run through about 9 p.m., according to McKenzie.
“We’ve already got several camping spots booked up and reserved,” he said. “We’ve got plans to have several other things go on including an antique tractor display. There will be a quilting workshop, an old grist mill and local tours of the John Ford Home and the Marion County Museum and Archives and the Mississippi Rodeo Hall of Fame. We want to get people involved in local tours. This will be a good opportunity for local businesses to generate revenue.”
McKenzie is also seeking sponsors.
“Ultimately, we’re going to do a brochure or program that will be handed out and it will have all of the sponsors listed. We’re also going to be shooting for a stage sponsor, one sponsor that ultimately helps provide the stage and sounds and lights.”
The headliner on Thursday night is Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. Other groups playing that night will be the Farmhands out of Arkansas, Wood ‘N Wire and Polkville City Limits, McKenzie said.
The Larry Stephenson Band will headline Friday night.
Jesse McReynolds, a regular at the Stringers’ festival and at the Grand Ole Opry, is coming Saturday night. The Price Sisters will also perform then.
Alan Sibley and the Magnolia Ramblers from Ackerman will sing as well. Sibley hosts the Bluegrass Trail TV show on the RFD Network.
“We are working with Bertie Sullivan, who is has been recognized as Promoter of the Year for the Magnolia State Bluegrass Association several times. She hosts shows all over the state: Roosevelt State Park, Greene County, Lamar County and several others,” McKenzie said. “Butch Cooksey is coming to do the sound and lights. Butch is a part of the legendary Cooksey Family out of Baton Rouge. They were a Christian group that was popular in the 1990s and early 2000s.”
Pictured Above: The Legends of Bluegrass and Country always drew large crowds to the Columbia Expo Center as seen in this 2011 photo. Officials hope to bring back the festival.
