Hill Country Revue, Mayhem String Band and Scott Holt headline this year’s Howlin’ at the Moon Festival in West Point on Saturday. The festival will feature more than 14 hours of blues-influenced music.
The fourth installment of the blues festival will help raise money to support the Howlin’ Wolf Museum, said Mike Reilly, Waverly Waters Resort’s property manager.
“The Howlin’ at the Moon Festival got started from an offshoot of the Howlin’ Wolf Festival,” Reilly said. “We are trying to help fund the museum and its growth because we feel it’s a real important part of West Point and our culture and history around here.”
Reilly also helps with the Juke Joint Jam and Howlin’ Wolf Day in West Point.
According to Reilly, the Howlin’ Wolf Museum is currently in a 10-by-10 room, and even though the city of West Point has provided money to expand the museum, more funds are needed.
Ben Bounds, one of the event’s coordinators, said he expects the festival to be a success.
“I’ve worked on several events out there, but this is my first Howlin’ at the Moon Festival,” Bounds said. “This is going to be one of the better [events] that I’ve worked on for the Golden Triangle and definitely the best on I’ve worked on for West Point.”
Hill Country Revue was formed by the North Mississippi Allstars’ drummer Cody Dickinson and features fellow NMA bassist Chris Chew along with guitarists Kirk Smithhart, a W.C. Handy Blues Award Winner, and Gary Burnside, of the Burnside Explosion, and vocalist Daniel Coburn.
Oxford-based Mayhem String Band will bring bluegrass, and blues guitarist Scott Holt, who played with Buddy Guy for more than a decade, also will share headliner duties.
Blues Old Stand, featuring harmonica-great Blind Mississippi Morris, will also perform.
“Morris plays out there about once a year; he and Mike [Reilly] have become good friends,” Bounds said. “He’s a great guy. He’s one of the top 10 harmonica players in the world and he has won several awards in the Memphis area. He’s just a traditional, authentic Mississippi Delta blues man.”
Reilly said this year’s festival brings a more of a diverse range of musicians.
“Basically, most music is an offshoot of the blues,” he said. “There are so many popular blues songs that rockers have made popular, so we’re trying to have a sprinkling of artists that understand the roots of the music and are paying it forward to the bluesmen that have turned it on, while [playing the] type of music that they do.”
This year a variety of blues-influenced and local acts will share the same stage, including Graball Freerun, Aunt Caroline Dye and Dovecote, who represent Starkville in this Saturday’s lineup and Nashville’s Stagolee, originally from Starkville, and Hattiesburg’s Smooth, who round out the roster of over 14 hours of live music.
“We’re ready for Saturday. no doubt,” said Nick Crews, singer and guitarist for Graball Freerun. “I think we’re just as excited about seeing the other bands as we are about ourselves playing. It’s really cool to get to pay homage to [Wolf], one of the greatest and most influential musicians of all time like this, we’re really psyched.”
Singer and guitarist of Dovecote Jason McCain said he looks forward to sharing the stage with many of the acts.
“We know a lot of the bands playing, but not all. I’m looking forward to a day of barbecue, blues and beer,” McCain said.
Dovecote starts at noon, while Graball Freerun is scheduled to close the festival.
Reilly said the event will last as long as the fans want to hear music.
“It’s one of the beautiful things about Waverly Waters Resort venue; we don’t necessarily have a closing time, and we can go as long as people are enjoying themselves and the artists are prepared to do their thing,” he said.
Bounds said college football games including the Saturday game between Mississippi State and Alabama will be projected onto an 8-by-12 screen at the festival.
The event’s planners are encouraging festivalgoers to stay at the resort’s campground after the festival instead of driving home, Reilly said.
“We want everyone to have as much fun as they possibly can, but we want everybody to be safe. We’ve got plenty of bonfires and great camping facilities. We’re making this as fan friendly as possible,” he said.
Bounds said the event will mark the last festival in the Golden Triangle until next year.
“This is kind of like the finale of the festival season for northeast Mississippi,” Bounds said. “We’re really excited about it.”