Jeffrey Brown:

They came from all around the country and all over the world, including this contingent from Australia. This year, the festival featured more than 100 performances. For the kids, there were racing pigs and a monkey riding a dog herding goats.

The festival takes its name from juke joints, informal bars and music venues once scattered throughout the African-American South as an answer, in part, to whites-only clubs, a rich history now in danger of being lost.

Red's Lounge is said to be one of the last true juke joints in Clarksdale and on a Friday night was packed, as Frank Rimmer dazzled on guitar.