The Tommy Johnson Blues Festival begins at 6 pm, Saturday, Nov. 4, at the Jackson Medical Mall (350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave., Jackson, Mississippi). Tickets are $20 at Ticketmaster and the doors open at 5 pm.
(Jackson, MS) – Tera Johnson-Collins, the paternal niece of blues icon Tommy Johnson, says that she has always felt a spiritual connection to her famous family member, who died on Nov. 1, 1956—three years to the day before her birth. It was a desire to uphold his musical legacy that led her to launch the inaugural Tommy Johnson Blues Festival in Crystal Springs, Miss., in 2005.
“Tommy Johnson never got the public notoriety as a country-blues pioneer, as others have, when he was alive,” she says. “Therefore, I feel it’s my duty and honor to keep his name in the forefront by putting on the festival and creating the Tommy Johnson Blues Foundation to educate blues lovers, and especially young people, about his profound impact and influence on the industry.”
In 2015, Johnson-Collins moved the event to the Jackson Medical Mall to accommodate more fans who wanted to honor the late legend. The festival’s 12th annual installment will take place Nov. 4, 2017, showcasing several rising stars and established names in modern blues music.
