The W.C. Handy Music Festival is returning to the Shoals. Music fans will join together by the thousands for the biggest tourism event in North Alabama.
The festival boasts over 250 events and artists, spanning all across northwest Alabama. This includes Florence, Tuscumbia, Muscle Shoals, Sheffield and more. The events kick off on Thursday, July 18 and conclude Sunday, July 28, making for 11 days of events for every type of music-lover.
The festival honors W.C. Handy, or William Christopher Handy, who was born in Florence in 1873 as the son of former slaves. He would go on to be called the Father of the Blues. This is because Handy wrote and published the first commercially successful blues song in 1912, and one of his most famous works, “St. Louis Blues,” was published in 1914.
Handy died in 1958 and was buried near his home in New York. According to the Memphis Music Hall of Fame, many cities in the U.S. try to claim Handy as theirs, including Memphis and St. Louis, but Handy himself was born in Lauderdale County.
Headlining the festival are the Bar-Kays featuring Larry Dodson. This American funk group had dozens of charting singles from the 1960s to the 80s and were inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame in 2015. The group is set to perform on Saturday, July 27 at 7 p.m. at UNA’s Norton Auditorium. Tickets are $40 for general admission and $75 for VIP seating and reception.
Other events at this year’s festival include:
· Jazz it Up With Your Trash events in Sheffield, Florence, Rogersville, Tuscumbia and the Shoals – visitors will bring their own recyclable plastic bottles, cans and other assorted objects to make musical instruments and play in an impromptu band.
· Handy Musical Nights – local and out-of-state musicians and bands will take the stage at various locations to perform. These events occur daily at multiple locations.
· Handy Happy Hour – bars and restaurants in Lauderdale and Colbert counties will offer exclusive Happy Hour specials. These events occur daily at multiple locations.
Tori Bailey is the chair of the W.C. Handy Music Festival. She said the festival is designed to bring people together through the love of music.
“[The events] are designed to bring people out,” Bailey said. “No matter how much money you have or don't, no matter who you are, what age you are, no matter what your race is or your political leanings, you can all come together for one purpose, and that is to enjoy the music. It's a unifying event.”
Though the festival honors the life and music of W.C. Handy, it also helps to shed light on other artists from North Alabama, Bailey said.
“We have been sanctioned by the Handy family, since the beginning, since 1982, to do this festival in his honor, but it also honors the music of the Shoals area,” Bailey said. “We were the hit recording capital [of the] world, and there's so many fantastically talented artists from the northwest Alabama and from the Shoals area.”
Most events outside of the headliner are free and open to the public. A daily schedule with all of this year’s events and activities can be found on the W.C. Handy Music Festival website, which also features additional information on the history of the festival, a printable event brochure and purchasable merchandise from prior festivals.
