My travels along the Mississippi Blues Trail have been a profoundly enriching experience, and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to immerse myself in the region's rich blues heritage. We owe a debt of gratitude to Marcia Goodwin Adams for her tireless efforts in coordinating our travel arrangements, including securing accommodations and dining recommendations. The caliber of blues musicians she has arranged to perform at each stop has been exceptional. This particular stop will be a memorable experience, thanks to the insightful history lessons shared by the celebrated Jimmy "Duck" Holmes. I strongly encourage exploring this historic site, which has a long tradition of hosting blues musicians who generously perform without charge. Our gifted Bobby Blackmon also had the opportunity to perform alongside Jimmy.
The Holmes family operated under a tangled set of local rules during the segregation era. The Blue Front was subject to a 10 p.m. town curfew, but at the height of cotton gathering and ginning season, the café might stay open 24 hours a day to serve shifts of workers around the clock. The Blue Front could not serve Coca-Cola; nor could black customers purchase it or other items reserved for whites anywhere in Bentonia. African Americans were allowed only brands such as Nehi and Double Cola. Still, white customers regularly bought bootleg corn liquor at the back door of the café. After integration, the Blue Front boasted its own Coca-Cola sign.
Music at the Blue Front was often impromptu and unannounced.
Jimmy “Duck” Holmes assumed ownership of the Blue Front after his father Carey died in 1970. Mary Holmes, who cooked at the cafe, died in 1998. The Blue Front replaced a wooden structure that housed a market at this site in the 1940s.
Nehemiah “Skip” James was Bentonia’s most renowned blues singer. His 22-20 Blues, recorded in 1931, was the inspiration for Robert Johnson’s 32-20 Blues of 1936. He played guitar and piano at the Blue Front during one of his periodic stays in Bentonia (1948-53). Bentonia guitarist Jack Owens was part of the filming of a 1995 commercial for Levi’s ‘501 Blues' shot at the Blue Front.
All 16 of us from The Villages Blues Society here at The Blue Front Cafe
