DOCUMENTARIAN REED, JOINS FORCES WITH THE ORGANIZERS OF THE JUKE JOINT FESTIVAL TO PREMIERE HIS FILM, WHICH FEATURES EXCLUSIVELY SELECTED ARTIST PERFORMANCES AND TRADITIONS FROM THE JUKE JOINT FESTIVAL OF 2019 FOR THE NOW CANCELLED 2020 JUKE JOINT FESTIVAL.
BOSTON, MA and CLARKSDALE, MS, April 10, 2020 – When Grammy- and Emmy-award winning documentary filmmaker Ted Reed learned that the JUKE JOINT FESTIVAL scheduled for April 17, 2020 was cancelled due to the global health crisis, he immediately leapt into action pushing back the release of his original documentary “THE BLUES TRAIL REVISITED” and instead worked to create a new film celebrating the performers and performances of the festival of 2019. “JUKE JOINT FESTIVAL REVISITED”, a 60 minute film, created for digital release on Saturday, April 18th, features exclusive performances with some of the world’s blues legends, old and new. This film celebrates the worldwide impact the Juke Joint Festival has on blues tourism, blues culture, and the unwavering passion and dedication to keeping the blues alive for generations to come.
Last April, Reed, a self-proclaimed blues fanatic, filmed extensive footage for his soon to be released documentary, “THE BLUES TRAIL REVISITED”, during the annual Juke Joint Festival in Clarksdale, MS. While editing this film, Reed realized he had a treasure trove of live performance footage. His decision to create a new film based on this exclusive performance footage came from a desire to help blues musicians and fans through this challenging time.
Led by Roger Stolle, Nan Hughes and their amazing team, The Juke Joint Festival draws in thousands of blues fans from all over the world for a weekend full of live musical performances. With this year’s 18th annual festival cancelled, they wanted to create an online experience and felt Reed’s documentary, JUKE JOINT FESTIVAL REVISITED, would be a great opportunity to relive last year’s event and provide a finale to a day of live-streamed blues performances during April 18th’s just announced VIRTUAL JUKE JOINT FESTIVAL CELEBRATION.
Reed and Stolle’s ultimate goal is to help drive donations to the Blues Foundation COVID-19 fund (https://j.mp/2wupAYe), and the Mississippi Blues Benevolent Fund (http://www.msbluestrail.org//mississippi-blues-trail-donations).
About Ted Reed
Ted has been producing, directing, writing, and shooting films and television since the 1970s. Creating documentaries, commercials, animated features, and broadcast and streaming series. His storytelling expertise has led to award-winning shows about gender equality, the future of communications technology, immigration, national parks, West Indian music, space tourism, assisted suicide, Jewish innovators, and handgun violence. He is the recipient of multiple awards.
During his career he partnered with the MIT team who pioneered internet streaming video technology, produced New England’s first local all-digital TV broadcast and pioneered the use of interactive video for large business meetings.
Ted has taught and lectured at Harvard University, Tufts University, Boston University, Endicott College and the Boston Film and Video Foundation. He has brought filmmaking courses to elementary schools, community groups and retirement homes, and continues to run film, photography and music workshops at his office in Gloucester, MA.
About Roger Stolle
After a successful 13-year advertising/marketing career in Corporate America, “Mad Man” Roger Stolle moved to Clarksdale in 2002 with a mission to “organize and promote the blues from within.” He owns Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art (“Mississippi’s Blues Store”), co-founded multiple festivals (Juke Joint Festival, Clarksdale Film Festival, Clarksdale Caravan Music Fest, Cat Head Mini Blues Fest, etc.), writes for Blues Music Magazine and Poland’s Twój Blues magazine, is a contributing editor to Delta Magazine, authored “Hidden History of Mississippi Blues” and “Mississippi Juke Joint Confidential” (History Press/Arcadia), and co-produced award-winning films like “Hard Times,” “M for Mississippi” and “We Juke Up in Here”. He is co-creator (with Jeff Konkel, Broke & Hungry Records) of the web series Moonshine & Mojo Hands. He produced three acclaimed albums on Big George Brock and has assisted other blues record labels.
His Cat Head store was called “one of the 17 coolest record stores in America” (Paste mag) An authority on Delta blues and tourism, Stolle is a frequent speaker at events and has been quoted by The New York Times, Forbes, The Economist, PBS Newshour, NPR and Travel+Leisure.
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