The 2024 Blind Willie McTell Festival is in the books, and with the performances seen at this event, Visit Thomson will have a hard time following this amazing day.

The 30th year of the festival proved to be one of the best on record, featuring the world’s greatest trumpeter alongside many of the well-known artists and musicians that are defining 21st century music.

Seeing Southern presents a photo gallery of a few moments. Sign up on the festival website to be the first to know about the 2025 festival.

Wynton Marsalis is a world-renowned trumpeter, bandleader, composer, and a leading advocate of American culture. He presently serves as Managing and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Director of Jazz Studies at The Juilliard School, and President of the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1961, he is the son of jazz pianist and music educator Ellis Marsalis, Jr.
He annually tours worldwide and brings the Septet to McTell Fest. This ensemble will include Thomson’s own Chris Crenshaw on trombone. Crenshaw has been with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra since 2006.

Shinyribs defies genres as a sonic melting pot of Texas Blues, New Orleans R&B funk, horn-driven Memphis Soul, country twang, border music, big band swing, and roots-rock. The Austin-based nine-piece (sometimes 10-piece) supergroup, including the Tijuana Train wreck Horns, is led by Kevin Russell, the charismatic former frontman of longtime Austin band The Gourds. Russell never falls short of creating a cinematic experience with on-stage antics backed by Austin’s finest ensemble.

McTell Fest has had a great history of presenting Cajun music; this category is represented this year by The Revelers, headquartered in Lafayette LA, and dedicated to the holy trinity of Cajun Culture…. hot music, all-night dancing, and great food! Some of the band members are no stranger to McTell Fest, and this Grammy nominated combo comes as close to a Louisiana/Cajun/Zydeco/swamp rock supergroup as you will find.

Smithsonian Folkways artist Jerron Paxton is making his third trip to McTell Fest and is an absolute audience favorite. A multi-instrumentalist and great vocalist, Paxton's style draws from blues and jazz music from the early 20th Century. Paxton, an “old soul “ at the tender age of 35, does it all….playing guitar, banjo, piano and violin,, and probably some other instruments not listed, all with great humor and stage presence. We are happy to bring him back to play solo in the country blues tradition of McTell.   

Atlanta’s Blair Crimmins and The Hookers are making their second appearance at McTell Fest. Crimmins and his band offer an incredible blast of high energy Ragtime and Dixieland music, filtered through a lens of Crimmins originals and rollicking covers from the early 20th century.

Blind Willie McTell was an influential American blues musician born in 1901 in Thomson, Georgia, and he passed away in 1959. Despite being blind from a young age, McTell became renowned for his exceptional guitar playing and unique voice. He was known for his proficiency in a style of blues that often incorporated elements of folk and ragtime. His music often featured intricate fingerpicking guitar techniques and a deep, soulful voice. McTell's songs, such as "Statesboro Blues" and "Delia," have had a significant impact on the development of blues music. His work influenced many later artists, and his recordings have been celebrated for their authenticity and depth. Although he wasn't widely known during his lifetime, McTell's legacy has grown over the years, and he is now considered a seminal figure in the history of American blues.