The Blue Front Café
The Blue Front Café opened in 1948 under the ownership of Carey and Mary Holmes, an African American couple from Bentonia. In its heyday the Blue Front was famed for its buffalo fish, blues, and moonshine whiskey. One of the couple’s sons, Jimmy Holmes, took over the café in 1970 and continued to operate it as an informal, down-home blues venue that gained international fame among blues enthusiasts.
During the 1980s and ’90s the Blue Front Café began to attract tourists in search of authentic blues in a rustic setting. In its early years, the café was a local gathering spot for crowds of workers from the Yazoo County cotton fields. Carey and Mary Holmes raised their ten children and three nephews and sent most of them to college on the income generated by the café and their cotton crops. The café offered hot meals, groceries, drinks, recreation, entertainment, and even haircuts.
The Holmes family operated under a tangled set of local rules during the segregation era. TheBlue 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, however, 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. The café seldom advertised or formally booked acts. Many itinerant harmonica players and guitarists drifted through to play a few tunes, but at times the musical cast included such notables as Skip James, Jack Owens, Henry Stuckey, Sonny Boy Williamson No. 2 (Rice Miller), and James “Son” Thomas.
Local musicians who have played at the Blue Front also include harmonica players Bud Spires, Son Johnson, Bobby Batton, Alonzo (Lonzy) Wilkerson, and Cleo Pullman; guitarists Cornelius Bright, Jacob Stuckey, Dodd Stuckey, Tommy Lee West, owner Jimmy “Duck” Holmes, his brother John, their uncle Percy Smith, and cousin Otha Holmes; and, on special occasions, bands from Jackson led by Eddie Rasberry or Roosevelt Roberts. Musicians also performed at Carey Holmes’s outdoor gatherings on the family farm, which later evolved into the Bentonia Blues Festival, sponsored by Jimmy Holmes. In 2000, Mary Alice Holmes Towner, Jimmy’s sister, also organized a blues and gospel festival in Marks, Mississippi.
Jimmy Holmes’s first two CDs, released in 2006 and 2007, were recorded at the Blue Front, perpetuating the music he learned in Bentonia from Jack Owens and others.
Captions
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.
The Mississippi Blues Trail markers tell stories through words and images of bluesmen and women and how the places where they lived and the times in which they existed–and continue to exist–influenced their music. The sites run the gamut from city streets to cotton fields, train depots to cemeteries, and clubs to churches. We have a lot to share, and it’s just down the Mississippi Blues Trail.
The Mississippi Blues Trail is an ongoing project of the Mississippi Blues Commission. Funding for this project has been made possible by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, Mississippi Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, AT&T, and the Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University plus additional support from the Mississippi Development Authority Tourism Division.
For more information visit msbluestrail.org.
The famous blues guitarist Robert Johnson, who is often cited as a major influence on rock and roll, was born in Hazlehurst, Mississippi.
During the antebellum period, Yazoo County became a major center for cotton production and a hub for the slave trade. The county's fertile soil and long growing season made it ideal for agriculture, leading to the establishment of plantations that relied heavily on enslaved labor. The prosperity of the region during this time was, however, marred by the controversial Yazoo land scandal of the late 18th century, which involved fraudulent land deals and led to political turmoil.
The Civil War had a profound impact on Yazoo County, bringing destruction and deprivation to the area. The county was a site of numerous battles and skirmishes, and the economy suffered greatly as a result. After the war, as the agricultural industry struggled to recover, the county saw an increase in sharecropping and tenant farming, as many former slaves and their descendants continued to work the cotton fields.
In the 20th century, Yazoo County experienced significant changes and challenges. The Great Flood of 1927 devastated the area, causing widespread destruction and displacing many residents. The county also played a prominent role in the Civil Rights Movement, with activists working to dismantle segregation and fight for equal rights. Today, Yazoo County maintains its agricultural heritage while also developing diverse industries to support its population.
Yazoo County Timeline
This timeline provides a glimpse into the major events and milestones that have shaped the history of Yazoo County, Mississippi.
- 1823 - Yazoo County is established as one of Mississippi's original counties.
- 1830s - Yazoo City becomes the county seat.
- 1833 - The Yazoo County Agricultural Society is founded to improve farming practices.
- 1853 - The Mississippi Central Railroad reaches Yazoo City, boosting the local economy.
- 1863 - During the Civil War, Yazoo City is occupied by Union forces.
- 1876 - The Mississippi River floods Yazoo County, causing significant damage.
- 1904 - A devastating fire destroys much of downtown Yazoo City.
- 1930s - The Great Depression leads to widespread poverty in Yazoo County.
- 1944 - The Mississippi Delta Training School for mentally disabled children is established in Bentonia.
- 2009 - Yazoo County experiences widespread flooding due to heavy rain and a damaged levee.