2013 Juke Joint Festival showcasing the rich history of blues in the South to debut Saturday with C Spire Wireless as official music sponsor of the 10th annual music event

Clarksdale, Miss. (April 12, 2013) –

“We Juke Up In Here!” will be the rallying cry for thousands of blues fans who are traveling to the historic Mississippi Delta town of Clarksdale this weekend for the 10th annual Juke Joint Festival.

C Spire Wireless is the official music sponsor of this year’s festival, which will feature over 100 blues musicians performing on 12 outdoor stages and at 20 night time venues. Blues fans from 23 countries, 46 states and 53 Mississippi counties are expected to attend this year’s festivities, according to Roger Stolle, one of the festival’s main organizers and owner of Cathead Delta Blues & Folk Art.

“We’re dedicating this year as a celebration of the lives and music of all the late, great Clarksdale blues performers and supporters who have died over the past year, including Frank “Rat” Ratcliff, proprietor of the historic Riverside Hotel,” Stolle said. The town has been home to some of the world’s most heralded blues performers, including Son House, John Lee Hooker, Junior Parker, Ike Turner, Muddy Waters, Pinetop Perkins, Earl Hooker, Lil Green and Big Jack Johnson.

Stolle described the event as “half blues festival, half small town fair and all about the Delta.” The festival is organized by the Clarksdale Downtown Development Association and staffed almost exclusively by a legion of local volunteers who love blues music and want to support their local community, he said.

C Spire has a long tradition of supporting local communities and engaging with consumers who are passionate about music. “If Mississippi is the birthplace of America’s music, then Clarksdale and the Mississippi Delta is ground zero for the best blues music in the world,” said Jim Richmond, vice president of Corporate Communications for C Spire Wireless.

Richmond said the festival combines a small-town atmosphere with an international flavor to promote and educate fans on the history and traditions of blues music. “This event really showcases the power of cultural tourism, allowing local residents and blues lovers to be ambassadors to the world during the festival,” he said. “We’re pleased and honored to be a part of an event that is like no other in the world.”

For more information about the music performance schedule and other festival activities, go to www.jukejointfestival.com.

About C Spire Wireless
C Spire Wireless is a diversified wireless communications and technology services company passionately committed to helping customers by personalizing wireless services designed just for them. The company is the first wireless provider in the U.S. to personalize customers’ experience by offering apps that fit who they are, services that anticipate their needs, and rewards for using their phone in new ways – all with seamless ease and at amazingly fast speeds. This news release and other announcements are available at www.cspire.com/news. For more information about C Spire Wireless and its products and services, visit www.cspire or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cspire, Twitter at www.twitter.com/cspire, Google + or www.pinterest.com/cspirewireless