Mississippi Blues Trail
Blue Front Cafe, Bentonia, Yazoo County
The Mississippi Blues Trail marker for the Blue Front Cafe is located in front of the Blue Front Cafe in Bentonia, Yazoo, County, Mississippi.
The Blue Front Cafe is located on East Railway Avenue in the downtown commercial section of Bentonia in Yazoo County, Mississippi. It is owned and operated by Jimmy “Duck” Holmes.
Bentonia has a population of just under 500 people so the downtown section is not very big; it’s basically just a few blocks around the intersection of Highway 433 (called Cannon Avenue in Bentonia) and East Railway Avenue.
The GPS location of the Blue Front Cafe, and the Mississippi Blues Trail marker in front of it, is: N 32° 38.442′ W 90° 21.889′
Here is a map showing the location of the Blue Front Cafe:
The Mississippi Blues Trail marker reads:
“BLUE FRONT CAFE – The Blue Front Cafe 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 whisky. One of the couple’s sons, Jimmy Holmes, took over the Cafe in 1970 and continued to operate it as an informal, down-home blues venue that gained international fame among blues enthusiasts.”
Blue Front Cafe owner Jimmy “Duck” Holmes has released several albums.
Among our Recommended Recordings are:
- Gonna Get Old Someday, on Fat Possum Records
- Back To Bentonia
- Done Got Tired Of Tryin’
- All Night Long
The Mississippi Blues Trail marker for Skip James is nearby. Skip James was from Bentonia,
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